Experiences of leaving “high-cost” religious groups and the concept of the “biographical trajectory”: relevance for social work.

In this article, we make the case for the theoretical and practical usage of the concept of the “biographical trajectory” (Riemann & Schütze, 1991, p. 342; Schütze, 1999) in social work practice with people who have left “high-cost” religious groups. We illustrate this through our analysis of the life stories and biographical trajectories of three individuals who have disaffiliated from either the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. We discuss how their biographical trajectory developed during the time they were members of their specific religious group, and how they are addressing it through their disaffiliation. Implications for social work practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]