I was a Teenage Fundamentalist. An Exvangelical podcast.

In this Season 4 episode, we talked with Catherine Quiring, who described herself as a reformed people-pleaser, Exvangelical and an aspiring advocate for anti-oppressive spirituality. She is a licensed Mental Health Counsellor, and Self-Trust Coach. Catherine told us why she believes the Evangelical god is a narcissist and that the symptoms experienced by those who have experienced covert narcissistic abuse are extremely similar to those experienced in high-control religious settings.

You can connect with Catherine via:

• Her website: www.cqcounseling.com
• Instagram: @catherinequiring
• Facebook: @cqcounseling

The book she referenced in this episode was Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment : Heimlich, Janet

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

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Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

We think this Season 3 episode is one of our best. We caught up with Andrew, a fellow traveller from our time at Great Big AOG. Andrew recounts his struggles being deep in the closet at church and how he later came to accept his sexuality and then live openly as a gay man. 

Trigger warning: This episode touches on issues concerning depression and suicide. If you are in Australia and require support, please reach out to 1800RESPECT by phone or online or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

ABBI serves individuals, churches, denominations, leaders and religious organizations in a respectful and non-confrontational way along their journey to understand LGBTI people, their community, and relationships. Their website is here.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

This Season 2 interview was with another one of those people who still wear the 'Christian' label but who we can't bring ourselves to dislike. Anji Barker has 30 years' experience in neighbourhood-based community work in poor urban communities in Australia, Thailand and the UK. In this episode, she shares her own story of leaving fundamentalism and why she's happy to still call herself a 'follower of Jesus'.

You can connect with Anji at https://newbigintrust.uk/ and find her book, Missionary Not Just A Position on Amazon.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

In Season 3 we were lucky enough to get to interview one of the poster boys for progressive Christianity, Brian McLaren. He was a Charismatic Evangelical pastor for twenty-four years and is now a progressive author, activist, public theologian. In this episode, we talked with Brian about his book, Do I Stay Christian? which gives reasons why people should stay but also why people should leave. You'll really enjoy this interview regardless of how you now define your spirituality (or lack thereof).

You can find Brian's book here.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

In 2021, we kicked-off Season 2 by remembering our favourite CCM artists and a few songs. We invite you to sing and clap along at home.

Links

• Living in Laodicea by Steve Camp
• Asleep in the Light by Keith Green
• Creed by Petra
• Maranooka by In the Silence

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

In Season 3, we talked with Frank Schaeffer, author and son of the late theologian and Evangelical author, Francis Schaeffer. While Frank was once a teenage fundamentalist, he told us he describes himself as an atheist who believes in God. Frank told his back story and how he went from a founding member of the Religious Right to one of its harshest critics.

Part two of this interview is here.

You can access Frank's website here and his podcast here.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. We'll be back with new episodes later this year! 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

One of the reasons we created the pod was to tell our own stories. In this episode from Season 2, we remember dating and marriage within Christian fundamentalism, how it was rarely egalitarian, over-spiritualised, and that it was usually monitored or even controlled by pastors and leaders.  

Warning: This episode touches on issues concerning rape and domestic violence. If you are in Australia and require support, please reach out to Rape and Domestic Violence Services or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

Our conversation with Philip Yancey in the last episode was such a head-f*ck, we felt we needed to reflect on the conversation and what it brought up for us. What do Exvangelicals do about Evangelicals who are really good people? You may not agree with the conclusions we reached, but hopefully you resonate with our struggles and honesty. If you missed it, our interview with Philip Yancey is here.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

In Season 3, we were thrilled when Evangelical author, Philip Yancey agreed to be a guest on the podcast and talk about his memoir, Where the Light Fell, which chronicles his time growing up fundamentalist. We also talked with Philip about how his books impacted us as we journeyed out of fundamentalism into more moderate versions of Christianity in the late-90s.

You can find Philip's book here.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did. 

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

---

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Join the conversation and connect with other listeners here.

All our links are here. 

Transcript of this episode is here.

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

We'd love you to tune in as we say goodbye to 2024 and look forward to 2025. We look back on some of our best episodes of 2024, and even a couple of our worst. We'll definitely be back later in 2025, so see you then!

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We're on YouTube here.

Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here.

Our blog is here.

Join the conversation and connect with others here.

The transcript of this episode is here.

All our other links are here. 

Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

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