Psychological Issues of Former Fundamentalists

[Brother Jeff]

Psychological Issues of Former Members of Restrictive Religious Groups

 

Jim Moyers, MA, MFCC

 

While this article was originally written for psychotherapists working with ex-fundamentalists, it should be helpful for anyone who has been involved with a restrictive religious group.)

 

Most psychotherapists have not been trained to deal with religious issues, and thus may fail to recognize their importance for some clients. This is especially likely to be the case when the client is a former member of a religious group with beliefs and practices that diverge from cultural norms. Since the individual is no longer associated with the group, the lingering effects of group membership may be overlooked or attributed to something else. Restrictive religious groups, characterized by rigid beliefs, authoritarian structure, rejection of mainstream culture, and a tendency to isolate their members from outside influences that might lead to questions about the group's teachings, come in many forms. While the experience of individuals involved with so-called cults that clearly deviate from established religious practice has been extensively discussed in both popular and professional literature, there is relatively little recognition of the similar issues presented by those affiliated with fundamentalist forms of mainstream religion (see my home page for examples of such groups).

 

Shattered Faith

 

There are many people who find membership in such groups to be a very positive experience. This article is not so much concerned with them as it is with those who, often after a great deal of inner turmoil, leave such groups. Many, especially those who had been intensely involved with their religion, experience what has been called the "shattered faith syndrome" (Yao, 1987). Having lost faith in was once a primary source of meaning and guidance, the former believer is apt to feel lost and overwhelmed. Estrangement from the community of believers - for many the focus of social life - compounds the former member's isolation and despair.

 

The psychological effect of having left a restrictive religious group can persist long after the outward severing of ties. There may be a chronic sense of dissatisfaction associated with difficulty in finding new sources of meaning and direction. Former members may distrust their own judgment, and despair in their inability to recapture the certainty that they once experienced through acceptance of the group's teachings. Many fundamentalist groups view pride in oneself as negative, and former believers often struggle with a persistently negative self image. Sexual inhibitions, compulsions, frustration, and guilt may linger on long after negative beliefs about sex have been consciously rejected. Having been taught to regard every impulse as potentially evil, the ex-believer is apt to have little tolerance for spontaneity and may lack the means for genuine self-expression. Conditioned distrust of the world outside the community of believers coupled with disillusionment with teachings that had once appeared infallible can make it hard to feel a part of any group or make lasting commitments.

 

Issues Of the Former Member in Psychotherapy

 

Ex-members of restrictive religious groups rarely come into therapy with their religious past as the presenting issue. They are of course subject to the same pathogenic factors as everyone else; such a background is not an all-inclusive explanation for every problem a former member may present. But as the work of therapy proceeds, unresolved conflicts involving past beliefs sometimes become apparent.

 

Religious conflicts should always be approached from a carefully neutral position. The therapist must walk a fine line between the traditional psychoanalytic bias against religion as pathological on the one hand and naiveté about the potential of some religious systems for undermining a healthy sense of self on the other. Even though the client may claim to have rejected her or his former beliefs, the therapist should remain neutral. Emphasizing negative aspects of a once strongly held way of being in the world may trigger defense of something with which the client is still unconsciously identified. Criticism of past beliefs may be misconstrued as criticism of the client for having believed them. There may be a lingering sense of shame in having once accepted as true things that now seem untenable.

 

The former member should be encouraged to look at the positive as well as negative aspects of having belonged to a restrictive religious group. It is often helpful to approach the involvement as a developmental stage that was important, in ways both good and bad, in shaping the individual's life. As with any other developmental stage, the restrictive belief system was eventually outgrown. But unlike most other life stages, there is rarely a readily apparent next stage for the former believer to move to. This is especially true when the group has discouraged awareness of other systems of thought and ways of being. Group members may know nothing about other religions, the humanities, or modern critical thought. Education in schools operated by the group, where all ideas are filtered through the shared belief system, tends to increase social and cultural isolation. Thus the former member may be unaware of alternative approaches to spiritual and existential questions. Support for spiritual and philosophical explorations, in contrast to the limits set by the former belief system, will help validate the client's capacity for independent thought.

 

Without the unequivocal pronouncements that once guided them, former members of restrictive groups are apt to feel lost and confused. In any transition, there is usually a period of time between the collapse of old beliefs and their replacement by a new set of guiding principles. Kuhn's (1970) account of the disorientation that occurs when a scientific viewpoint once thought to be definitive fails to fit emergent facts can be applied to the similar confusion that comes with shifts in religious belief. Bridge's (1980) concept of an "empty" middle phase as a stage in any transition can also be helpful in normalizing the ex-believer's sense of confusion and inner emptiness as a natural part of the process of moving beyond outmoded views about self and the world.

 

The tenets of the group serve as the primary source of meaning and self definition for its members. In departing from them, the former believer loses what may well have been the central focus of her or his life. As with any loss, there is an associated grief process which, however, may not be recognized as such. Acknowledging losses as well as gains in leaving the group, and that the depression the ex-member feels is a normal part of loss can go a long way towards helping him or her move through the necessary grief process.

 

The ex-believer may feel doubly misunderstood and isolated. Family and friends who remain in the group are likely to have little tolerance for the views of someone who has rejected their beliefs. People who do not share the same background may not understand the intense and long lasting effects of having once belonged to a restrictive religion. Additionally, the former member may not make a connection between current life difficulties and past religious experience.

 

Fundamentalist doctrines emphasize human imperfection, maintaining that there is no possibility for doing good without the assistance of divine grace. Along with the loss of idealized images about the group and its leaders, the disillusioned believer also loses what was represented as the only hope of salvation. Self esteem which was based upon association with the group and its "sure truths," is often seriously impacted. I have found Jung's (1965) concept of the self as an inner, transcendent source of healing and wholeness that can be projected onto institutions and their leaders helpful in helping people reclaim aspects of themselves that they may have given away to the group. In addition, Jung's psychological awareness of spirituality can be enlightening for individuals struggling with religious issues.

 

In therapy as well as in other relationships, the projections formerly carried by the group and its leaders are likely to appear in the form of idealization or devaluation, with the two processes sometimes alternating. Ex-believers may need to test a relationship to see if they are at risk for another painful betrayal. Therapeutic process often revolves around reclamation of the personal authority once given over to the group, and now perhaps projected onto significant others as well as the therapist.

 

The former believer may be very adept at meeting the perceived expectations of others through self denial. Denial, repression, splitting, and a false sense of self are often well developed defense mechanisms. The black and white thinking expressed in such conflicting pairs of opposites as God vs. devil, church vs. world, sin vs. righteousness, leads to repression of anything that might possibly be construed as unacceptable. Constant self monitoring and rigid self control, along with confession of every sin in prayer, are often considered the only means of avoiding divine condemnation. In the literalism characteristic of fundamentalism, an "evil" thought or feeling is regarded as just as sinful as an evil act. Impulses and feelings may be considered demonic in origin. The former group member may need frequent reminders that there is nothing inherently evil about negative feelings, and the fact of their existence does not mean they will be acted out.

 

Strongly held beliefs can greatly complicate family dynamics when not all family members share those beliefs. Clients who have left religious groups to which their families still belong may need support in coping with the anger, pain, and grief of being misunderstood and judged. They are likely to also need assistance in maintaining a personal philosophy that clashes with deeply held beliefs of their families. Family interactions can be dominated by the well meant attempts of the "faithful" to persuade their "lost loved one" to return to "the Truth." Conversely, the former believer's desire to win family and friends over to his or her condemnation of the group is often as strong as the desire of those who still belong to bring her or him back into the fold.

 

Dysfunctional family patterns are sometimes hidden behind the idealized image of the religiously affiliated family, an image that usually fails when faith in the church is lost. The discovery of pathology in one's family can present yet another challenge to previously held beliefs. Adolescents from families that belong to restrictive religious groups often rebel in gross violations of the strict moral codes that have been prescribed for them. Sexual acting out, running away, and substance abuse may represent attempts to establish autonomy in the face of overbearing parental and religious authority. Divorce and bitter child custody disputes, based in black and white conflicts over transcendent values, often occur when one spouse leaves a restrictive religious group while the other remains. While not all groups go so far as to prohibit contact with those who leave, the former member is unlikely to be well regarded by the faithful.

 

Conclusion

 

Psychological issues of former members of restrictive religious are unique in the degree to which they involve past religious belief and experience. It is important to remember that what may seem to be eccentric ideas and practices are likely to have been very important in shaping the former believer's life. In addition to the usual goals of psychotherapy, the former member may need assistance in exploring lingering religious conflicts, as well as support in seeking sources of meaning and guidance more congruent with current beliefs and lifestyle.

 

References

 

Bridges, W. (1980). Transitions. Reading, Mass.

 

Jung, C.G. (1965). Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Random House.

 

Kuhn, T.S. (1970). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

 

Yao, R. (1987). Addiction and the Fundamentalist Experience. New York: Fundamentalists Anonymous.

 

Earlier versions of this article appeared in Psychotherapy, The California Therapist, and Cultic Studies Journal.

 

©1998 James C. Moyers

[Karl-777]

Thanks for the good read.

 

When one combines brain-washing with guilt/shame/control-mongering and then mixes in some home-made "commandments", legalistic bullshit, scriptural dupery and pogram - people, events, lives, and even whole societies can get pretty fucked up.

 

K

[Panther]

Thanks for posting that article.

 

I was never a fundie type christain, but even so, I can identify with some of the article.

Mostly anger, sadness, etc. with coming to understand that the people whom I thought were my friends dumped me when I left christianity.

That hurt!

 

Lisa

[Wade]

Psychological Issues .....why yes I do

[liquid ash]

A very interesting article, and one that I can relate to in other ways as well.

[been borg again]

wow I can sure relate to the artical in so many detailed ways.

 

 

 

 

About a year ago I was being interviewed by a phycologist for about 3 hours so I could participate in a new drug study.

To my shock he called me the next day and said, " Hey I just wanted to let you know I am diagnosing you with PSTS due to your deconverstion expereince"

[pandora]

You know, I think hyperreligousity is actually in the DSM-IV (Or is it V now?)

[fallenleaf]

Yeah, it's true enough. Last semester I took a group therapy course (not a psychology major but it sounded interesting enough) and throughout the course we had several topics which we dicussed, from death to racism. As part of the profiles we all filled out at the start of the course, I had discussed my deconversion experience as it was the lowest point in my life. This among other comments by people in the group inspired the leaders to pick the topic of religion for one of the meetings.

 

We knew about this a week ahead of time and the entire week I was divided on if I was going to show up or not. It is still very hard for me to talk about me deconversion in public with people. And dealing with all the emotions it was likely to bring up (and memories as well) in front of these people was not something I thought I was ready to do. In the end, I did show up and the meeting went about as I expected it to. With me very uncomfortable and at the point of collapse for a lot of it.

 

At the end, one of the leaders pulled me aside to talk as he recognized how troubled I was. We talked for an additional hour or so where I explained how much I didn't want to attend and how rough it was. I let him know that it was a good experience, overall, but was very draining for me. He really was not prepared for the amount of emotional stuff the topic brought up for me. And when I got home and wrote my journal (as was required) which was usually a hand written page, it stretched into a typed mass of 10+ pages... single spaced, 10 pt font, and very little white space.

 

I turned it in the next week and apologized for the length and terseness of it. I knew that he would be reading it and I felt it was a hard burden to make him wade through it. He insisted that he was looking forward to it and was glad that I had poured so much out (personally I think he was trained to say that). I saw him the week after that and he handed it back to me... his only comment, "Wow, I had no idea."

 

And I think that almost every point made in the above article was mentioned or at least partially true in my experience. I think it might be good to train psychologist to understand how traumatic such events really are for the person. At the very least, I know of one (possibly two as there were two leaders and both likely saw the same things) psychologists have some real world experience with encountering it. If it helps them or not, that I can't know.