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Rating: 
Summary: Establishes a basis for studying deconversion experiences
Review: I believe this book lays the foundation for the study of the deconversion phenomenon. The authors clearly establish their criteria for candidate selection as well as the type of relevant data to collect. Their data collection methodolgy follows the scientific process. However, I believe the conclusions were simplistic and somewhat "rushed". I do not feel that the book adequately established a cause-effect using the data. However, I do think this book is a valuable resource as a starting point for other social scientists who wish to examine the phenomenon further
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow and Disappointing
Review: My expectations for this book were to find stories of people who either became religious after many yrs of atheism or vice versa. What you will find, however, is a study done on college age students who have found religion (no matter how superficially) or left it behind. I thought the work done by the authors was very shallow as to their presentation on why someone might take upon themselves a belief system foreign to them. There are no Muslim converts, Mormon or any "exotic" groups, only Protestant Christians. The subjects are pretty young, so there is no way of telling how deeply their newfound beliefs or freethinking will go in the future.
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Summary: Professional Research, not 'Religion for Dummys'
Review: The Independent Publisher and Jennifer Smith both appear to have little information about Altemeyer and Hunsberger's backgrounds as research psychologists, or with the research that they are doing. The purpose of this book is not entertain the reader with gripping tales of religious turmoil. It is to examine the process in the subject pool that they have available to them - Canadian college students. Within this pool, they have conducted scientific research for over 30 years, with tens of thousands of college students and adults. Their research findings have been replicated across the globe (including South Africa, Israel, and the former USSR) with faiths including Christians, Hindus, Jews and Muslims.That the 'Publisher' feels that religion is 'not susceptible to a statistical survey approach' demonstrates their lack of familiarity with the field of religious research in general and with the work of both authors in particular. I suggest that they consult a research library and learn something about the field before making such sweeping pronouncements. Those who don't have a serious interest in research on religion should steer clear of this book. Those who do will enjoy it and their other books and research.
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