The Lost MK: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Choice of Some Adult Missionary Kids to Leave Their Parents' Faith
Missionary families have a high level of commitment to their faith. What, then, would cause a child from such a faith commitment to turn away from this heritage? Factors identified by research as mediating religious doubt include problematic family relationships, adverse life events, and incongruiti...
| Published in: | Missiology |
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| Authors: | ; ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2008
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| In: |
Missiology
Year: 2008, Volume: 36, Issue: 4, Pages: 457-473 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Missionary families have a high level of commitment to their faith. What, then, would cause a child from such a faith commitment to turn away from this heritage? Factors identified by research as mediating religious doubt include problematic family relationships, adverse life events, and incongruities observed. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 16 adult missionary kids (AMK) who left their parents' tradition of faith. The participants had a mean age of 47, came from 13 evangelical missions, and lived on three different continents. A semi-structured interview was used to explore facets of their MK childhoods to identify significant patterns. Results indicated a strong pattern of benign disengagement between parent and child; marked stressors inherent to missionary life including frequent moves, stresses related to schooling, as well as unique stressors in the form of trauma and abuse; and significant questions and incongruities that arose from their observations. |
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| ISSN: | 2051-3623 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Missiology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/009182960803600405 |