Religious Trauma

As a trauma therapist, focusing on different types of trauma in my therapy sessions, I encountered "religious trauma" while on the path to healing. This is a general problem not only in Turkish or Middle Eastern societies, but also in Western societies. It's a situation we must acknowledge; closing our eyes and plugging our ears won't make it go away. It's a sensitive topic! Because religion, feeling the presence of a higher power, comes with compassion. Growing up with teachings that contradict this leads to an anxious disposition, a state of constant worry. Over time, such individuals become people with poor decision-making skills, accustomed to being controlled, and distanced from questioning. Let's look at what I've gathered from scientifically researched sources 🙂

Religious trauma

Religious trauma is a state of psychological, social, and emotional harm and injury that occurs when an individual is exposed to an authoritarian, fear-based, and humiliating environment within a group and religious leader.

Key points on religious trauma.

Psychological abuse: Manipulating a person by using religious elements.

Fear-based teachings: Through reward and punishment teachings, these methods can create a state of anxiety detached from reality in individuals from childhood. This can lead to hypervigilance, a constant state of anxiety and alertness.

Loss of autonomy: the individual becomes less able to make their own decisions. They act according to societal norms. They struggle to find their identity.

Rejection and Isolation: When a person separates from a community, they may experience the loss of loved ones and ostracism.

Identity Conflict: When the individual's authentic sense of self clashes with the characteristics of their religious group, they may internalize feelings of worthlessness, shame, and sinfulness (because they were taught from a young age that conflict is a sin).

Mental disorders that may arise as a result of religious trauma

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Nightmares, overwhelming thoughts, low self-esteem.

• Sexual disorders and shame

• Difficulty setting boundaries

• Trauma-related stress disorder

Religion in itself is not traumatic; it is calming, comforting, and a source of belief in a higher power that helps in finding one's true self. What makes it traumatic is instilling a false understanding of religion, based on fear and anxiety, through false teachings.

Here are some book/resource recommendations on this topic.

Leaving the fold - Markena Winell

Religious Trauma survival Guide

Pure inside the Evangelical Movement That shamed a generation of young women how I brook free - Linda Key Klein

Therapy approaches in the coping journey

EMDR Trauma Therapy

CPT cognitive processing therapy

Ro-DBT Radical overt therapy