Handbook of Leaving Religion ed. by Daniel Enstedt, Göran Larsson and Teemu T. Mantsinen (review)

The Handbook of Leaving Religion presents and expands contemporary scholarship on religious disaffiliation and deconversion. Its twenty-seven chapters emphasize a processual stance that probes a plethora of causes, means, and ramifications of leave-taking. Situating apostasy within a climate of religious change rather than decline and demonstrating Michael Stausberg's observation that "leaving religion … is not the same as leaving a religion," the handbook depicts the latter as well as the former (99). While brevity and standardization constrict some chapters, the breadth of religions covered catalyzes new possibilities in the field.

Part One, covering historical and major debates, delineates the major religious traditions represented in the book. Following the editors' admission that "there is a fair amount of research on the questions of apostasy and heresy in Islamic and Christian traditions," this part enlarges the field with chapters scrutinizing "ancient times," Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism (7). Throughout the text, contributors structure their remarks using standardized sets of section headings meant to produce "a userfriendly and easy reference tool" (7). Although this standardization ensures treatment of key areas and organizes chapters clearly, the chosen categories vary in their directness of interrogating leave-taking in each religion. For instance, Lena Roos' "Key Terms" section explores a spectrum of seven terms labeling those who have left Judaism. Monica Lindberg Falk's claim that "Buddhism has not developed a concept of apostasy" is borne out, however, by her "Key Terms" section, which lacks any words specifically describing leave-taking (28). While this dearth of key terms matches Falk's argument, the discrepancies highlighted by such standardization create the impression that some religions are better suited to the volume's structure than others.

The case studies in Part Two offer analyses of contemporary apostasy primarily based on original fieldwork. While religious disaffiliation in antiquity is understandably absent, at least one chapter devoted to each religion from Part One appears. Additionally, Part Two introduces chapters on "Leaving New Religions" and "Non-Religion and Atheism" to offset the focus on world religions. In all cases the contributors draw insightful conclusions, and synergy between the two parts counterbalances the brevity of individual chapters. For example, Clemens Cavallin's comments on nationalism, social status, and religion in "Leaving Hinduism" provide a concise backdrop for Michael Stausberg's case study of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar's shift from Hinduism to Buddhism (13). Stausberg's study, conversely, extends Cavallin's discussion of leaving Hinduism for reasons of caste. In some cases, however, the brevity of chapters forces contributors to choose between overt interaction with data and developing analytical conclusions. Masoumeh Rahmani's "Leaving Vipassana Meditation" prominently quotes interviewees' stories, while Teemu T. Mantsinen's formidable set of typologies classifying ex-Pentecostals leaves little room for direct references to data sources.

Part Three, theoretical and methodological approaches, situates methods deployed in earlier chapters in broader research traditions, coupling succinct introductions to each approach's history, benefits, and execution with robust reference lists. Conveniently, critiques of previous studies of apostasy found in Part Three highlight the handbook's strengths and weaknesses. Ryan Szpiech's chapter on historical methodologies laments "a hierarchy of values" in scholarship that casts deconversion "as negative and deviant" (256). He suggests that "overcoming the persistence of such assumptions is an important challenge for contemporary studies of entering or leaving religion," and the handbook admirably meets this challenge (256).

Other authors highlight the volume's lingering focus on Christianity and "the West." Daniel Enstedt's chapter on sociological approaches selfreflectively critiques "the lack of research on Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Sikhism, and Jainism … evident in this handbook and elsewhere" (302). Despite including chapters on Hinduism and Buddhism, the handbook covers Christianity most frequently. Lily Kong and Orlando Woods' chapter on demographic and geographic methods encourages future studies to look "beyond the United States and, more generally, the West" (273). The volume approaches this future with studies of India, Myanmar...