When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion by Laura Anderson- An important and thorough look at how high-control religious environments can create trauma, and helping readers to better understand what religious trauma is and how it shows up. Dr. Anderson shares from her own life, and helps readers understand what moving towards healing and wholeness can look like.

You are Your Own: A Reckoning with the Religious Trauma of Evangelical Christianity by Jamie Lee Finch- This book explores Jamie Lee Finch’s personal experiences of Evangelical Christianity alongside well laid-out research that shows the ways that many individuals who grow up in fundamentalist denominations eventually end up with symptoms of PTSD related to their church experiences and beliefs. For Jamie, growing up Evangelical meant suppressing her body’s needs and desires, learning not to trust herself, and learning to “fall in line” to maintain community. These are all examples of what we can now understand and name as religious trauma, and what Jamie explores in her book.

Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion by Marlene Winell- Winell created the term “Religious Trauma Syndrome” to describe the impact of religious trauma that many experience coming out of fundamentalism. Leaving the Fold can help in the process of “recovering from religion,” and includes exercises throughout the book to help in the process of self-healing.

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman’s Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine by Sue Monk Kidd- The author shares her story of being a Christian wife and mom and following all the rules, before unexpectedly ending up on a journey of exploring the feminine side to spirituality and finding herself on a spiritual awakening that changed her life and her entire relationship to who “God” is.

Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans- A memoir about the author’s experience of having to re-configure her relationship with her faith and with church. The hypocrisy, politics, and scandals of church culture led to deep cynicism, but Evans shares her story of finding her way back to the bigger picture of church, community, sacraments, and hope.

Comedy, Sex, God by Pete Holmes- A memoir full of humor and depth where comedian Pete Holmes explores his evangelical upbringing, and then eventually leaving Christianity altogether and moving towards other forms of spirituality. 

The Most Beautiful Thing I’ve Seen: Opening Your Eyes to Wonder by Lisa Gungor- A memoir exploring several aspects of life, including her evangelical upbringing, and the ways faith can evolve over time. The author includes beautiful metaphors for expanding your faith and shifting your view of God. She also discusses her relationship to suffering and how it has shifted since having a daughter with downsyndrome.

Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost My Faith and Found it Again Through Science by Mike McHargue- In this memoir, “Science Mike” (co-host of The Liturgists Podcast) tells his story of becoming a closet atheist while he was still an active member and deacon of his Baptist church. His loss of faith initially leads to strained relationships, loss of community, and loss of purpose, but Mike eventually finds a way of re-incorporating mysticism and spirituality alongside science.

Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others by Barbara Brown Taylor- In this book, the author shares her experiences of teaching Religion 101 to college students, intertwined with her personal experience of being an Episcopalian priest rooted in the Christian tradition who finds that there are many beautiful and valuable things we can learn from other religions and faiths. Other books from her explore topics around deconstruction, which includee Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith, and Learning to Walk in the Dark.

Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey- An exploration of a shifting faith and how to become more comfortable with uncertainty. Bessey shares her personal wrestling with core issues in the Church, which eventually led her to move towards an even deeper (albeit different) kind of faith. You can also check out her book Jesus Feminist, a book that explores the importance of advocating for feminism as a Christian.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle- In this striking memoir, Glennon Doyle explores both the fallout and beauty that occur when you stop trying to meet all of the world’s expectations and start to truly listen to your own inner knowing. A beautiful story with themes of spirituality, feminism, and sexuality.

To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret by Jedidiah Jenkins- In his memoir, Jedidiah shares both the physical journey of his cross-continental bike ride along with his own personal journey of figuring out who he is, including his relationship with his faith and his sexuality.

Eat Pray Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert- In her memoir, Gilbert explores how to listen to yourself, figure out who you are and what you want, and the natural human desire to connect to something bigger than ourselves.

Universal Christ by Richard Rohr- Rohr presents an alternate view of theology, pushing back on many commonly held viewpoints within American Christianity. While staying connected to his Jesuit roots, Rohr shares a more inclusive, hopeful theology of Jesus, the cross, heaven and hell, and the purpose of church.

Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell- This was one of the first popular books in our time that asked some of the really hard questions that many people start to ask when they realize they cannot reconcile the idea that a loving God sends good people to an eternal Hell. Bell discusses what the Bible might have meant and how to reconcile some of these theological points.

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjagation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Allison Barr- This book pushes back against the idea that the current evangelical view of “Biblical womanhood” is actually biblical. Barr’s book helps to shed light about how culture influenced our ideas of what the Bible actually communicates about women, and interweaves our own story throughout.

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans- In this book, Evans explores how the Bible should be read and understood not as purely literal, but for what it really is and was originally intended to be. Evans tells stories from her life, and explores different understandings of Scripture, particularly from the Jewish perspective in which much of the Bible was written. This is an enjoyable, easily digestible read.

How the Bible Actually Works: In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why That's Great News by Pete Enns- As a scholar, Enns explores the way that Western Christianity has tried to turn the Bible into a literal instruction manual with no contradictions, rather than taking it for what it actually is- a book full of metaphors, contradictions, and questions for us to sit with rather than have answers to. Enns has also written other books on this topic including The Bible Tells Me So and The Sin of Certainty.

What Is the Bible?: How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything by Rob Bell- A fresh and poetic look into how Scripture can be read in a new way. Bell explores different passages and the humanity within the stories.

Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife by Bart Ehrman- This book takes an objective look at the history of the beliefs of the afterlife. The author walks the reader through the competing views of the afterlife during biblical times, explaining that no one in Jesus’s day would have believed in a heaven or hell, and explores how we eventually came to the understanding we have now in spite of that.

God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines- A well-written, easy to read book outlining the theological reasons why you can be fully gay and fully Christian. Vines challenges the assumption that being gay is a sin, and does it from an evangelical perspective, assuming the Bible as literal truth.

Shameless: A Sexual Reformation by Nadia Bolz-Weber- Nadia Bolz-Weber is a Lutheran pastor, recovering alcoholic, and author. She writes about the real people in her congregation, many who struggled how they were treated by Christians for their LGBTQ+ identity or sexual history. Interwoven with people’s stories, she includes theology and Scripture in a beautiful tapestry celebrating people for who they are, laying out what it means to truly love, and exploring what healthy sexual flourishing could look like.

Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free by Linda Kay Klein- For anyone who grew up in purity culture, this book is incredibly helpful at breaking down the religious and sexual trauma that can occur from being taught that your worth is tied up in your sexual purity. Klein interviewed dozens of women and eventually compiled some of their stories in this book, and throughout she weaves her own story in as well. From youth group sermons, purity rings, harsh metaphors for virginity, differing gender expectations, and more, Klein is able to explore the effects of suppressing your sexuality and how to move towards freedom. 

Beyond Shame by Matthias Roberts- Roberts experienced the negative impact of purity culture firsthand, and from both that perspective as well as his work as a therapist, he explores how we can move beyond any sexual shame we carry and work towards finding our own sexual ethic.

Erica Smith’s Workbooks and Webinars- Erica Smith is a sex educator who has created a “Purity Culture Dropout” community, and who creates resources for purity culture dropouts. Check out the My Sexual Values Workbook, or consider any of her other workbooks or webinars that may feel helpful or healing to you at ericasmitheac.com.

Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin Curtice- Written from the perspective of being Native American and learning how to integrate her Christian faith and racial identity. Curtice writes about her personal journey of embracing who she was fully and experiencing her faith in a new way that was more inclusive and diverse than it was before.

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown- A powerful memoir written about Brown’s experience of being “black, Christian, and female.” Brown shares many experiences, but in particular is able to shine light into the ways white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has not only participated in racism in America but has added to it, and has been apathetic to its harm.

This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us by Cole Arthur Riley- This book of stories and reflections is beautiful, poetic, and incredibly well-written. Riley’s experience with blackness, chronic illness, and wrestling with faith, God, and justice are well worth the read.

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes du Mez- For those who have wondered what seems to have happened to American Christianity and how we got where we are today, this book lays it out clearly, showing how politics and power over the past few decades inevitably led to the rise of Trump. If you grew up with influences like Focus on the Family, or felt the pressures of being a good Republican in your church setting, you’ll appreciate understanding how it all ties in with how the modern American church views their entire belief system.

Trauma & Healing (our top picks):

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk MD- A groundbreaking overview of the impact of trauma and how it lives in us well past the time it occurs.

Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body by Peter Levine PhD- A short, practical overview of the impact of trauma followed by practices and exercises you can do to help you feel safe to reconnect to your body after the experience of trauma. For more in-depth discussion of trauma, how it shows up, and how it can be healed Peter Levine, the creator of Somatic Experiencing, also wrote Waking the Tiger and In An Unspoken Voice.

The Mind-Body Stress Reset: Somatic Practices to Reduce Overwhelm and Increase Well-Being by Rebekkah LaDyne MS SEP- A short, practical resource to learn how stress is stored in your body and how you can release it through somatic practices.

How to do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Nicole LePera PhD- A very accessible book that walks you through the impacts of childhood hurt and trauma, and practical steps and tools we can use to help ourselves process our past, heal, and incoporate healthy and healing habits into our lives.

No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard Schwartz- We are huge fans of IFS, and this book by the creator is an accessible introduction to understanding and working with different parts of you to help you move towards healing.

The Wisdom of Your Body: Finding Healing, Wholeness, and Connection through Embodied Living by Hillary McBride. PhD- Backed by research, but still easy and accessible to understand, Dr. McBride beautifully explains how we can become disconnected from our self and our body, as well as how we can begin to reconnect to our self and trust our body again. Dr. McBride weaves in stories of her own eating disorder, and trauma from a car accident, as well as other’s stories, and provides practical tools to help us be present in our bodies again.

The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor- An exploration of how systems of oppression have impacted how we view our own self and body, and how we can reconnect to self-love as a way of resisting oppression and embracing a more compassionate world.

Sunday School Dropouts- Dr. Laura Anderson and Andrew Kerb (both therapists!) explore what healing and recovery from religious trauma can look like.

The Liturgists Podcast- One of the most well-known podcasts and communities for exploring faith deconstruction. Consider starting with the first few episodes, especially if you’re towards the beginning of your deconstruction journey.
Episode Recommendations:
Episode 2&3 on Genesis and on The Bible
Episodes 6&7 “Lost and Found” where the hosts share their own stories
Episode 39 “Finding God in the Waves”
The “Christian” series Parts 1-4
Season 7 episodes beginning with “Is Christianity Worth Saving?”

The Phil Drysdale Show- “Helping those losing their faith find something new” is the tagline for this podcast exploring topics relevant to those who are deconstructing.

For the Love with Jen Hatmaker- For those who are still firmly in the Christian camp, but open to seeing things from new perspectives, check out the “Exploring Our Faith” series that started in April 2018- particulary the interviews with Lisa Sharon Harper, Rachel Held Evans, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Brett Trapp.

Born Again Again- The hosts are a married couple who were deep into Evangelicalism, and were on staff with Cru, who ultimately left Christianity altogether and now identify as agnostic/ atheist. A validating podcast and helpful for those looking to make sense of how they have felt after fully leaving Christianity (or understanding why people do leave).

The Bible for Normal People- Peter Enns, the author of many books on understanding the Bible in new ways, discusses the nuances of Scripture in this podcast.

Girl Camp- Hosted by a young mom who was formerly in the LDS (Mormon) church, and shares her own experiences as well as listener stories about life in the LDS church, in addition to bringing together a community of women who are deconstructing from Mormonism.

Deconstructing Mamas- Two moms discuss the experience of parenting while also navigating questions and doubts in your spiritual journey, and deconsting harmful beliefs that impact parenting.

The Life After- Interviews with guests who have gone through deconstruction, religious trauma, spiritual abuse, etc.

Dirty Rotten Church Kids- Exploring “life, art, and culture on the other side of the evangelical bubble.”

The Deconstructionists- Exploring both deconstructing and reconstruncting faith, asking questions, and hearing people’s stories.

God is Grey- Brenda Davies discusses spirituality, sex positivityu, and deconstruction as a progressive Christian.

Almost Heretical- Discusses how we can reclaim the Bible and Christianity by understanding it in new, less traditional ways.

Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery- Another option for therapy from practitioners specializing in religious trauma, and their website has a resources list as well

The Reclamation Collective- Support groups, resources, therapist directory