How A Pentecostal Preacher Became A Non-Believer


Pastors, priests and other religious leaders who publicly share their deconvertion stories are relatively rare. The few high profile stories of prominent religious leaders losing faith are only the tip of the iceberg.


Many professional clergymen who lost their faith are still in the closet for many reasons. Aside from financial security, ostracization from friends and relatives is a much worse penalty for leaving the ministry.

Image screen grab from YouTube.
Image screen grab from YouTube.

A lot of meaningful relationships and social connections are at stake for preachers and professional clergymen who are contemplating publicly announcing their non-belief. For many religious leaders-turned-atheists, it is the prospect of social death that is scarier than the proverbial spiritual death.

For many professional clergymen-turned-atheists, it is a choice between a self-deception and losing the social prestige that is attached to their position. For those who rely solely on their ministry for their bread and butter, leaving the church becomes more difficult.

Even for those who decide to come out of the closet, the transition from religious life to purely secular one is a difficult process. Thankfully, there are some organizations like the Clergy Project that provide socio-psychological support and economic support for former clergymen who cannot live a life of lies anymore.

Jerry DeWitt is one of those former professional clergymen who encountered doubts, not only about the specific doctrines of his sect, but about the existence of God and ultimately the nature of reality itself as described by religious doctrines.


DeWitt is a former Pentecostal minister who was a minister of two evangelical churches. He publicly renounced his faith in 2011 and later became executive director of Recovering From Religion, a non-profit organization that provides support to those who have left or are in the process of leaving their respective religious congregations.

DeWitt is now an author and a public speaker. His new book is called, Faith: An Ex-Pastor’s Journey from Belief to Atheism. He is the first member of the Clergy Project who dropped anonymity and openly declared his atheism.

According to him his doubts started when he thought deeply about the concept of hell:

“The catalyst was an investigation into the idea of Hell and Eternal Punishment. I grew up with an awareness of the Hell concept and even prayed for forgiveness before falling asleep most nights of my childhood, but it wasn’t until it became my responsibility to teach this doctrine that I began to be troubled by it. Is it justifiable for a person to be painfully punished eternally for 70 years of sinful behavior? Something wasn’t adding up.”

You can read the complete transcript of DeWitt’s interview with Greta Christina here. In this interview, the former pastor detailed his difficult journey and personal insights about non-belief, skepticism and secularism.

You may also watch below the video of his speech at the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xYLKh3cdCI

 

Featured image screengrab from YouTube.

Homar has been a writer and editor for both print and online publications for more than fifteen years. He also worked for a scientific research institution and for a book publishing house. He currently works as a home-based freelance online writer and copy editor. He is active in various local civic organizations and regularly contributes as a columnist in regional newspapers in the Bicol Region, Philippines.