Angel De Santis - Surviving God’s Twisted Love 
Divorced: The Children of God cult

CW: CSA

ANGEL DeSANTIS 

Angel grew up in the apocalyptic Christian cult known as The Children of God. She managed to leave the cult about 14 years ago, and has been on a healing journey ever since, by building her brain and sharing her thought processes with others.

Angel is a mental health advocate, cult survivor, & storyteller, in addition to being a yoga teacher in LA.

She has a YT channel and has developed several courses to help others in recovery from religious and other forms of trauma. Links will be posted in the show notes for Angel’s resources.

In October of 2023, Angel will be speaking on a panel at the Conference on Religious Trauma (CORT) about CSA and child marriage.
https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/

FIND ANGEL
https://www.theprocessbyangel.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/AngelDeSantis/featured

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: Carol, CMM, RL, and KD! Every dollar helps.

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

For a limited time, purchase recordings from the 2022 Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference for 50% off here https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/register with discount code SPECIAL50

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

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
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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Tatyana Russell-Chipp
Divorced: Christianity

CW: Adoption, sexual assault 

Today on the Divorcing Religion Podcast we will be exploring adoption – particularly religious adoption – with all of its sticky tentacles and residue, especially for those adoptees who outgrow their adoptive parents’ religious beliefs.

Tatyana Russell-Chipp was adopted from Russia into a Canadian Christian family. She was a pastor and ministry leader for about 10 years but deconstructed her faith altogether following significant spiritual abuse. In this interview, Tatyana shares candidly about abandonment issues related to being relinquished at birth and then fearing additional abandonment by coming out to her parents as a nonbeliever who is also a member of the 2SLGBTQ community.

FIND TATYANA:
Tatyana Link Tree https://linktr.ee/totttttttttt

RESOURCES
Religion News Service Article: https://religionnews.com/2022/10/28/adoption-remembrance-day-adoption-awareness-monthon-oct-30-adoptee-remembrance-day-centers-adoptee-grief/

Books:
No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending by Esther Fleece
The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption by Kathryn Joyce

Support this podcast on Patreon and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie Thanks to my latest Patrons: SatX, Carol, CMM, RL, & Kevin D. Your support makes a big difference!
Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast
 
Get your free consultation with Janice, book 1:1 sessions, or sign up for the Divorcing Religion Workshop here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/

Get your recordings from the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference here: https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/ with 50% off when you use discount code SPECIAL50
Tickets for CORT2023 now available: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/

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
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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Mary Byler 
Divorced: Traditional Amish lifestyle and beliefs

CW: CSA

My guest today is advocate, podcaster, and newly published author Mary Byler. 

Mary grew up Amish, and since escaping has focussed attention on the child sexual abuse that plagues many Anabaptist and other closed religious communities, including Amish ones.

Her new book is called Reflections and Memories of an Amish Misfit.
Mary will be joining us as a speaker at CORT2023 in October: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/

RESOURCES
Mary’s book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPQJNT7K

Petition for Children’s Rights: http://surl.li/frhaw

Research paper: https://www.themisfitamish.com/research

Amish Unbaptism: http://surl.li/frhbg

What’s beneath the Amish dress: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.misfit.amish/video/7116610172088274222?is_from_webapp=1&web_id=6968095332241737222

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: SatX, Carol, CMM, RL, and KD. Every dollar helps.

Recordings from the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference now 50% off here:https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/register with discount code SPECIAL50

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

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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Zorah Khan - My Leap to Freedom
Divorced: Islamic cult

*I apologize for some background noise in this episode from my noisy furnace – but it’s worth listening to this amazing story of hard-won freedom!

Zorah Khan understands both cultural oppression and religious indoctrination, having grown up in an Islamic cult from childhood. In addition to being deeply fear-based, the cult also endorsed the suppression of joy, freedom, and segregation from wider society.
In her own words: “My opinions and freedom were always in the hands of someone else. This conditioning ran so deep that I couldn't even gain an understanding of the situation until I escaped and had space.”
 
Life looks very different for Zorah these days. Viewing herself as an intuitive healer, her passion now is to hold space for people moving through personal transformation. Today, Zorah opens up about life inside a repressive Islamic cult and what moved her to escape.

FIND ZORAH KHAN:
https://www.zorahkhan.com/

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
https://www.journeyfree.org/leaving-the-fold/
https://www.journeyfree.org/
https://poets.org/poem/autobiography-eve
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: Carol, CMM, RL, and KD! 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/janice.selbie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceOnReligiousTrauma
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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Marie LePage - PSYCHEDELICS: THE UNF*CKENING
Divorced: Evangelical/nondenominational Catholicism

*Note* Do not try psychedelics without first conferring with your doctor. For some people, it is never safe to use psychedelics. Use of psychedelics is not legal in many states and countries.

MARIE Le PAGE describes herself as a life doula, life coach, community organizer, and plant-medicine sitter. Marie understands personally the pain and trauma of growing up in an emotionally neglectful and spiritually abusive household. Upon discovering plant medicine, Marie started their awakening and integration experience. They now find joy in coaching others who are also awakening, whether it’s processing their spiritual abuse, their journeys into non-traditional relationship structures, or any other deconstruction and healing path.

Marie recently spoke at the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture online conference about remedial consent for former fundies and hosted the More Than Monogamy Panel, of which I was a member. Today, Marie shares candidly about her use of psychedelics to aid in personal unf*ckening related to trauma.

Get your tickets to the Conference on Religious Trauma/Shameless Sexuality Conference 2023: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/

Watch Marie's talk at the Shameless Sexuality Conference in 2022 with a resource ticket: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/register

FIND MARIE:
https://www.marielepage.com/
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference. Recordings available for purchase here: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/register

Subscribe to the audio-only version here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/religious-trauma-podcast
Get your free consultation with Janice here: http://calendly.com/janice-selbie
Book 1:1 sessions with Janice or sign up for the Divorcing Religion Workshop here: https://www.divorcing-religion.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: EC, CMM, RL, and KD. Every dollar helps!

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/janice.selbie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceOnReligiousTrauma
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

Willie Cartwright - Saved to Sane

Divorced: Christianity

WILLIE CARTWRIGHT is a speaker, entrepreneur, author, and advocate. Willie is a professional person, having received a B.S Degree in Finance and earned an Executive MBA.Though he and his wife now own several successful businesses, Willie and his sister were raised by a single mother in the public housing neighbourhoods of Birmingham, Alabama.

As a child, he was relentlessly bullied due to his thick glasses and stutter. His stepfather was so verbally abusive that Willie threatened to kill him.Raised in a strict Christian household deep in the Bible belt, Willie walked away from organized religion and Christianity in 2015.

After doing exhaustive research on the topic, he wrote his most recent book: From Saved to Sane: My journey away from Christianity and how it has adversely affected the African American Community. Today, Willie shares about the impact his deconversion had on family relationships and why he is so passionate about educating on religion and critical thinking.

Get your tickets to the Conference on Religious Trauma: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/

FIND WILLIE CARTWRIGHT
https://www.williecartwrightspeaks.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCktoA5hQZBI03PIQAOoS2nQ
https://www.facebook.com/WillieCartwrightSpeaks/?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/wocartwright

RESOURCES MENTIONED
Dr. Darrel Ray at CORT2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgclZY5X6B4 
Jeremiah Camara http://jeremiahcamara.com/
Mandisa Thomas https://blacknonbelievers.org/
Candace Gorham https://twitter.com/ebonyexodus
https://www.seculartherapy.org/
https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/

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/janice.selbie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceOnReligiousTrauma
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

REBUILDING IDENTITY
Dr. Josie McSkimming
Divorced: Evangelical Christianity

Get your tickets to the Conference on Religious Trauma here: https://religioustraumaconference.org/

Dr. Josie McSkimming is an Australian social worker, psychotherapist, lecturer, and researcher. She has been in full time private practice since 2000, specializing in relationship therapy and adult mental health.

In her book Leaving Christian Fundamentalism and the Re-construction of Identity, Dr. McSkimming details the stories of those who have left Christian fundamentalist churches and how they change after they have left.

In this episode, we discuss what’s involved in building our post-religious identity.

FIND Dr. McSkimming:
https://twitter.com/JosieMcskimming

LINKS
https://us.amazon.com/Leaving-Christian-Fundamentalism-Reconstruction-Identity/dp/1138580333/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3D9ECG99HRIDO&keywords=josie+mcskimming&qid=1669163302&sprefix=josie+mcskimming%2Caps%2C323&sr=8-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.08f69ac3-fd3d-4b88-bca2-8997e41410bb

https://www.mcskimming.com.au/publications.html

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES MENTIONED
https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/

Support this podcast on Patreon and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie

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

Get your free consultation with Janice, book 1:1 sessions, or sign up for the Divorcing Religion Workshop here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/

Get your recordings from the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference here: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/register

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/janice.selbie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceOnReligiousTrauma
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

Christy Powell
Divorced: Fundamentalist Christianity

Christy Powell (he/him) is a Texas-based counselor and activist with a focus on religious trauma and romantic and sexual relationships of all sorts and sizes. Christy works with clients to explore questions of gender and orientation, kink and polyamory, out of control sexual behavior, and healing from religious shame.

We first connected when I was a guest on the Secular Sexuality show on YouTube, where Christy is one of the hosts. Today, Christy and I discuss his journey from fundamentalist Christian virgin to sexually liberated atheist.

FIND CHRISTY
https://www.vcatx.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/SecularSexuality/featured

RESOURCES MENTIONED
https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/
https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/
https://www.journeyfree.org/
The God Virus, by Dr. Darrel Ray
Sex and God, by Dr. Darrel Ray

Support this podcast on Patreon and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie

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

Get your free consultation with Janice, book 1:1 sessions, or sign up for the Divorcing Religion Workshop here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/

Get your recordings from the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference here: https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/

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/janice.selbie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceOnReligiousTrauma
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

Dr. Martin Shoemaker 
SEX, PSYCHOLOGY, AND HUMANISM

Divorced: Evangelical Christianity

Dr. Martin Shoemaker was raised in a devout evangelical Christian home in California. While attending Fuller Seminary, his faith was fragmented by studying theology and secular psychology at the same time. He left the church and finished his PhD in clinical psychology, eventually discovering humanism through friends in Canada. For the last several years, Marty has volunteered as a humanist chaplain in British Columbia, which is where we met at a local event for atheists, skeptics, and humanists. In this episode, Dr. Shoemaker discusses his transition out of religion and into secular life, from sports to sex to humanism.

Support this podcast on Patreon and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie

Get your tickets to the Conference on Religious Trauma 2023 https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/

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

Get your free consultation with Janice, book 1:1 sessions, or sign up for the Divorcing Religion Workshop here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/

Get your recordings from the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference here: https://www.religioustraumaconference.org/register

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janice.selbie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceOnReligiousTrauma
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

Luna Corbden 
Mormon Manipulation 
Divorced: Mormonism

Luna Lindsey Corbden was born into the LDS (Mormon) Church and left the faith at age 26. Autistic and gender fluid, they are an advocate for marginalized people within or at the fringes of authoritarian religions, particularly Mormonism. Their book, Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control, helps religious trauma survivors unpack their conditioning by deconstructing the manipulation techniques used by the LDS church. Today, we discuss what led Luna to divorce Mormonism, as well as some of the specific manipulation tactics used by the Mormon church to draw in Believers and keep them from questioning Mormonism.

FIND LUNA:
https://recoveringagency.com/
https://twitter.com/corbden
Luna’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Agency-Lifting-Mormon-Control/dp/1489595937/

Resources for RTS survivors: https://recoveringagency.com/resources/

Support this podcast on Patreon and get access to bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/janiceselbie

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

Get your free consultation with Janice,, book individual sessions, or sign up for the Divorcing Religion Workshop here: https://www.divorcing-religion.com/

Get your recordings from the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference here: https://www.shamelesssexuality.org/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/divorcereligion
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wise_counsellor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ComeToCORT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janice.selbie
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DivorcingReligion
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConferenceOnReligiousTrauma
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