In or out.

One thing that has long been curious to me, is why do some people, when learning about the troubling elements from Church history leave immediately, while others stay around a long time before eventually leaving(or even not leaving). I myself spent at least two to three years having serious doubts about The Church, trying to reconcile the difficult things I was continually learning about the church with the aspects I loved and believed. (similar to several people I know) Whereas other people I've known leave the Church almost immediately after learning of it's uncomfortable past. Both groups seem to have been equally devoted to the Church before their doubting, and frequently I have wondered, what is it that separates these two approaches. (aside from the fact that some people who leave quickly were just looking for a reason to not believe. I'm sure that happens, but among people I know it seems less common.)

Today, something finally dawned on me. People who leave the Church quickly tend to have a more 'things are either this way or that way' sort of approach to life. When applied to the Church they would take the approach that either the Church is totally true, or it isn't true at all. In thinking of the people I know who left the Church quickly, this seems to characterize their approach to many issues.

I do not mean to attach any judgment to this. While I personally tend towards not being that way, I think it can have some benefits. For example, I think my life would have been simpler if I was able to have quickly left the Church.

I don't think this is the only factor separating these two groups of people, but it seems like a significant one.

I think the way a person's parents approached religion can be a factor. Children of parents who took a more restrictive approach to religion will often feel a bigger backlash and resentment if they learn things which don't support the traditional restrictive views they were raised with. If a person is raised to think their Church is ABC and anything outside of that is wrong, will have a difficult time when learning their Church also includes DEFGHIJKLMN. Whereas a person who was raised believing their church is ABCDEFGHIJ, probably won't have as hard a time when they learn it also includes KLMNOPQRSTUV.
But this again goes back to 'things are this way or that way' sort of thinking. Perhaps they view the world in those terms because that is how it was presented to them by their parents. Or they inherited that approach to things genetically from their parents.