The Divorcing Religion Podcast

Naomi Norton Ph.D, LCMFT, LMFT - White Evangelical Power and Control

Divorced: White Evangelical Ideology

Naomi Norton graduated from Northcentral University with her PhD in Family Therapy. Her dissertation focused on how the white fundamental evangelical culture makes meaning about mental illness. She has an active private practice, is an assistant professor at National University, and is a program supervisor at Friends University. She is passionate about exploring how culture shapes meaning, especially within religion, and how it affects interpersonal and systemic functioning. I became interested in chatting with Naomi when I learned about the White Fundamentalist Evangelical Power & Control Wheel (link below).

FIND NAOMI:
https://www.hopeforhealingllc.org/

Facebook profile link: https://www.facebook.com/naomi.ruth.351 

RESOURCES:

Facebook link for journal article background:

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fnaomi.ruth.351%2Fposts%2F10167324543655389   

Google Doc Link for PDF versions of the wheel graphics: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-E5MSPs_2D9vQLGB1rsm-JpfeRfkNaql 

Pre-print journal article with graphics: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/c9x3t/?fbclid=IwAR1yFb41837jwQNVLN64a_tbtiOooIxoMMdovEeNjL7E9AyzO66tOH9RtkQ_aem_AWD0-EYtUfPvvpvflT3tVHIpLpi61vKEPDvAQKn1O2HBu5eQpc0B62rruYy40WMDyko

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 

Mastodon: [email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

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Kelly Hofer - From Hutterite to Heathen

Divorced: Hutterite Christianity

My guest today is fellow Canadian, Kelly Hofer, who is a visual content producer in Calgary, Alberta. Kelly grew up on a Hutterite colony in Manitoba. At age 19, Kelly made the difficult decision to leave his home on the colony due to his sexuality and to pursue art as a career.

Kelly now works in the mediums of Photography, Film, Wearable Tech, Electrical Engineering, Furniture Design, and other experimental art forms. 

Today, Kelly shares about growing up and leaving his family and culture and how he helps other gay Hutterites today.

FIND KELLY:

https://www.kellyhofer.com

https://www.instagram.com/kellyhofer/

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 

Mastodon: [email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

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Yehudis Keller - Sockless Rebel

Divorced: Ultra Orthodox Judaism

My guest today is Yehudis Keller, who is a former member of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, NY. Yehudis is currently a clinical psychology Ph.D. student in Cleveland, aiming to contribute to psychological research on the mechanisms of psychological adjustment after disaffiliation from high-cost religion, and to be a therapist specializing in that area.

FIND YEHUDIS:
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/YehudisKeller
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yehudis-Keller
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yehudisk/
Personal Site: yehudiskeller.com

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 
Mastodon: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show

DJ Williams, PhD - Murder as a Leisure Activity
Divorced: Mormonism

CW: Suicide, homicide, frank descriptions of sex
Today’s guest, Dr. DJ Williams, was raised Mormon. We met when he presented at a Center for Positive Sexuality session on the Threat of Mass Public Violence by “Incels.”
Dr. Williams is a Professor at the Department of Sociology, Social Work, & Criminology at Idaho State University. He is also a board member and Research Affiliate with the Center for Positive Sexuality (Los Angeles);a co-founding editor of the Journal of Positive sexuality www.journalofpositivesexuality.org; and, the associate editor of Leisure Sciences. 

FIND DJ:
[email protected]
https://positivesexuality.org/

Support this podcast monthly on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps. For one-time donations: paypal.me/JaniceSelbie

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 
Mastodon: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show

Sara Tasneem - Child Marriage Survivor
Divorced: Sufi Cult + Child Marriage

CW: CSA We will be discussing child marriage and forced marriage today, and all that goes along with it.

My guest today is Sara Tasneem, who recently participated on our Child Marriage Panel at CORT2023. Sara is a survivor of forced child marriage who advocates publicly to end child marriage in the United States. Her story has been featured in the documentary, Knots: A Forced Marriage Story  and has been shared across national and international multi-media outlets.

Sara works alongside non-profit organizations and other survivor advocates to raise awareness and to lobby and testify for legislation that seeks to end child and forced marriage. She also volunteers as a peer mentor to girls and women who have experienced child marriage and forced marriage. She sits on multiple coalitions including, the California Coalition to End Child Marriage, and the National Coalition to End Child Marriage.

FIND SARA:
Email: [email protected] 
FB: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingaftersurviving
Blog: https://tasneemsfadvocacy.home.blog/

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Links to get help or connect:
Unchained At Last: https://www.unchainedatlast.org/
Tahirih Justice Center: https://www.tahirih.org/

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 
Mastodon: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show

The Cult Sisters - Life in the Last Days Ministries Christian Cult
Divorced: Last Days Ministries & Evangelical Christianity

This is a CROSSOVER episode! Listen & subscribe to the Feet of Clay – Confessions of the Cult Sisters podcast for the other episode!

My guests today were devotees of the late Christian musician - and cult leader - Keith Green. Sharon Madere (Bennett) and Tracey Phalen (Reed) worked alongside Keith and Melody Green at Last Days Ministries (LDM). Growing up in the 1970s and 80s in my Canadian Pentecostal church, I loved the music and passion of Keith Green. I memorized many of his songs and read “No Compromise” – his life story, as written by his wife – many times.

Tracey and Sharon now co-host the podcast called “Feet of Clay: Confessions of the Cult Sisters” to tell their stories, set the record straight about Keith & LDM, and to help others who are on their own healing journeys out of fundamentalist Christianity and other high-control groups and cults.
 
CONTACT TRACEY & SHARON
Podcast:  Feet of Clay – Confessions of the Cult Sisters
Facebook public page:  Feet of Clay, Confessions of the Cult Sisters
Facebook group:  Feet of Clay – Confessions of the Cult Sisters COMMUNITY
Website: www.ConfessionsoftheCultSisters.com
Instagram:  feetofclay.cultsisters

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 
Mastodon: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show

Seth Showalter - Conversion Therapy Survivor
Divorced: Southern Baptist Convention 

CW: Conversion therapy discussion

Seth Showalter is a LCSW from Columbia, MO, working as a clinical supervisor and therapist at Brave Counseling & Psychiatry in Columbia. Seth is also an author, with his newest book, Finally Free: A Surrender to Authenticity, scheduled for release in October of 2023.

Today, Seth shares his taxing and disturbing experiences with conversion therapy after experiencing a very lonely childhood, as well as his eventual path towards self-acceptance.

FIND SETH:
www.sethshowalter.com
https://mentalhealthuncovered.com/

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 
Mastodon: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show

Brady Hardin - Sued by his Evangelical Mother
Divorced: Christianity

My friend Brady Hardin is a secular humanist, conversion therapy survivor, and queer parent living in St. Louis, MO, where he works in Marketing and Design.

Brady’s evangelical mother has sued him and his ex-wife for grandparent visitation rights, even though they do not believe her to be an emotionally safe person for their son to spend time with. Today, Brady shares his painful story as a warning to other parents regarding so-called grandparents’ rights.

DONATE TO HELP BRADY

https://www.gofundme.com/f/sued-by-rightwing-mom-legal-costs-missouri
https://www.thelifeafter.org/ - The Life After Podcast 

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary, and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 
Mastodon: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show

Tamara MC - Child Bride in the USA

Divorced: Religious Cult
My guest today is a freedom activist for girls and women worldwide. Dr. Tamara MC is a social scientist and linguist who explores how language is used to manipulate vulnerable populations.

As a cult, child marriage, polygamy, and modern-day slavery survivor/advocate, themes in Dr. Tamara’s work explore coercive control, intergenerational trauma, religion/spirituality, and mothering. She is currently revising her debut memoir, Child Bride: My Marriage at 12.

Dr. Tamara will be hosting our Child Marriage & CSA Panel at CORT2023.

FIND Dr. Tamara MC:
@TamaraMCPhD
 https://tamaramc.com/
https://twitter.com/TamaraMCPhD
https://www.instagram.com/tamaramcphd/
 
Articles by Tamara MC:
I grew up in a cult and was married at 12— in Texas
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/cult-child-marriage-texas-b1973888.html
Essay in Ms. Magazine about the cult I grew up in: 
https://msmagazine.com/2022/09/23/uncultured-book-review-children-of-god-cult-girls-women/
Essay in Motherwell about girls staying sweet:
https://motherwellmag.com/2022/08/10/i-was-a-child-bride-its-time-to-stop-teaching-young-girls-to-stay-sweet/

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary,  and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast

Follow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 
Mastodon: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show

Carol Merchasin - Sexual Misconduct by Spiritual Community Leaders

CW: Discussion of sexual misconduct & abuse by cultic-type leaders

As a former corporate investigator turned cult investigator, Carol Merchasin has worked to help uncover some of the hidden corruption at the heart of international spiritual movements. Her work shines a light on the failures of many spiritual centers and retreats, and the abuse of power by cult leaders. 

Carol has worked with survivors of abuse and misconduct across a number of global spiritual and religious movements and has extensive experience as both a litigator and an investigator.

Carol Merchasin is currently of counsel at McAllister Olivarius, where she heads up the Sexual Misconduct in Spiritual Communities practice group. She is based in New Jersey and is registered as an attorney with the Massachusetts Bar.

For more from Carol, join us online at CORT2023 in October.

Support this podcast on Patreon (starting as low as $2/month) and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my newest patrons: Marie, Mary,  and Peter. Every dollar helps.

Tickets now available for CORT2023: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcastFollow Janice and the Conference on Religious Trauma on Social Media: 

Mastodon: [email protected]

Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janiceselbie

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wisecounsellor/

The Divorcing Religion Podcast is for entertainment purposes only. If you need help with your mental health, please consult a qualified, secular, mental health clinician.

Support the show