How to Recover from Cult Programming Used in Authoritarian Religions
If you were indoctrinated into an authoritarian religious group—often referred to as a religious cult or high-control religion—chances are high you've experienced what cult experts call "programming."
These terms—authoritarian religion, high-control religion, and religious cult—can be used interchangeably because they all share a common thread: using religious doctrine to coerce and control the lives of their members.
And one of their primary tools for achieving this control is through programming.
{If you wonder whether the religious community you were in qualifies as a “high control religion” or religious cult, check out this article: What is a High Control Religion?}
Programming plays a key role in the way these groups maintain their influence.
For anyone who's deconverting from such a group, understanding how programming works is an important part of the recovery process.
This is because deconversion often requires a deliberate process of deprogramming, which allows you to reclaim your thoughts, beliefs, and autonomy.
What is Programming?
Programming is a systematic process used to influence a person's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, often to the point where they are no longer fully in control of their own mind.
It’s essentially another way of saying “mind control.”
Through programming, someone's capacity for critical thinking and personal autonomy is eroded, making them more vulnerable to manipulation by an external authority—whether it be a person, group, or religious system.
In the context of authoritarian religious groups, programming is an integral part of religious indoctrination, where people are systematically instilled with the group's beliefs and behaviors.
Once someone is programmed, they may believe they’re making their own decisions, but in reality, their thoughts and actions are heavily influenced by the group's agenda.
This process often goes unnoticed by those being programmed, as it is typically subtle, repetitive, and reinforced over time — especially in the case of children born into these groups.
Essentially, programming is a tool used by authoritarian groups to unduly influence their members.
The term "undue influence" refers to influence that is so overpowering, it undermines a person's ability to make independent choices.
This influence can be exerted through the manipulation of beliefs, emotions, or social ties, all of which are common in religious programming.
{For more information about this, I recommend you read Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan}.
Clarifying Common Religious Cult Terminology
While programming, religious indoctrination, and religious trauma often overlap, it's essential to recognize that they are distinct concepts.
However, each of these terms is often relevant to folks who were part of an authoritarian religious group.
Religious Indoctrination
Religious indoctrination generally involves the structured teaching of specific doctrines or beliefs without encouraging critical analysis or questioning.
It often uses repetition, authority, and isolation from diverse viewpoints, inhibiting individual thought and self-exploration.
Religious indoctrination is a gradual, long-term process designed to ensure that you accept the group's teachings as absolute truth.
Religious Programming
Religious programming takes indoctrination one step further by creating automatic behaviors, thinking patterns and even emotions in response to certain stimuli or triggers.
Essentially, it’s the systematic process of bringing you under mind control, influencing how you think, feel, and behave.
An example of programming that’s common in many religious cults is the practice of thought stopping techniques to handle any external views that challenge their indoctrinated beliefs.
Thought-stopping might look like having specific Bible verses or prayers that can be brought to mind when confronted by "the enemy."
Here are some common thought-stopping verses:
Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Romans 12:2: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
1 Corinthians 2:14: The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
Religious Trauma
Religious trauma, on the other hand, is the psychological and emotional impact that often occurs during the programming process.
This trauma often arises from experiences that overwhelm the nervous system—such as fear-based teachings, public shaming, or other types of consequences for moral or spiritual failings.
It is also often interwoven with the childhood trauma of people who experienced “Biblical discipline.”
While indoctrination creates the environment for trauma, the trauma itself typically results from specific experiences within the group (or religious family) that feel psychologically overwhelming.
Not everyone who experiences indoctrination will develop religious trauma, but it’s pretty rare to escape religious indoctrination without experiencing some degree of religious trauma as well.
Terminology Overview
- Religious indoctrination is the overarching process of embedding a set of beliefs of specific ideology.
- Religious programming is the set of techniques used to achieve indoctrination, influencing a person's mind and behavior to fit the group's ideology (e.g. thought stopping techniques).
- Religious trauma is the emotional and psychological harm that results from the use of religious programming techniques.
Evidence of Programming in Religious Cults
At its core, religious programming is about control—control over how you see the world, how you perceive others, and most importantly, how you see yourself.
Programming often operates covertly, making it difficult to recognize while you're in the thick of it.
Below are some common tactics authoritarian religious groups use to influence their members
Isolation from Outside Influences
One of the first signs of programming is isolation.
These groups discourage relationships or exposure to information that doesn't align with their beliefs.
You might be warned against consuming media, attending events, or interacting with people considered "unbelievers."
This reinforces a groupthink mentality where only the beliefs and narratives of the group are accepted, creating a tightly sealed echo chamber.
The Use of Fear & Guilt
Another hallmark of programming is the use of fear and guilt to keep you in line.
These emotions are effective tools to suppress questions or critical thinking.
The group may promote an "us vs. them" mentality, suggesting that leaving or even questioning the group will result in divine punishment, backsliding or being cut-off from friends and family.
Phobia indoctrination is one of the most common ways religious cults use fear to control behavior.
To learn more about this tactic, check out: What You Need to Know About Phobia Indoctrination & Religious Cults
A Rigid Belief System
Programming thrives on rigid, black-and-white thinking.
The group's doctrines are presented as absolute truths, leaving no room for personal interpretation, doubt, or growth.
When you're programmed to view the world in such rigid terms, you lose the ability to explore different perspectives or trust your own judgment.
Suppression of Individuality
To further solidify control, members are encouraged to suppress their individuality.
This means setting aside your own needs, desires, and even personality to serve the group's agenda.
Over time, this suppression leads to a deep sense of loss—loss of autonomy, personal identity, and self-worth.
The Science Behind Religious Programming
To fully understand programming, it's essential to explore how authoritarian religious groups use behavioral and psychological conditioning to control their members.
Conditioning Methods
Most high-control groups use a combination of classical conditioning and operant conditioning to create compliance.
These tactics are based on well-established psychological principles, rooted in the work of B.F. Skinner and Ivan Pavlov, both pioneers in the field of behaviorism.
Religious cults have found ways to manipulate these natural human responses in order to condition obedience and dependency, often using a combination of the two conditioning methods listed below.
Classical Conditioning:
This form of learning pairs a neutral stimulus (like a ritual or group chant) with an emotional response (like fear or guilt).
Over time, you begin to feel fear or guilt even when merely thinking about the possibility of disobeying the group's rules, without needing an external trigger.
Operant Conditioning:
This method involves rewards and punishments.
Positive reinforcement (like praise or increased status in the group) is used to encourage desired behaviors, while punishment (such as shaming, isolation, or threats of damnation) is used to discourage independent thinking or questioning.
Reconciling Cognitive Dissonance
Another key element of group conditioning is cognitive dissonance, a psychological state where you experience discomfort due to holding two conflicting beliefs simultaneously.
Instead of allowing curiosity to develop around this disconnect, religious cults expect you to shut it down through thought stopping techniques (mentioned above) or some form a spiritual bypassing (e.g. turning it over to god).
For instance, if you were to encounter external information that contradicts the group's teachings, you’d likely experience cognitive dissonance.
However, rather than getting curious about this alternate point of view, you’d be expected to reject the new information as “worldly” or “sinful.”
The Impact on Your Brain
Neuroscientific research into mind control shows that long-term exposure to these conditioning methods can actually alter brain function.
Here’s how it works…
Repeated exposure to fear-inducing messages—whether about eternal punishment or relational rejection—activates the amygdala, the brain's fear center, which can cause people to remain in a heightened state of fear and compliance.
Chronic activation of the amygdala can eventually impair the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for critical thinking and decision-making.
This physiological impact explains why many people who leave authoritarian groups feel overwhelmed by anxiety, indecision, and self-doubt even years after their departure.
Programming During Childhood
For those raised in an authoritarian religious group, programming often begins at an early age.
Parents, often acting out of their own religious indoctrination, become agents of the group's programming, passing on the very tactics used to control them to their children.
Parental Programming of Children
Here’s the thing, parents in authoritarian religious groups usually believe they are protecting their children by indoctrinating them with the same beliefs and values they themselves are indoctrinated with.
However, this particular protective instinct can stifle their children’s emotional development and autonomy.
Many even use "biblical discipline"—another term for authoritarian parenting techniques rooted in control and punishment, often justified by specific scriptural interpretations (where are my James Dobson and Bill Gothard families?).
Children raised in this way are typically taught to:
- Memorize religious stories and verses, not as tools for understanding but as rules for living.
Bible verse memorization becomes a method for embedding the group's ideology into a child's subconscious, often reinforcing fear of divine punishment for disobedience.
- Avoid "worldly" influences, which might include anything from secular music to friendships with non-believers, fostering
isolation from broader perspectives or experiences.
- Accept their parents' interpretations of scripture and follow their guidance without question, as critical thinking is discouraged in favor of blind obedience.
While these parents may genuinely believe they’re protecting their children from eternal damnation, the reality is that this type of upbringing often leads to deep emotional wounds because nurture, connection and development is supplanted in favor of obedience, compliance and conformity.
The Long-Term Impact of Childhood Programming
This kind of systematic programming in childhood creates a perfect storm for attachment wounds and long-lasting emotional trauma.
Many people in this situation may recognize the following impacts:
Guilt and Shame:
Children raised in authoritarian religious settings are taught to equate their mistakes or doubts with moral failure.
These feelings can grow into a pervasive sense of shame, where they believe something is inherently wrong with them for not measuring up to the group's impossible standards.
Self-Doubt:
When children are taught that only the group's teachings are correct, they lose the ability to trust their own thoughts, desires, and instincts.
This leads to chronic self-doubt in adulthood, where they constantly second-guess their decisions and feel insecure about their ability to think for themselves.
Emotional Suppression:
In many authoritarian religious groups, emotions are seen as dangerous or sinful, especially feelings like anger, sadness, or doubt.
Parents may discourage their children from expressing these emotions, resulting in a lifelong tendency to suppress their feelings and struggle with emotional regulation later on.
Attachment Wounds:
The dynamic between authoritarian parenting and religious indoctrination often leaves deep attachment wounds.
These children may grow up feeling emotionally disconnected from their parents, who prioritized obedience and compliance over genuine emotional connection.
As adults, this often manifests as difficulty trusting others, fear of abandonment, or challenges in forming secure, healthy relationships.
For many who were raised in an authoritarian religion and/or authoritarian family, the work of deprogramming begins by unraveling not just the group's teachings but also the deeply embedded messages learned in childhood about love, worth, and belonging.
The Process of Deprogramming
Now that we've examined how high-control groups use psychological manipulation to influence their members, let's take a look at the process of deprogramming and reclaiming your autonomy.
1. Recognize Cognitive Dissonance
One of the first steps to deprogramming is learning to identify cognitive dissonance when it arises.
For example, when you feel discomfort over a new idea that challenges the old group's teachings, acknowledge that this discomfort is part of the deprogramming process.
The goal is not to eliminate cognitive dissonance but to work through it without returning to rigid, programmed beliefs.
When these moments of dissonance occur, try to:
- Pause and observe your reaction without judgment.
- Identify the conflicting beliefs: What's the old belief? What's the new information challenging it?
- Evaluate both: Are the old beliefs really serving you? What makes the new information feel threatening?
2. Rewire Your Brain Through Mindful Practices
Given how authoritarian conditioning can impact brain function, part of deprogramming involves rewiring your brain.
Mindfulness and meditation are excellent tools for calming the overactive fear response and strengthening the prefrontal cortex.
Regular mindfulness practice has been shown to:
- Reduce the amygdala's reactivity to fear and stress.
- Enhance decision-making and critical thinking by boosting prefrontal cortex activity.
By integrating mindful breathing, meditation, or body awareness practices into your routine, you can start to undo the neural pathways associated with fear-based programming.
3. Reclaim Your Agency with Small Acts of Independence
One of the most damaging effects of programming is the loss of agency—the belief that you don't have the ability to make decisions for yourself.
An essential part of deprogramming is rebuilding this sense of agency.
Start by making small decisions on your own:
- Choose a new book to read based solely on your interest.
- Make a small purchase without seeking external approval.
- Experiment with making decisions that prioritize your values, rather than the group's.
As you make these small choices, you'll gradually rebuild your confidence in your ability to guide your own life.
4. Engage in Critical Thinking Exercises
Critical thinking is often one of the first things to go when you're being programmed, but it's a skill that can be relearned.
As part of your deprogramming, engage in critical thinking exercises:
- Debate with yourself: Take a belief you've held for a long time and argue against it. Can you present a rational, logical case for a different perspective?
- Research opposing viewpoints: Deliberately seek out books, articles, or videos that offer differing perspectives from your old belief system. The more you expose yourself to diverse ideas, the stronger your critical thinking skills become.
5. Seek Professional Support
Given the depth of conditioning used by authoritarian religious groups, it's important to seek out professional support.
A therapist who understands cult dynamics can help you:
- Process the emotional aftermath of leaving the group.
- Identify lingering patterns of programmed thinking.
- Reconnect with your authentic self outside the group's influence.
The reason it’s important to understand the difference between religious trauma and cult programming is because traditional “trauma work” doesn’t typically get at the mind control component of religious indoctrination.
If you’ve been working with a trauma therapist, but you feel like you’ve stalled in your recovery process, working with someone trained to treat cult survivors might be an important next step.
Final Thoughts
Healing from religious programming takes time, but it's a journey worth taking.
I know because… well, I’ve been there!
But remember, each step forward, no matter how small, is a win as you reclaim your autonomy and rediscover who you truly are.
As you move through this process, you might feel a mix of emotions - fear, uncertainty, excitement, and freedom.
Remember, there's no single "right" way to heal.
This journey is yours alone.
Be kind to yourself, celebrate your progress, and don't be afraid to lean on supportive friends, family, or professionals when you need to.
What To Do Next:
We covered quite a bit of information in this article. If you’re wondering what to do next, consider the following…
Join the Group:
One thing I would definitely encourage you to do is to check out my private Facebook group for folks recovering from religious harm and spiritual abuse:
Learn More About Me:
Stay Connected!
Most importantly you’ll want to make sure you’re on my email list.
Each week I send out a topical email related to religious indoctrination and religious harm recovery.
Use the form below to sign up!
Content Disclaimer:
This blog post shares insights from my clinical experience & professional education in exploring key topics related to religious harm recovery. However, it is not intended as academic writing or formal research. For more information, please see the full disclaimer.
Read more about coercive control:
