Australia and New Zealand

The Religious Trauma Collective

We are therapists who have personal and professional experience with religious harm and the trauma that can come from losing your worldview and identity, where it was once found in faith.

We see a significant gap in understanding of this harm and this particular trauma, there is no agreed-upon term for it or appreciation for how deep it goes. People can often lose family, community, belonging, income and certainty. 

We struggled to find people who could understand what we had been through as we recovered and realised, across Australia and New Zealand, there were very few working specifically in this area, or, they were hard to find.

If that’s the case, this book was created for you. As a former pastor, I made the mistake of deconstructing a bit and then trying to start something new, as I was trained to do. The problem with that approach is that I wasn’t ready to begin something new.

I hadn’t delved deeply enough or asked enough questions. The first stage of deconstruction typically includes assessing our beliefs regarding hell and the afterlife, supporting queer individuals and women in their fight for equality, and achieving a better understanding of racism and privilege.

Many people in deconstruction communities expend significant effort criticizing Evangelicals and attempting to gain a following. While I believe they deserve intense criticism, this strategy fails to effectively tackle the problem because they generally don’t listen to us!

Our tendency to punish our former organizations sometimes overlooks the challenging process of healing and growth. It is the same trap we fell into in our former associations.

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Campfires occupy a special spot in the mosaic of history. They act as communal hubs across different cultures and faiths. The campfire’s circular design fosters equal participation within the collective group. The flames at the center draw our focus and encourage face-to-face interactions as we exchange experiences, wisdom, and insights about the world beyond. It is where legendary myths and tales are born.

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This book is named Campfires in the Desert as it stems from nearly 400 discussions we held with individuals on our podcast, The Desert Sanctuary, and our aspiration to improve.

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Thanks for considering us, autographed copies are $20

Karl Forehand