Rachel C. Smith LLC
Licensed Professional Counselor

Religious trauma can be understood as psychological, emotional, and physical symptoms developed by an individual in response to harmful religious beliefs, practices, teachings, and/or structures. Religious trauma can occur as a result of a single event or the accumulation of events that extend beyond a person's ability to cope. Religious trauma can occur as a result of the abuse from a single individual within a religious community and/or as a result of the wider patterns and dynamics within a religion. Religious trauma is defined as a person's response to the harmful events and not the events themselves, which means people can be involved in the same religion or community and one person may experience trauma while another may not. 

​

Signs that someone has experienced religious trauma:

​

• Spiritual disconnection or confusion

• Anxiety or panic attacks triggered by religious settings, music, texts, or leaders 

• Avoidance of religious settings, music, texts, and leaders

• High levels of fear of punishment (e.g. fear of hell, fear that God is mad at you)

• High levels of guilt or shame over seemingly normal behaviors, thoughts, or emotions 

• Disconnection or dissociative experiences from the body

​

Spiritual abuse occurs within a spiritual or religious context when a single individual or the larger structure utilizes their position of power or influence over another person to manipulate, control, or cause harm to a person's physical, psychological, emotional, or sexual well being. If someone has experienced religious trauma, spiritual abuse will have been a part of their story. . 

​

Examples of spiritual abuse include: 

​

• Demanding complete obedience or adherence to a set of doctrine with no allowance for questions, different interpretations, or disagreement

• Being isolated or cut-off from friends or family that do not practice the same religion, hold the same beliefs, or are not a part of the same community 

• Utilizing the Bible or other religious text to manipulate, control, and coerce 

• Using prayer or claiming supernatural events (e.g. dreams or visions) to manipulate, control, and coerce

• A religious leader utilizing their position of power to engage in sexual behavior

• Covering up reports of abuse and demanding victims remain silent