Why do so many religious trauma survivors have OCD? Something that you may not know is that religious trauma and obsessive, compulsive symptoms frequently go hand-in-hand. This might be a little difficult to grasp so take your time reading this post. If you have OCD and religious trauma, it could be relieving for you to realize the connection is not just you. 

One of the most painful aspects of religious trauma is sexual repression. In psychological research, we see that early life trauma results in developmental delays. This is because brain development can be interrupted by maltreatment, neglect, or abuse in adolescence or childhood.

In rigid, high-control religious environments, you may be taught that there is a specific way to relate to others that is permissible in the eyes of God. This formulaic, dogmatic, and fear-based teaching may get in the way of healthy relational development.

One of the most painful aspects of religious trauma is the way it teaches us to distrust our own emotions. In psychological research, we see that early life trauma results in developmental delays. This is because brain development can be interrupted by maltreatment, neglect, or abuse in adolescence or childhood.

Religious communities should be our safest emotional and physical spaces. These groups often talk about creating safety and salvation for those seeking such, but these spaces can quickly become toxic, abusive, and traumatizing.  

Many people with marginalized identities face hate, discrimination, and bullying related to those identities. Some of this hate is external, but there can also be internalized hate against these identities that have been learned from other people or society. One common way people may cope in response to hate, discrimination, and bullying, is by compartmentalizing their marginalized identities. 

One of the most obvious and painful parts of religious trauma is the sexual repression that is often baked into the theology, dogma, or rules of our religious communities. Because sexuality is such a personal and unavoidable part of the human experience, those that are repressed tend to feel traumatized by their identities being denied and “in the name of God.”

It’s sometimes hard to imagine how the church and religious communities that teach love and compassion can become abusive and harmful.  But any institution, when power structures go unchecked and the “message” becomes more important than the people, is vulnerable to becoming harmful, rather than helpful.  This typically happens slowly over time and can be hard to see when you are inside the community.  

Religious trauma is the felt sense of coercion or manipulation by a religious leader or dogmatic and authoritarian religious community. We explore the symptoms of religious trauma and how to address these.