http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fQ0JSImpzM Three years ago yesterday, I left my parents’ house. They’d delivered an ultimatum: transfer from UCCS to Bob Jones University or move out. I chose freedom. Last year, someone told me, “That’s one thing I love about you. You’re incredibly American, in the most fundamental way. You’d rather be free than comfortable.” Which isContinueContinue reading “Three year anniversary: #WhyILeft Fundamentalism”
Tag Archives: spiritual abuse
Why I have trust issues with authority after growing up in Christian fundamentalism
After leaving fundamentalism, some of my friends left organized religion because of spiritual abuse, or identified as anarchists because they’d seen systems of power oppress people. I can’t blame them really, even if their choices seem more extreme than my own choices, because I don’t trust authority, either. Authority more often uses power to control ratherContinueContinue reading “Why I have trust issues with authority after growing up in Christian fundamentalism”
Internalization, boundaries, and me
Communication is amazing, when it actually happens. It’s cliche, but both sides have to be willing to exchange and receive information. I’m trying to talk to my parents again. This is a choice I have made, not out of obligation. I’m told that I’m naïve, but there’s this little flicker of optimism inside me that refuses toContinueContinue reading “Internalization, boundaries, and me”
You don’t have to look: Revisiting how we tell the Easter story
I have problems with Easter. My church attendance has been irregular since I left fundamentalism, which I’ve been told is normal for people who have suffered spiritual abuse. This year, I tried to go to church on Easter Sunday. I drove to the parking lot. Panic rose in my stomach until I thought I mightContinueContinue reading “You don’t have to look: Revisiting how we tell the Easter story”
Deprogramming: documentaries and movies about cults and fundamentalist Christian subculture
Some people asked us what life was like after we left when I posted the UnBoxing Project series, how we handled leaving the sects of fundamentalist Christianity we were raised in. My friends and I went through a period of deprogramming, which is still ongoing. We’d been told what to think our whole lives, what isContinueContinue reading “Deprogramming: documentaries and movies about cults and fundamentalist Christian subculture”
Eleanor Skelton 