Welcome to TakingNewPaths.org ...
home base of the anthology Taking New Paths: Stories of Leaving Religion. The thought provoking and deeply personal autobiographies shared in this book are intended for both those who are midstream in the often confusing and lonely process of re-evaluating the faith that they were raised in, and for members of the public who are sometimes puzzled with what drives those who leave, and are perhaps willing to understand them better.
Under 'Excerpts', you can find a quick overview of the book: the Dedication, Preface and Introduction, and the Table of Contents.
About
The 18 chapters in this book are the stories of 18 different "ordinary" people, none of them remotely famous. As you will find, they come from a wide variety of faith backgrounds, and different parts of the world.
I'm Doug Matheson, and I served as the collector and first editor of these chapters, most of them written autobiographically. Besides writing my own story, I also played a role in using extensive interviews to write two of the other stories. This project grew out of my recent graduate research in Social Anthropology, completed at Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2020.
Authors
The various pictures you see below do not include the majority of the authors, as many of them chose to use a pseudonym, guarding their anonymity.
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Reviews
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Taking New Paths is an essential read for anyone seeking to gain a balanced understanding of why people question religious belief. Drawn from a wide variety of faith experiences, this book documents the common experiences of those who find that long held "truths" may indeed not be grounded in fact. It provides insight into why someone would come to that conclusion. How does one cope with it? What replaces one's beliefs? Do they indeed need replacement? Taking New Paths begins answering those questions.
ISAAC CARMIGNANI
former Jehovah's Witness