In this fun and insightful episode, I’m talking with Danea Males, a local photographer and photography teacher who spent the first 20 years of her life in the Assemblies of God congregation.

Danea has since left the faith and done quite a bit of research on the history of the church, its ties to Pentecostalism, and … potentially even to the Carnival circuit.

It's hard enough leaving a high-control religion, but leaving when you're part of the well-known founding family comes with its own set of unique challenges.

In this episode, Lyn Smith Gregory (grand-niece of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church) shares the powerful story of her leaving the Mormon faith and rebuilding her life.

It’s been a month since the last episode, but Amber is back with some big news, updates, and post-faithful thoughts on life lately.

The title “Primitive Baptist” alone tells a story about the life today’s guest once lived. The ideals, beliefs about women and children, and inclination to lean on violence as a form of control are almost too backward to deserve the title.

In this episode, Maddy Usry shares her experience in this denomination, but more specifically about how it looked within her childhood home. Together, we also discuss the impact of domestic violence on women in extreme religious situations and how Maddy made the bold choice to make a new life for herself.

There is a myriad of reasons that people leave their faith, and most of the time (at least on this show) it’s pretty traumatic. But not everyone leaves after heartbreak or abuse. Sometimes, it just makes sense to someone to walk away.

Our guest for this episode, Sarah Henn Hayward, made just such a decision. Sarah is the author of Giving Up God: Resurrecting a Spirituality of Love and Wonder. Together, we discuss her decision to leave, how it has impacted her family relationships, how she navigates an interfaith marriage, and whether or not she would do it all again.

This week, I'm talking with Julia Postema and Jeremiah Gibson. They are the co-hosts of the podcast Sexvangelicals: The Sex Education the Church Didn't Want You to Have. They are both Boston-based licensed psychotherapists and certified sex therapists who work with clients in Massachusetts. They currently live in The Netherlands and specialize in helping couples with negative religious backgrounds discover sexuality that works for their partnership.

It's not goodbye, just goodbye for now! Join me as I share exciting news, answer a few listener questions, and reflect on all the goodness this season has brought.

See you again on March 31, 2024! Happy New Year!

Mega-churches have been a hot topic in the past several years. Reports of deception, greed, and abuse of every kind have been coming to light, and it’s easy to see why people are so enthralled.

In this episode, we’re going behind the scenes of a megachurch with former worship leader, Sage Salazar, as they share their transformative journey from a starry-eyed believer to a liberated skeptic. Their experiences with a culture of extreme control, church "Hollywood" glam, and heartbreaking abuse are eye-opening.

Perfectionism and over-control, while not exclusive to those of us who left high-control religion, is something many of us who have left battle regularly. Today’s guest is particularly skilled at working with and through these issues.

I’m talking with therapist Emilea Richardson, owner of Sparrow Soulwork. Together, we have a fun and thoughtful conversation about the impact that over-control can have on relationships and how she uses Radically Open DBT in her therapy practice to help her clients (and herself) heal.

This episode is personal for me, and I have made the tough decision to leave in several mistakes and not spend extra time correcting them like I usually would. I hate and love this at the same time, but as Emilea says in our conversation, “mistakes happen, and this can be a model for how that’s ok.”

When you think of women’s stories in the Bible, what do you think of? Is it empowering? Or is it about shame? For many of us, it was the latter, and today’s guest thinks that’s a shame.

Ronna Detrick is a Spiritual Director and author of the Book Rewriting Eve: Rescuing Women’s Stories from the Bible and Claiming Them As Our Own. Together, we have a thoughtful conversation about her beautiful retelling of stories that have been often subjected to a negative patriarchal lens.

Deciding to leave a life dedicated to Christian ministry isn’t a light decision. But, as many of my guests can attest, when you start to see the cracks in the foundation, it’s often harder to stay.

For Chris Highland, those cracks were in the shape of the people to whom he was ministering and the vastness of the natural world. This episode is filled with our experiences of wonder, awe, and the call to something big enough for everyone.

Radical self acceptance is hard. It can be even harder when you’ve been raised under the umbrella of high-control religion that wants to suppress, hide, and “convert” your sexuality to conform to their ideals.

In this episode, Seth Showalter shares his remarkable story of learning to love himself after years of hiding his sexuality and even attending a gay conversion rehab. Seth’s story is a powerful one you don’t want to miss.

It’s hard to find evidence in contemporary religious practices of women being protected and treated with honor and respect. More often, we see examples of women being made responsible for men’s actions.

In today’s episode, Amanda Armstrong shares her personal experience of this in the Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation. It’s a story I didn’t expect, and one you don’t want to miss.

Whether you’re familiar with BJU or not, it has had an impact on your life in some way, and probably not for the better. The ultra-conservative, fundamentalist institution is well-known for it’s strict practices, harsh standards, and unmistakable students.

In this episode, I’m joined by Andrew Pledger, former BJU student and creator of the podcast, Surviving BJU: A Christian Cult. Together, we discuss his experiences there, what he’s learned since, and how he’s Speaking Up louder now than ever before.

For many who leave strict fundamentalist circles, dating and sexuality are challenging to navigate. Most fundamentalist churches teach turning off your innate sexuality as a human being and enforce excessively strict dress codes and dating policies.

What damage can that do? And how does it feel looking back at some of these enforcements?

Whether you grew up in or around Christianity or not, you’re likely familiar with the idea of God as “The Father.” It’s hard to miss. But for many of us, it’s an idea that’s difficult to connect with.

Churches that behave like cults are typically quick to say things like “the heart is desperately wicked, you can’t trust it” or “you can’t lean on your own understanding.” As a consequence, those who grow up in these churches have a hard time learning to trust their intuition and who they know themselves to be deep down.

Being at odds with a family still deeply entrenched in the faith you’re questioning is often the most challenging part of deconstruction. More often than not, it disrupts the relationship and causes a rift that feels like a masterclass in boundary setting.

In this episode, I’m talking with Sarah A. about her journey through deconstructing her deeply Catholic upbringing. Together, we discuss the ups and downs of being a former faithful child of people who desperately want you to have their faith.

Not everyone who deconstructs their faith wants to leave it entirely. For so many, reconciling with the faith they love and are deeply connected to isn’t part of their journey. But are there really churches out there doing things differently than what so many of us are used to? And what could it look like for a church itself to deconstruct old patterns, deeply rooted history, and its own wrongdoings?

The one time in scripture we see Jesus get violently angry, it’s in a church- a church selling goods for profit and treating it like a business. This story is so well known, it got a moment in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. And yet, we still see news story after news story, documentary after documentary, about churches abusing their power and putting profit before people.