“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in you stop them.

Matthew 23:13

The Global Center for Religious Research is offering a 32-hour certification program.

The subject? Religious Trauma.

They aren’t the only ones covering this condition. Over at the Religious Trauma Institute, they describe the condition as:

The physical, emotional, or psychological response to religious beliefs, practices, or structures that is experienced by an individual as overwhelming or disruptive and has lasting adverse effects on a person’s physical, mental, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.

https://www.religioustraumainstitute.com/

That’s a good, but long definition. Here’s mine:

Religious Trauma is what happens when church people abuse other church people.

I don’t want this to be a thing. I don’t want to consider that I should devote my energy as a pastor to trying to heal wounds that other pastors have inflicted. And I really don’t want to consider the fact that along the way, I may have abused someone myself.

We’re not just talking about somebody who gets turned off from their church and stops going. We’re talking about people whose lives have been powerfully and negatively affected by the very institutions that purport to be about the business of SAVING lives.

This is not a new thing for Christians. The crusades are a great example. The spanish inquisition. The acquiescence to slavery. Even back in Jesus’ time he shared his anger at religious leaders who stood in the way of people longing to be part of God’s Kingdom.

There are churches out there, I’m just going to say it, that do not preach a God of Love. They preach fear, and guilt, and retribution. They preach that God loves everyone, except for _________ . I hate being associated with them–that we bear the same name of Christian.

There are pastors, youth workers, and volunteers who prey on children, or misuse their power, or warp the teachings of Christ into something corrupt. Shame on them. And if I’ve ever misused my authority to my own selfish ends, then shame on me.

There are people who have come to the church looking for salvation, for hope, for a new lease on life, who have experienced some of the ugliest sides of humanity, right there in the next pew. We’re not talking about a handful of people. According to the GCRR:

(A) new sociological study found that around one-third (27‒33%) of U.S. adults have experienced religious trauma at some point in their life and as many as one-in-five (20%) U.S. adults presently suffer from major religious trauma symptoms.

https://www.gcrr.org/

That’s enough to make me question whether we should just shut it all down. Call Christianity a failed experiment and a detriment to one’s mental and physical health. But DARN IT! I have been part of and seen many other churches that do so much good. They promote God’s grace and sincerely attempt to live it out. They respond to the Holy Spirit and point people to God’s Kingdom rather than standing in the way.

What is to be done? How can we reclaim the spirit of what it means to be a Christian in spite of all the pain that Christians have caused? I honestly don’t know. Perhaps this is a fight that we can’t avoid. We must fight on behalf of those who have given up on us. We must offer opportunities for healing, or at least listening. We must endeavor to live up to our calling and call out those who actively do harm in the name of God.

If you are a person who has experienced religious trauma, I hardly know what to say to you, but I’ll try. The God that I worship loves you unconditionally, and the people with whom I worship are longing to share that love with you and the world…at least, that’s what we try to do.

When we fail, woe to us, hypocrites. I’m sure I have failed before, but I make it one of my sacred goals to minister with compassion, acceptance, and integrity.

If you are still looking for hope and a purpose, know that there are many churches and many people who want to be part of that journey with you. Finding a safe place to worship, learn about, and serve God is so much harder than it should be. But they do exist.

As for those of us in The Church, the truth is we shouldn’t need a certificate for us to be healthy members of the Body of Christ.

We must reclaim our churches as places to heal from trauma

rather than places

to experience it.

Have a good week,

Mitch