The central cause of religious trauma is when one experiences shame and guilt more than feelings of love and acceptance. Especially when there is a group mentality, and a known social understanding that to think differently could result in ostracization from community, support, and other resources. When those in charge are able to “intellectually” justify their beliefs onto a religious book, or even on the voice of god itself, it provides little space for the congregation to decide for themselves.
#RELIGIOUS TRAUMA FREE#
Power dynamics in religious institutions can lead to folx being required to tithe (give money) a certain amount, folx feeling forced to spend all free time volunteering, specific dress codes, strict understandings of the body and sexuality, and more.
Trauma is caused by the power dynamics at play in religious institutions-certain people holding all the power in how the Bible (or other religious doctrines) are going to be discussed and how people in their congregations are expected to behave. When we experience pain rooted in not belonging, we’re encouraged to invest more in relying on rules and norms that are thought to promote an increased feeling of belonging. Overall, there has been a notorious theme of a general lack of compassion and acceptance for the “other” in many religions.
Because some churches focus on the (incorrect) indoctrination that queerness is a sin, there have been countless cases of folx being shamed for their sexuality and/or gender identity, being forced into types of therapies/programs that practice conversion therapy, and being forced to not “come out” until much later in adulthood (if at all) due to internalized homophobia. A population that is well-known to be hurt by the church are LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, partners, and families. Religious trauma causes folx to feel alone and ashamed because of how churches ``weaponize scripture and religion to do very deep damage on the psyche,” per Pastor Mike in this New York Times article, When Religion Leads to Trauma. So, it’s not technically a diagnosis and it hasn’t been researched significantly. You can read all about Kindman & Co.’s critique of the use of the DSM for insurance purposes due to the exclusion of relational pain and the diagnosing categories here. There are some researchers that are using the term RTS, Religious Trauma Syndrome, to provide increased clarity around the severity of this issue-many view it similar to Complex PTSD (another diagnosis not included in the DSM-5). what is religious trauma?Īlthough religious trauma is not clinically part of symptomatology of the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) diagnosis, there is early-stage research exploring religious trauma through the PTSD lens that hopes to gain insight into the symptoms and characteristics of this specific trauma experience. This blog will explore religious trauma and what it looks like when experienced, in an effort to verbalize something that you or someone you love, may be processing. As with many institutions and human-created spaces, religion has been tarnished and fostered power dynamics where folx have been oppressed, judged, and mistreated under the guise of religious authority. For others, it is a source of pain-emotional, mental, physical, and/or psychological damage. For some, faith and spirituality can be a source of comfort.
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