Beyond Betrayal

Rare is the person who is not aware of the priestly sex abuse crisis within the Catholic Church. Catholics themselves have responded to these revelations through a frame of exit, voice or loyalty. Exit is usually quiet, with Catholics opting out of Mass attendance or no longer claiming a Catholic identity. Loyalty is a bit louder, as laity and clergy together implement programs that better safeguard minors, propose new guidelines within seminary admittance and formation, or minister to the reactions of grief or anger harbored by those in the pews. Media outlets may cover these, either favorably or unfavorably, but loyalty, too, is relatively quiet. Voice, however, is loud. Those who exercise voice remain within the institution, and this choice often entails the upheaval of systems of meaning, personal and interpersonal struggle, and institutional pushback. Patricia Ewick and the late Marc Steinberg call those who seek change while remaining inside that institution “challengers within,” and provide a thoughtful analysis of the ongoing challenges these groups face related to strategies, goals and—most importantly for their purposes—collective identity. Beyond Betrayal is based upon 10 years of qualitative research on a single affiliate of Voice of the Faithful—an organization of Catholics who advocate for victims, clergy who were not a part of the scandal and coverup, and structural reform of the Catholic Church. Going in deep and for the long-haul with a small set of actors, the authors examine how social movements “work” at the level of the individual and what role collective identity plays in the endurance of the group.

Aesthetics · Art · Betrayal · Collective identity · Criminology · Identity (music) · Identity crisis · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Law · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Psychology

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  Open Access•Lucas S Sharma•Review of Religious Research•2024

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