Swift-Godzisz is among the 1 in 3 adults in the United States who have suffered from religious trauma at some point in their life, according to a 2023 study published in the Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry Journal. That same study suggests up to 1 in 5 U.S. adults currently suffer from major religious trauma symptoms.
Religious trauma occurs when an individual’s religious upbringing has lasting adverse effects on their physical, mental or emotional well-being, according to the Religious Trauma Institute. Symptoms can include guilt, shame, loss of trust and loss of meaning in life. While religious trauma hasn’t officially been classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), there is debate among psychiatrists about whether that should change.
Experts say LGBTQ people — who represent more than 7% of the U.S. population, according to a 2023 Gallup poll — experience religious trauma at disproportionate rates and in unique ways. Very little research has been done in this field, but a 2022 study found that LGBTQ people who experience certain forms of religious trauma are at increased risk for suicidality, substance abuse, homelessness, anxiety and depression. And as political animus toward the LGBTQ community intensifies ahead of the 2024 presidential election, many queer people say their pain is resurfacing.
On the plus side, now the trauma has expanded beyond mental conditions to include physical aspects such as death of pregnant women as well!
Unfortunately “plus” here means “additionally”, as it will continue to grow - now also including potential mothers and fathers who will no longer be able to use IVF due to the latest insanity. Already maternity care for wanted babies has suffered greatly.
Jesus Himself passionately hated religious hypocrites, and the Bible itself, Old and New Testaments alike, says things like “The worker deserves their wages”, “Religion that is pure and true is to help those less fortunate”, etc. Just like those “patriots” who stormed the USA Capitol on January 6th - citing how they were “defending the Constitution”, while actually trying to overthrow it - there is no justification for this even within the very thing those very people point to as having provided their “excuse”.
Might does not make Right, although… it might as well I guess, if nobody will stand up to the bullies. These things must be fought against, hard - and especially by people who identify as Christians but also by anyone who cares about the harm that is being done. e.g., states don’t have to passively wait for Federal laws - we can pass local ones firming up protections for medical care right now. Congress may be non-functional these days, but there are other ways to get things done: local governments, or nonprofits. And if the “religions” want to join in, even if just offering funding, that’s fantastic - but we need to do it either way, with or more likely without the majority of them.