Religious Trauma Syndrome:
How Some Organized Religion Leads to Mental Health Problems
Religions come in two versions. At its heart, religion is simply a group of folks coming together to mutually support each other in their individual spirituality and spiritual quest. However, far more common is the authoritarian tendency to force everyone to bind themselves to a doctrine or dogma. And it is not just Christian religions like Catholicism or the Southern Baptists and many other organized religions. Even Atheist who not only proclaim their Atheism, but, with evangelical fervor, insist that others join them.
A human development consultant would explain Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS) as a set of symptoms and characteristics that tend to go together and which are related to harmful experiences with religion. They are the result of two things: immersion in a controlling religion and the secondary impact of leaving a religious group.
The RTS label provides a name and description that affected people often recognize immediately. Many other people are surprised by the idea of RTS, because in our culture it is generally assumed that religion is benign or good for you. Just like telling kids about Santa Claus and letting them work out their beliefs later, people see no harm in teaching religion to children.
But in reality, religious teachings and practices sometimes cause serious mental health damage. One of the symptoms of RTS centers around fear and anxiety. People indoctrinated into fundamentalist Christianity as small children sometimes have memories of being terrified by images of hell and apocalypse before their brains could begin to make sense of such ideas. Some survivors, have flashbacks, panic attacks, or nightmares in adulthood even when they intellectually no longer believe the theology.
One can function well as a professional during the day, and struggle with intense fear many nights. Emotional and mental treatment in authoritarian religious groups also can be damaging because of
toxic teachings like eternal damnation or original sin
religious practices or mindset, such as punishment, black and white thinking, or sexual guilt, and
neglect that prevents a person from having the information or opportunities to develop normally.
More Info on RTS: How to Recognize Religious Trauma & How to Begin Healing