Photo: Image by StockSnap from Pixabay By Jonathan Grisham I woke up this morning in a panic. I had another dream reminiscent of the cult I left so many years ago. It’s been so long, why does this still bother me? I’m sure if you have left a cult- like church, this feeling resonates asContinueContinue reading “Surviving Religious Abuse Led Me to Advocacy”
Tag Archives: LGBTQ
Growing up fundamentalist and queer
By Eleanor Skelton When part of your identity is considered to be a sin, it’s easy to ignore how deeply it shapes who you are. I’m bisexual and non-binary. This means that I experience attraction to people who identify as male or female or neither. It also means that I don’t particularly feel like aContinueContinue reading “Growing up fundamentalist and queer”
How churches use DARVO to condemn LGBTQ people to hell without explicitly saying it
Photo: Image by Christel from Pixabay Content note: homophobia, religious and spiritual abuse By Elora Dodd As homophobia falls out of vogue in the wider culture, Christians may find themselves scrambling to preserve their sense of self as the “Light of the World,” while still condemning the more-than-ever-accepted “homosexuals.” While I was still embroiled inContinueContinue reading “How churches use DARVO to condemn LGBTQ people to hell without explicitly saying it”
I Survived but Many Don’t: Homophobia Kills
Image: Pixabay Content note: homophobia, religious and spiritual abuse By Elora Dodd Growing up in a staunchly conservative Christian home, my parents would demand the remote the instant a gay person came on television. If I lagged a second too long, my parents would unleash an angry lecture about how dangerous it was to “normalizeContinueContinue reading “I Survived but Many Don’t: Homophobia Kills”
From Trauma to Triumph: Coming out and being expelled from Bob Jones University
Photo: Image by Michaela from Pixabay By Andrew Pledger Have you ever felt like you don’t belong in your own family? Like you are different from everyone else and no one understands you? That’s how I felt for most of my life. I always felt like an outsider, a misfit, a stranger in my ownContinueContinue reading “From Trauma to Triumph: Coming out and being expelled from Bob Jones University”
Discovering My Gender and Sexual Identity in a Cult Through Books
Photo: Image by Markus Winkler from Pixabay By Alex Kenderdine The Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) cult that I grew up in had insanely strict rules and regulations for what we were allowed to read. Most books I read were classics because they deemed those safe. However, it was through the classics that I discovered partsContinueContinue reading “Discovering My Gender and Sexual Identity in a Cult Through Books”
The IFB Movement and LGBTQIA Rights: A Clash with Christian Love
Photo: Image by Marybeth from Pixabay By Jonathan Grisham The Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) movement, with its deep roots and complex history, often stirs up debates on intolerance, hatred, and abusive practices. Notably, the IFB’s contentious relationship with the LGBTQI community is a prime example of its extremist ideologies. The History of the IFB andContinueContinue reading “The IFB Movement and LGBTQIA Rights: A Clash with Christian Love”
This Is Me: Disability and Spiritual Abuse
Image by Lily from Pixabay By Rebekah Palmer This essay was first accepted to be included in a story collection supporting National Organization of Rare Disorders, Inc. (NORD), a project titled Kaleidoscope Rare Disease Stories Told by the people who live them, edited by Kerry Wong. This collection will be released in 2024. NORD wasContinueContinue reading “This Is Me: Disability and Spiritual Abuse”
Whispers of Resistance: Nothing taught me to be different the way fundamentalism did
Photo: Image by Hello Cdd20 from Pixabay By Evan Jones My entire life I’ve been told to submit. My earliest memory of singing is me belting out the OBEDIENCE song in Sunday School. As a youth and young adult, I took high school and college courses on submission and a woman’s purpose. I’ve heard demandsContinueContinue reading “Whispers of Resistance: Nothing taught me to be different the way fundamentalism did”
Deconstructing from fundamentalism finally allowed me to authentically love my brother who is gay: Part 4
Photo: Image by Melissa from Pixabay Content note: child sexual abuse, domestic violence, homophobia, conversion therapy attempts, forcing someone to not be gay, religious and spiritual abuse By Whiltierna Wolfe Continued from Part 3 During my childhood and teen years, my baby brother was tortured by my cruel, selfish father in the Independent Fundamental BaptistContinueContinue reading “Deconstructing from fundamentalism finally allowed me to authentically love my brother who is gay: Part 4”
The Vashti Initiative 