Why do people change religions?

For every reason you can think of, and then some. People change religions because of marriage, because of a spiritual experience, because they were hurt by their childhood church, because they found something that made sense when nothing else did, because they married into another tradition, because they moved somewhere new, or because they gradually drifted. Pew Research has found that most Americans who change religion weren’t pushed out, they walked away slowly.

1 · MindWhat people believe, and how they know

Pew Research Center’s 2015 Religious Landscape Study found that religious switching is common in America: 42% of adults have changed their religious affiliation at least once. The most common movement is out of organized religion into the “nones” (religiously unaffiliated), not from one tradition to another.

Sociologist Robert Wuthnow and others distinguish between deliberate conversion (a decisive spiritual experience or intellectual shift), gradual drift (losing connection without a single event), and institutional switching (moving between denominations of the same tradition). Each has different causes.

Common factors include: marriage to someone of a different faith, a negative experience with a religious community, a positive experience with a new one, intellectual or theological doubts, a life crisis, geographic relocation, or simply aging out of religious practice that felt inherited rather than chosen.

Research also shows that conversion experiences often happen through relationships, you marry someone, become close friends with someone, or simply are welcomed by a community. Very few people convert through debates.

What each tradition or community says

We're Christians, so we list what Christians believe first. Every other section is checked by someone from that faith or community.

Christianity

Conversion to Christianity is a central feature of its missionary tradition. Jesus told his followers to ‘make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19). But many people also leave Christianity, and the tradition includes many accounts of return.

Islam

Becoming Muslim (reverting, as many Muslims say, since all humans are considered born in a natural state of submission to God) involves a sincere declaration of faith. It happens most often through personal study, relationship, or spiritual experience.

Judaism

Traditional Judaism does not actively seek converts, but accepts sincere ones after a process of study and, in most traditions, ritual immersion. Many convert for marriage. Converts are considered fully Jewish.

No religion

The most common religious ‘destination’ in America isn’t a new religion, it’s nothing in particular. Many leave the church or synagogue of their childhood not for another tradition but for a quieter, less institutional spiritual life.

2 · HeartWhat it feels like

If someone you love has changed religions, it can feel like a rejection, of you, your family, your past together. It usually isn’t.

Most people who change faiths are searching for something real. They’re not trying to hurt you. Many are confused themselves.

Keeping the conversation open, and the relationship, is harder than keeping score of who believes what. It’s also more likely to matter in ten years.

People don’t usually change faiths because they sat down and decided the new doctrine was better. They usually met somebody, or went through something, or found a place where they felt seen. The door swings in ways nobody fully predicts.Neighbor Radio

3 · HandsHow to be a good neighbor

If a family member has left your faith, lecturing rarely works. People who feel loved and listened to are more likely to stay in conversation. People who feel judged tend to go silent.

If you’ve changed religions yourself, you know how complicated it is to explain. Give others the chance to explain theirs.

This weekThink of someone in your family or circle who changed faiths or left religion. Do you know their actual story, not just the outcome, but what they were looking for?

SourcesWhere it is in the scriptures

New Testament

Matthew 28:19 Read it in the World English Bible on Free Scripture

Plain wordsWhat do these words mean?

Convert: To change from one religion to another, or a person who has.
Synagogue: A Jewish house of prayer, study and gathering. Also called a shul or a temple.

All the words →

Four questions to take with you

From Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan, about the stranger who stopped to help. We call it the Samaritan Test.

Did they see? Or look right past?
Did they stop? Even when it was inconvenient?
Did it cost them? Time, money, comfort, reputation?
Did they treat the person like a person? Not like a label?

Try it on: someone who changed their faith. What were they looking for that they didn’t find where they were?

Quick questions

Can someone really convert to a new religion sincerely?

Yes. Many accounts of conversion, across every tradition, describe sincere change. Whether the tradition you’re in recognizes it varies.

What’s the most common religious change in America?

According to Pew Research, the most common shift is from a specific religion to no religion at all, not from one religion to another.

Should I try to bring someone back to our faith?

Most traditions say yes, through love and example, not pressure. But most relationship counselors would say: love the person, and let the conversation evolve.

Sources and research

How this answer was made

Written in plain words by the Neighbor Radio team. Each faith's and community's section is checked by someone from that faith or community. Until then, this page says so. Spot something wrong? Tell us. We read every note and fix mistakes.