The Religious Harm Recovery Resource Library
Educational content written specifically for people recovering from religious indoctrination
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Most Recent Articles
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The Trauma of Growing Up as a Black Sheep in a Religious Family
This article is for all the children who were labeled “black sheep” because of the inability to conform to the demands of their high-control religious upbringing. This article explores how receiving this label in childhood impacts identity, relationships, and mental health.
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How to Tell if You Have High-Functioning Religious Trauma
On the surface, high-functioning religious trauma looks makes it appear as though you “have it all together” while under the surface, this high-functioning persona is being fueled by fear, anxiety, and stress.
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3 Critical Ways Anger Supports Religious Trauma Recovery
While anger is often demonized or suppressed in high control religions, accessing it in a healthy, balanced way is often a critical component of making progress in your religious trauma recovery.
Religious Trauma
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How to Tell if You Have High-Functioning Religious Trauma
On the surface, high-functioning religious trauma looks makes it appear as though you “have it all together” while under the surface, this high-functioning persona is being fueled by fear, anxiety, and stress.
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Religious Trauma Bonds: What They Are & How They Develop
In this article, I’m talking about something I see all the time in my religious harm recovery work: trauma bonds. While this term is often used when discussing abusive relationships, trauma bonds can also form in authoritarian religious groups where…
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4 Harmful Outcomes of Striving to be “Christ-like”
Religious trauma hits close to home for many who grew up in high-control religions. A common theme I hear from my online community (@religious.harm.recovery) is how being ‘Christ-like’ often conditioned them into people-pleasing behaviors, resembling the trauma response known as…
Purity Culture
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How to Start Deprogramming from Purity Culture Indoctrination
Even though you may have ditched the conservative teachings around sex and identity, you may still struggle with internalized beliefs from those old teachings. This article helps you begin to deprogram at a deeper level.
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Unexpected Consequences of Purity Culture Marriages
My first marriage was a “purity culture marriage.” Shortly after our “I do’s,” we began encountering problems, especially around sex and intimacy. I was filled with confusion, shame, and self-blame because this wasn’t what had been promised for those who…
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5 Ways Purity Culture is Damaging to Men
I was raised in fundamentalist evangelical Christianity at the height of the Purity Movement in the 90’s and early 2000’s. In my religious community, tons of emphasis was placed on “saving yourself for marriage” and “staying pure” for your future…
Childhood Indoctrination
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The Trauma of Growing Up as a Black Sheep in a Religious Family
This article is for all the children who were labeled “black sheep” because of the inability to conform to the demands of their high-control religious upbringing. This article explores how receiving this label in childhood impacts identity, relationships, and mental health.
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The Lingering Impact of Emotional Neglect in Religious Homes
In my last post, I talked about how parents influenced by religious indoctrination often lean towards authoritarian parenting styles, which can lead their children to develop insecure attachment patterns. Read it here: How Authoritarian Parenting Creates an Insecure Attachment Style…
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How Your Authoritarian Religious Upbringing Led to an Insecure Attachment Style
Folks raised in a high-control religion are more like to develop an insecure attachment style due to the prevalence of authoritarian parenting practices. This article explores specific ways an anxious, avoidant, or disorganized attachment style from an authoritarian religious upbringing may look in adulthood.
Coercive Control
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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?
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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.
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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…
Post-Religion Growth
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3 Critical Ways Anger Supports Religious Trauma Recovery
While anger is often demonized or suppressed in high control religions, accessing it in a healthy, balanced way is often a critical component of making progress in your religious trauma recovery.
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Making New Friends After Leaving Your Religious Group
When you leave a high control religious group, you’re not just stepping away from a belief system. Most of us also face the reality of losing a significant social network. For those who grew up in closed-off communities, finding new…
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Spiritual Bypassing: What It Is + How to Address It
Spiritual bypassing shows up both inside and outside of religious spaces. While it can be very triggering, it’s something that can be tricky to address in both ourselves and others. This article explores how to do both.