Sadly, intimidation within a partnership can be used insidiously to keep a victim from leaving a religion as well. This is the same behavior used to keep a victim of domestic violence from leaving an abusive marriage or partnership. Because so many modern religions focus on worshiping a deity that they do not have direct contact with or proof of their existence, shame and intimidation is used to keep the number of believers high. Healing after indoctrination is painful and can last years. These individuals are also escaping and healing from indoctrination, or the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. Like Imposter Syndrome, RTS is not a mental health condition found in the DSM V-TR, but it is a phenomenon experienced by many individuals.
RTS can present similarly to complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). (Dogmatic beliefs are beliefs that are laid out as true, with no space for questioning, curiosity or different interpretation.) Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) is the condition experienced by individuals when they are in the process of leaving, attempting to leave or have successfully left a religious group with dogmatic beliefs. This practice discourages curiosity and only briefly extinguishes doubt and misgivings. Many religions will normalize “asking questions” and “having doubts” only to follow this false compassion with fear, shame and intimidation, whether directly (abuse from authority figures/family) or indirectly (citing scripture about damnation for non-believers, the story of “Doubting Thomas”). As individuals in these communities are feeling empowered to more ask questions and express doubt when they have it, some religions have pivoted. Many religions makes changes to their belief systems, matching cultural shits. While reading this, please remember that religious trauma can happen in any religious institution, isolated or not.Īs you read, I urge you to take in this information with loving kindness towards yourself and others who may have experienced similar suffering. This post is meant to compassionately inform and hold space for those that may be thinking of leaving, are in the process, or are currently in the healing stage of the loss. Sadly, many of these individuals do not know they are suffering from trauma. Not only are you losing a community and you’re faith (wholly or partially), but many are losing close family members, friends and their partners, essentially being excommunicated. The pain you experience from leaving your religion can also be unbearable. The abuse that can be inflicted upon people in these often times insular communities can cause a lifetime of damage. This can include loss of faith, disagreements over viewpoints and practices, or simply being unable to make time for it.įor many, the decision to leave is less a choice, more a necessity. Individuals choose to leave their religion for many reasons.
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