Are We Too Quick to Cut People Off? Noelle Mering Weighs In | Fr. Gregory Pine

August 21, 2026

When Did Cutting Off Your Family Become Normal?

Why are more people choosing to go “no contact” with parents, siblings, friends, and other loved ones? And what does the growing phenomenon of family estrangement tell us about modern relationships?

In this episode of Guestsplaining, Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., welcomes Ethics and Public Policy Center Fellow and author Noelle Mering for a conversation about the cultural forces making our relationships increasingly fragile. Drawing from her research for her forthcoming book No Contact, Mering explores the influence of social media, therapeutic language, ideology, and radical autonomy on the way we understand family, obligation, conflict, and identity.

The conversation examines how the language of “toxic” and “traumatic” relationships can shape our response to ordinary interpersonal friction, and how the ability to block, mute, unfollow, and curate our online lives may be affecting the way we approach embodied relationships.

Fr. Gregory and Noelle also discuss political polarization, the loss of our ability to disagree without feeling threatened, the search for meaning among younger generations, and the role Christianity can play in rebuilding stronger relationships.

Ultimately, the episode asks a deeper question: What does it mean to love people we did not choose, especially when loving them requires perseverance, sacrifice, forgiveness, and navigating disagreement?

Pre-order No Contact by Noelle Mering here.
Check out her book Awake, Not Woke here.
Follow her work with Theology of Home here.