Coercive Control Articles
Religious Cults, Mind Control & Authoritarianism
How Loyalty to a Narcissistic God Damages Mental Health
It’s common knowledge that narcissists can take a real toll on the mental health of those they’re close to, but have you considered that perhaps the god you once served was a narcissist?
Understanding Religious Cult Programming + How to Recover
This article provides a detailed overview of how religious cults use programming techniques to control their members, and it also breaks down some effective strategies for deprogramming and recovery.
7 Subtle Signs of Spiritual Abuse
When I first began to deconstruct my faith, I struggled to make sense of my experiences. I struggled because nothing in my religious past seemed to fit the conventional idea of trauma or abuse. I hadn’t been physically or verbally assaulted by a religious leader, and there really weren’t any dramatic moments of obvious manipulation…
Spotting Religious Narcissism + How to Protect Yourself
We see a lot of narcissism in high control religions. But narcissism in these settings is not always easy to detect because of the ways these religious groups actually tend to foster narcissistic traits in people. Not only this, but high control religions will sometimes even frame narcissistic traits as positives — especially in the…
Why Religious Cults Need to Manipulate Your Emotions
Religious cults, or high-control religions, use various tactics to manipulate and control nearly every aspect of their members’ lives. One of the most damaging forms of manipulation is emotion control. Emotion control isn’t unique to religious cults but is commonly used by authoritarian groups to maintain power over members. It often causes long-term harm, showing…
What You Need to Know About Phobia Indoctrination & Religious Cults
Phobia indoctrination is a tactic most commonly used by cults to convert and control followers. But did you know that high control religions also use phobia indoctrination with a similar intent — to convert people to their brand of religion and to then control them using fear-based tactics? Recognizing how these tactics are being used by certain…
What is a High Control Religion?
I first learned about the term “high control religion” from Dr. Laura Anderson who wrote When Religion Hurts You (highly recommend). Having this terminology helps us identify religious communities that are based on power and control dynamics, which often result in negative relational, psychological, physical and/or financial outcomes for folks. As we unpack the term high…
How High Control Religions Make Women Vulnerable to Abuse
Those of us who have experienced high control, authoritarian religions intuitively know that this type of religion makes women more vulnerable to abusive relationships. It’s a vulnerability I have experienced both personally and have encountered numerous times professionally. When you’re raised in a high control religion, or even indoctrinated into a high control religion as…
4 Reasons Religious Cults & Conspiracy Theories Go Hand in Hand
Someone recently asked me this question – “Why are religious people so prone to conspiracy theories?” It’s an excellent question. And it’s definitely a scary trend I’ve been noticing myself since coming out of the fog of my own religious indoctrination experience. I’m going to give you the short answer, and then we’ll unpack it…