Leaving the Fold: The OU’s new study provides insight into attrition
The study aims to develop a more robust and wide-ranging understanding of the different ways and reasons people leave Orthodoxy.
Why Study Attrition?
When those raised Orthodox don’t stay Orthodox, it is seen—and indeed deeply felt—as a communal failure, as if one of the central functions of the community itself is broken.
Parenting on Different Pages
Parental religious misalignment—when a husband and wife have varying levels of observance and faith—is not exactly an unknown phenomenon in the Orthodox community.
When School and Family Don’t Match
The feeling of hypocrisy this engendered—and “secondary consequences” such as bullying from peers—eventually became a factor in their decision to leave the community.