The Lived Experiences of Mothers Leaving the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: A Phenomenological Approach

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological qualitative study was to provide a holistic understanding of the lived experiences of mothers who leave the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). This study answered questions related to familial relationships, career and financial experiences, and overall mental health and well-being associated with leaving the FLDS Church. The theory guiding this study was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, as it related to understanding the complexities of leaving a high-demand religious group. There was a lack of academic literature available on this population, specifically FLDS mothers’ experiences leaving the cultural and religious group. A review of the literature included a history of the FLDS Church, polygamy, barriers in leaving, mental health concerns, and interventions. This study included the interviews of seven FLDS mothers who had left the religion in Southern Utah within the past 5–15 years. Data collection included interviews, document analysis, and cognitive representations. The data analysis process described and classified the data into emerging themes. Qualitative trustworthiness included high levels of credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the data findings: loss of connections; lack of education, basic skills, and resources; and fear and confusion in the outside world. The findings of this study included the shared emotionally difficult experiences of participants being separated from their families, extreme financial difficulties, lack of understanding of job-related skills outside of their high-control church, complicated therapeutic experiences after leaving the church, and confusion adapting to their lives outside of their high-control religious group. This current research can be utilized to add to the literature involving the experiences of mothers leaving high-control religions.