One of the greatest criticisms of Christianity in the West has been its apparent problem with pleasure. The old joke about the difference between Roman Catholics and Protestants being that the former love suffering and the latter hate pleasure comes to mind immediately here. These are exaggerations of course, but they speak to a difficulty … Continue reading Religion Gone Wrong: Distorting Suffering and Pleasure
We’re in the midst of a short series exploring themes of religious abuse and trauma. Last week, we identified the differences and relationships among abuse, adverse experiences, and trauma. As part of this, we saw that religious abuse was defined by “improper” use of religion, but also noted that what is “proper” and “improper” is … Continue reading Religion Gone Wrong: Control and Accountability
Last time in this series on the complex issues surrounding religious abuse and trauma we saw that trauma is about our body’s response to adverse experiences. In other words, trauma involves the deep connections between the mind and the body. This idea was popularized by Bessel van der Kolk in his book The Body Keeps … Continue reading Religion Gone Wrong: Trauma and Embodiment
One of the most challenging aspects of discussing religious trauma is its relationship to the idea of religious abuse. Some individuals may be reluctant to consider their experiences traumatic because to them that implies abuse, and abuse implies a kind of intention. But trauma and abuse are not the same thing, and religious abuse need … Continue reading Religion Gone Wrong: Abuse vs. Trauma
Last time, I introduced this series that I’m calling “Religion Gone Wrong,” about the negative impacts religion can have on people’s lives, and what we can do about it. It’s interesting for me to frame the issues in this way because my approach here on the blog has been intentionally very positive, wanting to uphold … Continue reading Religion Gone Wrong: Religion That Works, Religion That Doesn’t
