Religious trauma is trauma
- S2E15
- 54:45
- March 2nd 2022
By sharing his own personal experience with religious trauma and evolution towards leaving fundamentalism behind, Andrew Pledger was fired from his campus job and expelled from Bob Jones University.
Join our conversation as Andrew shares how his art gave him a unique opportunity to explore how religious trauma has impact his life and how he started his own journey of healing, spiritual growth, and listening to God to become his own hero.
Resource List:
- This I know: A Simple Biblical Defence for LGBTQ Christians, by Jim Dant
- My Gay Church Days: A memoir of a closeted evangelical pastor who eventually had enough, by George Azar
- The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents, by Lindsay C. Gibson
- Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion, by Marlene Winell
- Beyond Shame: Creating a Healthy Sex Life on Your Own Terms, by Matthias Roberts
- Sacred Wounds: A Path to Healing from Spiritual Trauma, by Teresa B Pasquale
- First Baptist Church, Greenville SC
- ChurchClarity
This Little Light of Mine - Leading Yourself Through the Fire of Religious Trauma
This Little Light of Mine is no longer just about healing—it’s about leading yourself through the fires of religious trauma and reclaiming your life, your voice, and your worth.
Join me, James Powell—leadership coach, speaker, and survivor of religious and cultural shame—as we explore the hard-won leadership lessons forged in the crucible of spiritual rejection and identity erasure. Together, we’ll unpack how surviving deep wounds becomes the foundation for courageous self-leadership, radical self-acceptance, and living a life rooted in purpose and power.
If these episodes speak to you and you’re ready to grow forward and lead the way you were created to lead, visit humankind.work. Your next chapter starts here.