Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion

Religion is supposed to be good for you. Yet people get hurt in religious systems, sometimes seriously. Leaving the Fold by Psychologist Dr. Marlene Winell equips readers to understand and recover from religious trauma. It has been a leading resource in psychology & religion studies for over 30 years.

What is religious trauma? Have you been harmed by it? How do you heal?
Trauma from authoritarian and controlling religious upbringings can take many forms. It can show up overtly as emotional, spiritual, and physical abuse, indoctrination of the young, or the marginalization of individuals or groups who don’t live their lives according to specific beliefs. Its symptoms can also be subtle, like anxiety, shame, guilt, and fear you are not living life according to the way religion has taught you.

Because of its complexity, religious trauma can cause cognitive, affective, functional, and social/cultural issues as well as developmental delays. These symptoms are often masked or normalized by the religious systems themselves and reinforced with the threat of damnation.

In the increasingly post-evangelical world, many individuals raised in conservative religions are leaving the church, and for good reason. Psychologist Dr. Marlene Winell is uniquely qualified to address religious trauma and how to overcome it. She has personal experience with leaving fundamentalist religion and has worked with religious trauma patients for over 40 years. She is the founder of Journey Free, an organization that helps people transition out of harmful religions, deconstruct their experiences, recover from spiritual abuse, and rebuild their lives. Leaving the Fold offers a way out.

This book will help you discover: The stages of religious recovery. Information about the key issues you are facing. The impact of family dynamics in recovery. The power of manipulation. Motivations for belonging and for leaving religion. Specific steps for healing and reclaiming life. Tools for rebuilding life in the present.
Leaving the Fold is a self-help book that offers concrete steps for healing and is important for anyone trying to recover from toxic religion. Start your healing journey today.