| Women of faith who divorce are very likely to turn for support to their community of faith. Generally, mental health providers who offer services to divorcing or divorced women are seldom knowledgeable about their relationships, whether positive or negative, with social institutions such as churches. This dissertation is the first phenomenological study to explore and describe the experiences of divorced women who consider themselves to be part of faith communities.;Participants responded to an invitation to complete an open-ended questionnaire on the Internet. They were asked to tell about their relationship with their faith community, to tell their divorce story, and to tell what it means to be a divorced woman in their faith community.;Findings indicate that women's beliefs and expectations about marriage, divorce and deity influenced the timing and process of making the decision to divorce. In addition, the process of the divorce decision led to unexpected changes in women's beliefs about themselves, their ex-spouses, their families, and their faith communities. Precipitants of divorce were also found to have an influence on the responses of the faith community, its leaders, and family members to the women's divorce decision. A change in the way divorced women of faith are perceived is proposed. Practices and interventions, with specific attention to therapies, which were identified by the respondents, along with specific suggestions for improvement, are discussed. |
