‘On the Lapsed’: Comparative Ethnographic Perspectives on ‘Lapsing’ among Christians around the World

Dear Colleagues,

To be a Christian is often pictured as a lifelong status, whether starting from birth or from conversion later on. It is common for evangelical Protestant conversion narratives, for instance, to describe how becoming a Christian involves experiencing an epiphany and being touched by the Holy Spirit, bringing converts out of a dark time of distress and hardship into a neverending future in which the light of the Lord suffuses one's life. Yet, this does not necessarily match lived experience, with Christians often ‘lapsing’ in and out of active engagement with institutional Christianity. The fact that Christians often lapse and relapse has long been a recognized issue, both for Christians themselves and for those who study Christianity. For Protestants, this has often meant lapsing out of a Christian identity altogether. In contrast, among Catholics, the idea of a ‘lapsed Catholic’ is common parlance to indicate someone who might have undergone ‘inner emigration’ and still considers themselves Catholic but no longer actively participates in institutional worship. Lapsing thus runs counter to common narratives—both popularly and analytically—which envision being a Christian as something necessarily permanent and lasting forever and presents an analytical angle via which to investigate the ebbs and flows of Christian lived experience and membership over time.

Thus, this Special Issue seeks to focus on the lived experience of lapsing and reconversion in contemporary Christianity (across denominations and branches)—wherein Christians may drift in and out of Christian membership, community, and engagement—from comparative, global perspectives. Lapsing disrupts analytical frameworks that implicitly rely on the image of the ‘earnest’ and exceptionally committed Christian who, being a Christian, is one for life; such narratives do not necessarily fit the lived experiences of Christians themselves, many of whom ebb and flow in their Christian faith, membership, and engagement over the course of their lives.

Thus, rather than treating Christianity as an ontology or self-contained theology, this Special Issue focuses on qualitative, ethnographically-grounded approaches that foreground lived experience and the often contradictory, complicated ways in which faith develops over time. This issue seeks to examine questions such as: What dynamic visions and experiences come from changing engagement with Christianity over the course of a lifetime? What are the shifting boundaries of membership and religious affiliation? How is ‘lapsing’ conceived of, narrated, and processed by Christians themselves? What can we learn about Christians and Christianity by examining the ‘lapsed’?

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, or to the Assistant Editor of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Jianbo Huang
Dr. Christine Lee
Prof. Dr. Carsten Vala
Guest Editors

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• Christianity
• religion
• lapsing
• membership