Here's an interesting summary of a research study on clergy who have lost the faith, but continued to serve as clergy. I was a bit surprised that they described a similar process that is often described here -- that their faith is shaken when they learned that what they were taught growing up simply is not true. Here's an excerpt:
I guess I've never bothered to think about how the same process works in other denominations. Maybe there's a SEC message board somewhere where they argue about inoculation for southern baptists. In any case, I think it's an interesting read.
All had found, by quite similar paths, that their childhood education in the creeds they were supposed to preach was seriously incomplete. In seminary, they were introduced to the scholarship that investigates the sources of the books of the Bible, the winners and losers of the political contests over which texts to admit, the compromises, the errors, the distortions. They don’t teach you that in Sunday school. For some seminarians, particularly those in more liberal denominations, these studies are fascinating and only mildly upsetting; for those raised in literalist traditions, which teach that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, such revelations can be deeply disturbing. “Wes” put it vividly:
I went to college thinking Adam and Eve were real people. And I can remember really wrestling with that when my Old Testament professor was pointing out the obvious myths and how they came to be. And I kind of joked at the time that I prayed my way all the way to atheism. Because in the early days, it was wrestling with God, praying to God.
I went to college thinking Adam and Eve were real people. And I can remember really wrestling with that when my Old Testament professor was pointing out the obvious myths and how they came to be. And I kind of joked at the time that I prayed my way all the way to atheism. Because in the early days, it was wrestling with God, praying to God.