http://www.salon.com/2014/11/01/the_sad_twisted_truth_about_conservative_christianitys_effect_on_the_mind_partner/

This encapsulates so many of the things we talk about here at RFM. Authoritarianism, self-blame, indoctrination, shunning... It also explains all this in relation to mind development and how this crap can get embedded in parts of the brain we can't consciously access. Why don't some believers respond to rational thought, to the facts, to the truth? Because they can't.

I found it interesting the mention of "Delayed Development and Life Skills" and "One of the biggest areas of challenge is delayed social development."

When I had a calling in the Young Men's program, I mentioned in a correlation meeting once that I felt the YM were less mature than other teenagers I had dealt with who weren't members of the church. I also mentioned that on the rare times we had joint activities, both the YM and YW acted strangely. I suggested that perhaps instead of separating the two, we should plan MORE joint activities so that the YM/YW could perhaps learn to interact and become more comfortable with the opposite sex. My suggestion was met with blank stares and deafening silence.

Thank you for sharing! I needed this!

For those that develop this problem, there is help out there.

Not everyone finds religion to be so traumatic. I didn't. Just like one of my jobs, the people were a pain in the patootie but the job was OK.

It's not like a job though. You are told you're going to hell if you don't do exactly as you are told, and if you leave you are damned.

You'll notice the article is about CERTAIN KINDS of religion. Fundamentalist, literalist, authoritarian, cultish, etc.

Ditto to the above. Great article worth reading.

Finally a "label" or "term" to use that differentiates me from my believing siblings and extended family.

I have RTS (religious trauma syndrome)...that is why i am the way i am!!!

Thanks much Stray Mutt for the head's up on this article!

Or so it seems to me...

Through his misguided and selfish efforts to create a Mormon forever family, my father ruined his own offspring. His most faithful adult daughters have to be housed and subsidized, as they are confused by adulthood.

I am so glad to have read this article. I knew that something was deeply wrong with me and my siblings. The loss of childhood learning experience seems to be irreversible and damaging to the process of maturation. And we were raised in ignorance. Secular learning was tolerated at best, and at worst science was openly mocked in our home. Young Earth, literal mythology, curses and blessings were obsessed over, to the detriment of critical thinking training.

My thinking process is handicapped to this day by bursts of shame and guilt. In my mind there is a looping film of violation and punishment that runs interference with continuity of thought. It's as if I have to regroup and recollect every few minutes when the hateful images recycle and derail my train of reasoning.

Thank you for posting it, Stray Mutt. It's always good to know that one does not suffer in isolation.

topping

It is sad. The damage is never really healed.

Mormonism is Christianity amped up on 19th century American culture and 20th century conservatism. America is a warrior nation so there must always be an enemy to fight. Injuns, commies, drugs, terrorists. There's an enemy behind every tree. But the biggest enemy is yourself, and they never let you forget it.

You wonder why there's a drug epidemic? This is why. People self medicate to heal the psychological damage because that's the only means available to them.

Thanks Mutt. Very interesting.

"Authoritarianism, self-blame, indoctrination, shunning..."

Sounds like half the jobs I've held.

I enjoyed the article--very good!

The last paragraph has an interesting sentence:

"Religious trauma is difficult to see because it is camouflaged by the respectability of religion in culture."

This is why, IMO, it is important to stop giving religion a free pass of acceptance and respectability. Many religious people do not understand why an outsider can't just respect their beliefs without any accountability for the religion to earn the respect.

I suspect this partially what is behind religious people being upset with their critics who speak out about the harm done by religion.

Some can make the case for the benefits of religion, and no doubt there are some benefits. However we should expect the positive effects will be weighed against the risk for negative effects.

Discussing religion should not be limited to only saying respectful things. It's time to remove the protection of it being "sacred" which implies it gets a free pass from the lens of scrutiny. It should be treated just like any other topic.

Thanks for the link.

Many churches have been able to fight against gay rights with virtual impunity. The overwhelming amount of opposition to gay rights has come from religion.

This churches have enjoyed tax exempt status as they have lied and funded the effort to deny rights to gays.

Add to that the myth that churches should be treated as holy places that are above reproach and criticism.

In the fight for gay rights, the hateful churches have enjoyed an undeserved advantage given by the state and society.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2014 10:14PM by MJ.

It would be better if it weren't so focused on attacking a religion/political side that the author feels safe attacking because Salon is a liberal site. There are non-Christian religions and left wing political groups that are cults by Steven Hassan's BITE model (freedomofthemind.com). Think Stalin's Russia, or Mao's China, or some of the guru cults. There are also good Christian churches out there that don't fit the cult model, along with those that do. It all depends on how their group and their beliefs are structured, to say if it is likely to cause religious trauma, which is really a narrow term that should be extended to "cult trauma" to include cults of all kinds (business, political, therapy, and religious).



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2014 10:26PM by raiku.

Pot meet kettle.

The article did not claim that all churches were this way, which was clear to anyone that read the article without just discounting it as "liberal".

But I do like how you equate the authoritarian churches the article talks about to communist dictatorships.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2014 10:38PM by MJ.

religious trauma
religious trauma

Interesting article. It's also interesting how it effects different people. My children have had little issues in the church and now out of the church, they really were pretty much unscathed by it. It affected my husband very little also although he was only a member for about 17 years. It had a profound effect on me though, leaving has been very liberating yet very difficult. Anyhow great article.