First Advisor

Dr. Tyler Cornelius

Date of Award

Spring 6-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Psychology and University Honors

Department

Psychology

Language

English

Subjects

Disorientation, queer, high-cost religion, epistemic injustice, double ontological shock, autoethnography

Abstract

This thesis examines disorientation experienced by queer people who were raised in high-cost fundamentalist Christianity–people like me. Disorientation is a philosophical concept useful for examining specific intersections of human experience, like queerness and fundamentalism. Philosophers such as Sara Ahmed (2006) and Ami Harbin (2016) have been exploring the intersection of queerness and disorientation. Psychologists, sociologists and researchers from other disciplines are analyzing the interrelatedness of queerness and religion (Buchanan et al., 2001; Lalich & McLaren, 2010;), and disaffiliation and deconversion from high-cost or high-control religions is another ongoing area of interest (Scheitle & Adamczyk, 2010; Bjorkmark et al., 2022; Pentaris et al., 2025). Yet, despite widespread interest in these concepts, few have looked at instances of disorientation as they pertain specifically to queer subjects raised in high-cost fundamentalist Christianity. An opportunity exists to push beyond where other disciplines have stopped, examining when and where experiences of disorientation might texture and accompany other existential experiences for these specific subjects. Toward this end, this thesis synthesizes a number of interdisciplinary ideas, interweaving philosophy, psychology, queer theory, sociology and more. I explore disorientation within and across disciplines; describe its ongoing and fluid nature; and identify its utility for understanding complex human experiences. I use autoethnography, a contextually valuable research technique, to connect my personal experiences to the theoretical concepts featured and described.

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