Testimonies or Mediated Representations : Narratives of Leaving Lev Tahor

Lev Tahor is a small ultra-Orthodox Jewish group consisting of approximately 200-300 members. The group is distinguished by its strict religious practices and high level of isolation – factors that have likely contributed to its invisibility in academic research. Based on a material consisting of stories from former members published on YouTube and in news media this thesis examines narratives of leaving the group and creating a new life outside the community. Through medialization theory the thesis investigates how the narratives of the defectors are shaped by media’s conceptions and discourses of religion and closed religious groups, as well as how the narratives can contribute to shaping these. The results show that individuals report that they choose to leave Lev Tahor due to indignation with the practices and lifestyle of the group and contact with outsiders. In their accounts of life after Lev Tahor, narrators mainly emphasize difficulties such as emotional, social, and practical challenges. The results also show that in the narratives there is an emphasize on simple, sensational and emotionally engaging aspects of leaving Lev Tahor. Furthermore, the narratives are characterized by a negative tone created through criticism and negatively charged concepts. The narratives have been observed to relate to a media logic that gives space to dramatic and easily understandable narratives as well as a “sensational discourse” that impacts how new religious groups are portrayed in media. Finally, the narratives have been found to relate to a rhetoric of how defectors discuss leaving a religious group in media as well as structures in the environment they have left behind. The material has therefore been found to reflect the defectors’ personal experiences, structures in their previous environment, media logics and discourses as well as societal conceptions of religion and closed religious groups. Through these multiple points of connection, the material has been found to not only convey and legitimize the experiences of the defectors for different audiences, but also to possibly reinforce, legitimize and communicate established discourses and understandings of religion, closed religious groups and Lev Tahor.