Is religious trauma real? Religious trauma refers to the emotional and psychological harm experienced as a result of harmful or abusive religious beliefs, p...
My wife generally does not have religious trauma, but she did grow up in an Assembly of God (crazy fundie) church and even though she’s been an atheist since she was a teenager, she still has nightmares about going to hell in her late 40s.
That’s how insidious this shit is. And if her mom wasn’t the nicest, most lenient, most tolerant fundie in the entire world, it definitely would have been a lot worse.
It is meant to be insidious. It is meant to incite fear and oppress. Imagine if it instead encouraged and supported? Religion doesn’t do this. The community might… if you fit the picture. But not the faith itself.
My wife generally does not have religious trauma, but she did grow up in an Assembly of God (crazy fundie) church and even though she’s been an atheist since she was a teenager, she still has nightmares about going to hell in her late 40s.
That’s how insidious this shit is. And if her mom wasn’t the nicest, most lenient, most tolerant fundie in the entire world, it definitely would have been a lot worse.
I’d say it counts as trauma.
It is meant to be insidious. It is meant to incite fear and oppress. Imagine if it instead encouraged and supported? Religion doesn’t do this. The community might… if you fit the picture. But not the faith itself.