What is religious trauma? 

Religious trauma occurs when a person’s experience in their faith-based community is stressful, degrading, dangerous, abusive, or otherwise harmful. Many forms of religious trauma are not associated with specific events but instead accumulate over a long period of time through harmful messages enforced by their community.

For example, some LGBTQIA+ people  grow up in conservative religious communities who believe their identity is sinful. In this case, religious trauma can stem from the internalized message that who you are somehow puts your relationship with your god, your family, and your community at risk. 

In some cases, specific events are interpreted through the lens of spirituality and come to carry religious weight. This can unfold over several stages: 

1. A person experiences a trauma: The trauma may be directly related to religion (such as an abuse of power by a religious leader) or it may be indirectly related or unrelated, such as a divorce in the family. 
2. The trauma has religious implications: The trauma is shaped by, and processed through the lens of, a person’s religion. For example, someone going through a divorce may feel pressure from their faith community to “work harder,” make unwise compromises, or even tolerate abuse to keep the marriage from dissolving.
3. The response of the religious community may retraumatize: Religious leaders may ignore or outright deny reports of physical, sexual, emotional, or spiritual abuse. The religious community may ostracize the victim of a trauma, minimize their experience, or unfairly assign blame. The victim may avoid sharing their experience for fear of what it could mean for their place in the faith community. 

Religious trauma may also occur when a person decides to leave their religious community. Even when it’s a healthy choice, it can be disorienting for someone whose life has been guided by a certain set of beliefs, rules, and expectations.  

Leaving a religious community may result in strained, damaged, or even broken relationships with friends, family, or partners. Sacrificing an entire worldview, community, and support system—which may result in trauma of its own—can be an incredibly difficult step.

What is religious trauma syndrome (RTS)? 

Although not yet added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the term “religious trauma syndrome” (RTS) is gaining traction with some therapists, and other experts, to describe the negative mental health effects of unhealthy or harmful religious experiences. 

For our purposes, “religious trauma” and “religious trauma syndrome” offer similar descriptions and are used interchangeably.

What is spiritual abuse? 

Abuse is the harm or mistreatment of another, often for the purpose of exerting power or control. Spiritual abuse occurs when a person’s religion or spirituality is used for these purposes. 

Signs of spiritual abuse 

If you feel you may have been subjected to spiritual abuse, ask yourself: 

• Has someone ever used or attempted to use my religious beliefs or practices to manipulate me into certain actions? 
• Am I free to practice my faith how I see fit? 
• Has a parent or partner ever tried to force their religion on me? 
• Have my religious leaders ever tried to justify harmful behavior using religious teachings? 
• Have my religious leaders ever recommended I stay in an abusive or harmful situation in order to grow closer to my god? 
• Do I have freedom of choice in how I live my life, raise my children, interact with my partner, and so on? Or are those decisions made for me by my religious leaders? 

Spiritual abuse vs. religious trauma: What’s the difference? 

These experiences are closely related, but they are distinct. 

Spiritual abuse is an interpersonal experience between people within a faith-based community. Often the abuser is a religious leader attempting to control or manipulate someone lower in the religious hierarchy (such as a volunteer, community member, or visitor).

Religious trauma more broadly refers to the experience between a person and their religion, and the resulting impacts. This type of trauma is not necessarily linked to one specific person, but to a pattern of treatment or messaging over time. 

10 signs and symptoms of religious trauma 

Trauma can have far-reaching impacts on many areas of your life. Signs of religious trauma can include: 

1. Self-esteem issues

Some religious movements contain the idea that certain people are inherently less worthy than others. This can elevate certain identities over others, leading to marginalization, discrimination, and oppression. This may result in low self-esteem when internalized. 

2. Shame 

Shame occurs when you equate an action with who you are as a person, causing you to view yourself negatively. Unhealthy religious communities may use shame as a way to influence and control others. Instead of extending forgiveness to themselves and others, people in shame-based religions may cover up or deny anything that could be considered “wrong” by their community. 

3. Perfectionism 

Some religious communities may identify certain actions or behaviors as indicative of a person’s moral value. They may promote certain careers or types of families as spiritually superior. This can result in perfectionism, which is often accompanied by high levels of anxiety and stress, as well as the setting of unrealistic goals. 

4. Hypervigilance 

Some religions paint a picture of a vindictive god who punishes people whenever they fall short. Others promote apocalyptic ideas and suggest that a violent end to the world is near. These ideas may lead to heightened levels of anxiety, resulting in hypervigilance. Hypervigilance is a constant state of anxiety meant to protect a person from perceived or actual threats of harm. 

5. Difficulty with making decisions 

People who experience religious trauma may be accustomed to making decisions in the context of a certain doctrine or hierarchy. If they choose to change their relationship with these institutions or leave them entirely, they may struggle with autonomy and making their own decisions. 

6. Loss of community 

For many, religion provides community. If a person changes or leaves their faith, they may lose contact with many friends, family members, and acquaintances.  

Some people who leave their religious community may experience a season of loneliness and isolation. It can be intimidating to rebuild a community, especially if people outside their faith were often labeled as flawed or untrustworthy. 

7. Lack of boundaries 

Being part of a religious community often means accepting some amount of feedback regarding how you live your life. Many faith communities also have expectations for volunteering and service.  

These can be considered healthy aspects of religion, as long as boundaries are clear and respected. When boundaries are blurred or nonexistent, it can affect how a person acts in the rest of their life. They may have a hard time saying no to certain tasks or prioritizing self-care. 

8. Delayed milestones 

Purity culture is a religious concept that focuses on ideas about gender, sexuality, sex, virginity, marriage, and procreation. Religions that rely heavily on purity culture may scrutinize or monitor mixed-gender interactions and socially separate kids based on their assigned sex. 

Additionally, LGBTQIA+ people in particular may not have the chance to experience social milestones, such as first dates or kisses, until adulthood. This delay can be frustrating, and some people who had overly restricted lives as teenagers may make impulsive or reckless decisions as adults if they leave their religious communities. 

9. Sexual dysfunction 

Religions that overemphasize purity culture may not prepare their followers for healthy sex lives, even in the context of marriage.  

Some people who struggle with religious trauma practice abstinence until marriage and may feel dirty or guilty when engaging in sex. People from religious backgrounds that preach traditional gender roles may struggle to confront realities about desire, drive, and performance that don’t align with what they learned. Some religions teach about sex in a way that centers obligation instead of consent, resulting in unhealthy, harmful, or even criminal sexual behaviors. 

10. Mental health disorders 

Like other forms of trauma, religious trauma can cause, contribute to, or otherwise worsen mental health disorders. Mental illnesses commonly associated with trauma include: 

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
• Depression 
• Anxiety 
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) 
• Eating disorders 
• Addiction 

If you suspect that you or someone you love may be struggling with religious trauma-related symptoms, know that help is available. A religious trauma therapist can assess your symptoms and provide specialized support.

What causes religious trauma? 

Religious trauma can occur in authoritarian institutions set up in ways that perpetuate injustice or allow harmful behavior. The divine power that some religions claim to possess is often so meaningful to people’s lives that they’ll concede to actions and behaviors they wouldn’t otherwise tolerate. 

Psychologist Marlene Winell, PhD, who coined the term “religious trauma syndrome,” teaches that religion can be traumatizing in two distinct but often overlapping ways: 

1. Enduring the trauma/spiritual abuse 
2. Leaving the faith community 

A person may have lived their entire life in an unhealthy religious community but not become aware of its traumatizing impact until they leave that community.  

Similarly, a person may experience trauma in a religious context, leave their faith community, then feel overwhelmed by the traumatic experience of having to rebuild a life outside of the context of their faith. Both are real sources of trauma that often interact with each other in a person’s journey to spiritual healing. 

Though any religious context can lead to religious trauma, Christianity in particular has been the focus of research that suggests certain interpretations of its doctrines create climates of shame.¹

Is religion necessarily traumatic? 

Religion is not always traumatic. It is often associated with a number of mental health benefits, including: 

• A sense of community and belonging 
• Reflective practices that encourage rest and meditation  
• Love and support for those who are marginalized, grieving, or struggling 
• Emphasis on moral values, such as love, compassion, forgiveness, and empathy   

Trauma can happen in all kinds of groups, from families and peer groups to schools and workplaces. Religious institutions aren’t exceptional in this sense. The way people within an institution respond to trauma—and what steps they take to prevent it from happening in the first place—is what matters most. 

Healing from religious trauma 

Religious trauma therapy 

If you’ve experienced religious trauma, you are not alone. Trauma of any kind can be difficult to process without the help of a mental health professional. Many therapies have proven helpful for survivors of trauma, including religious trauma, such as: 

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) 
• Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) 
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) 
• Prolonged exposure therapy 
• Radically open dialectical behavior therapy (RO-DBT) 
• Somatic therapy 
• Faith-based therapy 

If you’re looking for support in the form of religious trauma counseling and therapy, browse our directory to find a professional near you.

Other tips for recovery 

Some mental health remedies rely more heavily on individual rituals and reflection than others. These methods can help people who are (or were) religious heal in ways that feel familiar to them.

Mental health practices that may be comforting or accessible to people of a more spiritual mindset include mindfulness, meditation, and journaling. 

While self-help strategies can be valuable supplements to healing, therapy for religious trauma provides support that self-care alone cannot replace. A qualified therapist can help you process complex emotions, develop healthy coping mechanisms, and rebuild your sense of self in ways that individual practices may not fully address.