Greg Smith's Definition of "NOM."
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:20 pm
From the "John Dehlin hit piece" now online thanks to one of our own illustrious (infamous?) provocateurs:
New Order Mormons (NOM)— a loose designation that parallels what some have called “cultural Mormons,”—maintain familial, social, or cultural ties to the Church while rejecting many of its core tenets. (Many who fit this
definition would also not self-identify as NOM.) Some former members go even further, and become ex-Mormons. One student at Yale Divinity School noted that “an entire ex-Mormon movement has emerged in the past several years…. Ex-Mormonism, as it were, has long-existed as a subset of a larger, and largely Evangelical counter-cult movement. This latest ex-Mormon iteration, however, is characterized by its mostly secular focus.”
An excellent elucidation and definition of the key features, in outline, of the movement. Smith continues with a breakdown of definable subgroups among the broader movement:
1) peripheral members—those who retain some nominal membership. Such members still consider themselves part of the faith and are so regarded by their co-religionists, but they are not full participants in the life of their faith community (e.g., “less-active” members);
2) marginal members—those with profound disagreements with or alienation from at least part
of their religion, though “they are also likely to believe that their movement—its beliefs, practices, or members—still has something to offer”;
3) defectors—those who leave their faith relatively quietly, often in cooperation with religious authorities;
4) whistleblowers—those who, motivated by personal conscience, denounce specific wrongs in their former religion; and
5) apostates—those who associate with an “oppositional coalition” arrayed against their former faith.
What might be the clear differences - and interconnections/overlap...between these categories?
New Order Mormons (NOM)— a loose designation that parallels what some have called “cultural Mormons,”—maintain familial, social, or cultural ties to the Church while rejecting many of its core tenets. (Many who fit this
definition would also not self-identify as NOM.) Some former members go even further, and become ex-Mormons. One student at Yale Divinity School noted that “an entire ex-Mormon movement has emerged in the past several years…. Ex-Mormonism, as it were, has long-existed as a subset of a larger, and largely Evangelical counter-cult movement. This latest ex-Mormon iteration, however, is characterized by its mostly secular focus.”
An excellent elucidation and definition of the key features, in outline, of the movement. Smith continues with a breakdown of definable subgroups among the broader movement:
1) peripheral members—those who retain some nominal membership. Such members still consider themselves part of the faith and are so regarded by their co-religionists, but they are not full participants in the life of their faith community (e.g., “less-active” members);
2) marginal members—those with profound disagreements with or alienation from at least part
of their religion, though “they are also likely to believe that their movement—its beliefs, practices, or members—still has something to offer”;
3) defectors—those who leave their faith relatively quietly, often in cooperation with religious authorities;
4) whistleblowers—those who, motivated by personal conscience, denounce specific wrongs in their former religion; and
5) apostates—those who associate with an “oppositional coalition” arrayed against their former faith.
What might be the clear differences - and interconnections/overlap...between these categories?