> But for many (most?) people who grow up in the church this is not the case - if they left the church they'd be losing not only a huge part of their own identi

> But for many (most?) people who grow up in the church this is not the case - if they left the church they'd be losing not only a huge part of their own identity, but severing social ties and souring important life opportunities. Yeah, a huge reason why I didn't question church teachings earlier in life was fear of losing those social connections. I knew that to a huge percentage of my deeper social network, leaving the church would mean becoming one of the lost, the fallen, the apostate. And the church is very good at getting you to police your own thoughts, especially if you're a people pleaser on some level.