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Religious Harm, Queer Identity, and the Long Road Back to Yourself
In this deeply important and at times heavy conversation, Coach Jon sits down with Lucas Wilson — researcher, writer, and editor of Shame, Sex, Attraction: Survivor Stories of Conversion Therapy — to talk about the lasting impact of conversion therapy, evangelicalism, white Christian nationalism, and the long road back to self-trust.
Luke shares his lived experience growing up in a conservative religious environment, attending Liberty University, and spending four years in its conversion therapy program. Together, Jon and Luke unpack what it means to survive high-control religion, how shame gets embedded into identity, and what healing, resistance, and reclamation can actually look like on the other side.
This episode is honest, thoughtful, and powerful. It’s a conversation about religious harm, queer identity, survival, and the courage it takes to rebuild your life when the systems that shaped you also wounded you.
Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of conversion therapy, religious harm, shame, identity-based trauma, and mental health. Please listen with care and pause if needed.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome + season theme: healing and resistance
01:42 Meet Lucas Wilson
04:43 Luke’s research, writing, and public-facing work
08:59 Why these conversations matter
11:03 Growing up in Toronto, family, and religion
18:11 Realizing his identity didn’t fit the framework around him
24:52 Arriving at Liberty University
27:37 Surveillance, control, and fear on campus
36:57 The culture of punishment and institutional pressure
1:00:22 Shame, survivor stories, and what healing can look like
1:05:07 Christianity, colonization, and naming harm
1:11:32 What Luke hopes students and educators hear
1:14:10 Rapid fire questions
If this conversation resonated with you and you’re ready to rebuild confidence, reconnect with yourself, and make career choices that support your wellbeing, book a free discovery call with Coach Jon through the link in the show notes.
Connect with Luke
Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilson
Threads: @lukeslamdunkwilson
Bluesky: @lukeslamdunkwilson.bsky.social
Twitter/X: @wilson_fw
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-wilson-2a0753b1/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luke.wilson.96
Connect with Coach Jon:
https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout
View all episodes
By Jonathan BarbeIn this deeply important and at times heavy conversation, Coach Jon sits down with Lucas Wilson — researcher, writer, and editor of Shame, Sex, Attraction: Survivor Stories of Conversion Therapy — to talk about the lasting impact of conversion therapy, evangelicalism, white Christian nationalism, and the long road back to self-trust.
Luke shares his lived experience growing up in a conservative religious environment, attending Liberty University, and spending four years in its conversion therapy program. Together, Jon and Luke unpack what it means to survive high-control religion, how shame gets embedded into identity, and what healing, resistance, and reclamation can actually look like on the other side.
This episode is honest, thoughtful, and powerful. It’s a conversation about religious harm, queer identity, survival, and the courage it takes to rebuild your life when the systems that shaped you also wounded you.
Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of conversion therapy, religious harm, shame, identity-based trauma, and mental health. Please listen with care and pause if needed.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome + season theme: healing and resistance
01:42 Meet Lucas Wilson
04:43 Luke’s research, writing, and public-facing work
08:59 Why these conversations matter
11:03 Growing up in Toronto, family, and religion
18:11 Realizing his identity didn’t fit the framework around him
24:52 Arriving at Liberty University
27:37 Surveillance, control, and fear on campus
36:57 The culture of punishment and institutional pressure
1:00:22 Shame, survivor stories, and what healing can look like
1:05:07 Christianity, colonization, and naming harm
1:11:32 What Luke hopes students and educators hear
1:14:10 Rapid fire questions
If this conversation resonated with you and you’re ready to rebuild confidence, reconnect with yourself, and make career choices that support your wellbeing, book a free discovery call with Coach Jon through the link in the show notes.
Connect with Luke
Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilson
Threads: @lukeslamdunkwilson
Bluesky: @lukeslamdunkwilson.bsky.social
Twitter/X: @wilson_fw
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-wilson-2a0753b1/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luke.wilson.96
Connect with Coach Jon:
https://linktr.ee/empoweredandout