Religious Trauma & spiritual abuse

Religious trauma and spiritual abuse are deeply intertwined with many aspects of mental health. Religious trauma manifests as psychological, physical, social, relational, and spiritual symptoms that can significantly impact a person's ability to function well. Often, this trauma lingers outside of one's conscious awareness—because acknowledging it can threaten one's sense of self, community and belonging, and fundamental belief structure and worldview.

Individuals who have experienced religious trauma or spiritual abuse have frequently been conditioned to believe they are the problem and that it is their fault. They have been subjected to shame, guilt, and instilled with various fears.

The Aftermath Agency prioritizes holistic care for each person. Therefore, we must acknowledge all the ways, means, and contexts in which harm occurs.

Let us be clear: we are not anti-religion.

Many who have experienced religious trauma or harm continue to participate in religious or faith-based communities or maintain spiritual practices and beliefs—ourselves included. However, we are anti-harm and will oppose any system that inflicts damage on vulnerable people (which includes all of us, though some face greater vulnerability than others).

We recognize that religious harm may manifest differently depending on one's ethnicity, race, gender, sexuality, or other aspects of identity.

We also believe that anyone working in trauma-informed spaces to support others in recovery and healing must be willing to examine how they themselves have been perpetrators of harm, bystanders to harm, as well as victims of harm. Participation in religious institutions and communities such as churches, mosques, temples, and other spiritual gatherings means we have likely been complicit in perpetrating harm or allowing it to continue unchecked, uninvestigated, or without appropriate consequences or reparations.

Our hope and gentle invitation is this: discussing religious trauma helps bring both individual and collective understanding of its impact. When we can talk about it more freely—allowing shame and secrecy to lose their grip—we can move toward we can move towards healing and meaningful growth.