CW Mental health and depression This week’s guest is Andrew Pledger. Andrew has spent nearly his entire life in the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Church—where the KJV rules and women do not. Andrew was homeschooled K-12 with a mildly white Christian nationalist curriculum, no sex education and no diverse friendships. For years, Andrew’s mental health suffered, but there were no resources for him. He was told that he wasn’t “reading the Bible enough” and “needed to get closer to God.” In college, Andrew knew he needed professional help but at a fundamentalist Christian college, there was only “biblical counseling”. The first two years were excruciating. Eventually, however, with a little community and a lot of research, Andrew took his mental health into his own hands. He started asking difficult questions about the Bible, and it was not long before the foundations began to crumble. Since leaving Christianity, Andrew has lived out secular grace. He is spreading awareness about toxic religion and working toward becoming a religious trauma therapist. His personal experience of freedom compels him to help others find the same freedom. Links Instagram https://www.instagram.com/4ndrewpledger/ Josh Harris Interview https://www.instagram.com/tv/Ca–9vFAxqs/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Photo Series https://www.instagram.com/4ndrewpledger/guide/religious-trauma-photo-series/17999363926411608/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Website https://4ndrewpledger.mypixieset.com Link aggregator https://liinks.co/4ndrewpledger Interact Join the Deconversion Anonymous Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/deconversion Full episode show notes https://gracefulatheist.com/2022/04/24/andrew-pledger-religious-trauma-awareness/Secular Grace https://gracefulatheist.com/2016/10/21/secular-grace/Deconversion https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/Deconstruction https://gracefulatheist.com/2017/12/03/deconversion-how-to/#deconstruction/ Attribution "Waves" track written and produced by Makaih Beats https://makaihbeats.net/