The Impossible Subject: Belonging as a Neurodivergent in Congregations

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Waldock, K. E. (2023). The Impossible Subject: Belonging as a Neurodivergent in Congregations. Journal of Disability & Religion, 27(4), 568-583. https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2249452

Publication date: 20 Aug 2023 Added to AutiHub: 7 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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  1. Krysia Emily Waldock *

Abstract

Neurodivergent people have been reported in academic literature to not always feel a sense of belonging within church congregations. Previous scholarship has highlighted that some neurodivergent people may be stigmatized and/or excluded within congregational settings. However little attention has been paid to how neurodivergent people belong within congregations, especially from a neurodivergent perspective. Using an autoethnographic methodology, I interrogate my own personal narrative of belonging within congregational spaces. I blended Goffman’s social stigma theory and Scambler’s theorization of social stigma to examine a neurodivergent experience within church congregations, and to explore the interface between being neurodivergent and feeling a sense of belonging in a church congregation. This autoethnography highlights how impression management (particularly passing and masking) are central to the feelings of belonging, and lack of belonging, I experienced. How church is “done” also appears to influence feelings of belonging, with norms in the churches mentioned in the narrative often shaped by normalcy.

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4 / 58 (6.9%)
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9 / 13 (69.2%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 9 / 73 (12.3%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 8 / 10 (80.0%).
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