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deconversion

n.

1. loss of one’s faith in a religion, as in a Catholic of many years who becomes an atheist or agnostic. Research has shown that the bond between religious leaders and their followers is particularly significant in determining the strength of religious affiliation; thus, the severing of that bond is the most common cause of deconversion. Compare conversion.

2. less commonly, regression from a more complex belief system to a simpler one.

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Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

mental chemistry

mental chemistry

a concept proposed by John Stuart Mill as an alternative to the mental mechanics described by his father, James Mill. The concept is modeled on a common phenomenon in physical chemistry, in which two chemical substances combine to form a compound with properties not present in either of the components. Similarly, Mill held that compound ideas were not merely combinations of simpler ideas but that they possessed other qualities not present in any of the constituent ideas. Thus, such an idea could be an essentially new one. See associationism; association of ideas.