This website is something I’ve been meaning to start for years. It’s difficult to know where to begin. My hope is to provide a place where I (and hopefully others, eventually) can discuss thoughts on the process of leaving the faith and life on the other side. Those who have gone through it can share their stories. Those who are questioning their beliefs can see an alternative worldview. Those who are wondering why we leave can hopefully find some answers to their questions.
When I was growing up in a close-knit Mennonite community, I heard distantly of a few people who left the church or were “questioning”. The explanations always seemed fuzzy and they were people I didn’t know well anyway. I didn’t really think much about it. At the same time, my home church talked often of the problem of young people leaving (not specific examples of course) with the focus usually on the style of worship or whether church was relevant enough to the younger generation. Later in life, after having questions of my own and leaving the faith, I realized that there was a big disconnect between my own journey and the standard narrative of the young person “falling away” told in Christian circles. I have also experienced firsthand how difficult it is to have meaningful conversations about these topics with family and friends who have not shared that journey (that’s pretty much everyone).
The goal here is to provide a place to have that conversation. Since I am no longer part of the Mennonite church, I don’t have a good idea of the number of people in my situation. However, judging from general trends in beliefs across the country, I suppose the number must be growing. Speaking for myself, I know that I loved the church community and the thoughtful environment that was fostered in the several congregations I attended while moving around the country. Unfortunately, those thoughtful conversations seemed to be mainly limited to those within the church (probably for lots of good reasons). I see this website as a place where thoughtful people inside and outside the faith can continue to try and understand each other.
So why the “secular mennonite”? As I lost my belief in the supernatural, I struggled with understanding the alternative worldview. Was everything I loved about the Mennonite culture baseless in a secular world? Morality, simple living, service to those in poverty, a focus on bringing about peace……were these silly ideals in a dog eat dog world? To the contrary, I found that the secular foundation is strong for many of the most inspiring aspects of Mennonite culture (of course many priorities also change). I hope to create the kind of website that I wish I had found when struggling through these issues.
So welcome to the Secular Mennonite. I plan to add many new categories including my story, places for others to tell their stories or ask questions, links to resources that influenced me, and several themed blog posts. Check back in the next few weeks.