Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion

The problem with ALL religions, with the exceptions of Hinduism, (and including atheism, which is a religion in itself), is that the systems are self-contained.These are closed systems of thought. Hinduism accepts all paths to God as varied paths and maintains it’s scriptures as open to interpretation. In Hinduism contradiction is complementary as the truth seems different from different vantage points. I have been studying world religions for six years (World Religions & Spirituality Book Group on facebook) and I believe all the religions have great truths to share with us about this life and the next, but none are complete systems in themselves. As far as Christianity goes, know that there are many Christianities, thousands of interpretations that became their own sects. Just like Judaism, Christianity lies on a scale of orthodoxy, from more to less orthodox. The main branches today: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Coptic Church of Egypt (Orientalist Church), to the Protestant branches, there is a very wide range of orthodoxy and interpretation. There is much overlap in spiritual understandings at the inter-faith level as well. Remember too the heretical Christians , such as Christian Theosophy (mystical theology of Boehme), the Christian Gnostics, as well as the Medieval German mystics. There’s more to Christianity than one sect. As my old philosophy professor always said, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!” Too often we do.My personal favorite books on religion and spirituality:*Huston Smith, The World Religions*Yehudah Ashlag, A Tapestry for the Soul(Kabbalah)*R. H. J. Steuart, The Mystical Doctrine of St. John of the Cross(mysticism)*Mark Christian, The Apostate: My Search For Truth(Islam)*Hazrat Inyat Khan, The Heart of Sufism(Sufism)*Brian Hines, Return to the One(Plotinus)*Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace(Zen Buddhism)*Kenneth Ring, Lessons From the Light(NDE)*Bhante Gunaratana, The Practice of Metta(Mahayana Buddhism)*Raymond Moody, God is Bigger Than the Bible(NDE)*Traleg Kybagon, The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion Through Mind Training(Mahayana Buddhism)*Oldmeadow, Touchstones of the Spirit(perennial philosophy)*Melvin Morse, Transformed By the Light(NDE)*Paul Robb, The Kindness of God(NDE)*Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago(Russian spiritual experience)*Nottingham, Parable Wisdom(Christ’s parables)*Nancy Clark, Divine Moments(mystical experience)*Nancy Clark, Beyond theMystical Near Death Experience and Into the Unitive Experience(mystical experience)*Guggenheim, Hello From Heaven(After-Death Communication)*Kirvan, Where Only Love Can Go: The Cloud of Unknowing(mysticism)*Kirvan, Fear Not the Night: Based on the Classic Spirituality of John of the Cross(mysticism)*Kirvan, God Awaits You: Based on the Classic Spirituality of Meister Eckhart(mysticism)*Swami Paramananda, The Book of Daily Thoughts and Prayers(Hinduism)*Richard Gerard, Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson(Unitarian Universalist)*William Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life(Stoicism)*Enkath Easwaran, Classics of Indian Spirituality (3 volumes)*Sarvapeli Radhakrishnan, books(Hinduism)*Papanagioutou, The Inner Restoration of Christianity(Orthodox Church)*Alvin Kuhn, The Lost Light(ancient Egypt)*Black Elk, The Sacred Pipe(Shamanism)*Joseph Epes Brown, The Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian(Shamanism)*Charles Eastman, The Soul of the Indian(Shamanism)*Seyyed Nasr, The Garden of Truth(Sufism)*William Chittick, The Sufi Doctrine of Rumi(Sufism)*Irach Taraporewala, The Religion of Zarathrusha(Zoroastrianism)*Brian Walker, Sitting With Lao Tzu, The Hua Hu Ching, The I Ching or the Book of Changes(Taoism)*Peter Gandy, The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs(ancient Egypt)*Bede Griffiths, The One Light*S. Angus, The Mystery-Religions(mystery religions)*Daler Deol, A Gift of Grace: Guru Nanak’s Spirituality(Sikhism)*Harry Oldmeadow, Frithjof Schuon and the Perennial Philosophy(perennial philosophy)*Gleason, The Spiritual Foundations of Aikito(Aikido)*Glasenapp, Jainism an Indian Religion of Salvation(Jainism)*Suzan Zannos, Essence and Enneagram(ancient psychology)*Charles Tart, Transpersonal Psychologies(religion-based psychologies)*John Firman, Psychosynthesis: A Psychology of Spirit(inter-faith Psychology)*Peter Breggin, Your Drug May Be Your Problem(ethical psychiatry)Don’t turn to atheism, it’s a dead-end. Psychology is rooted an atheism. If you need therapy find a Transpersonal Therapist that will honor your spiritual path. That’s my advice, from my personal journey. If I could recommend only one book it would be “Where Only Love Can Go” by Kirvan. It is based on the mystical text, “The Cloud of Unknowing”, also known as Negative Theology, a theology found in many of the worlds religions that goes back to the Greeks and ancient India.. God is bigger than any book or human conception. Have blind faith, this is the true path.

It is an excelent book for people that are trying or peopke that got out of religion, it is very informative and helps you deal with religious trauma are you have it. Not everyone has a bad experience with religion, and this does not make religion back, but for those who had a bad experience with it, this book is for you.

The insights on how religious fundamentalism affects and limits people mentally and emotionally, and practical information on how to heal from and grow beyond these limitations, make this book extremely valuable to anyone who wants to heal from and grow past their fundamentalist upbringing.

This book is a starting place for those who have walked away from a life built around religious ideology. Doing this can make one feel as though they have let most if not all their identity. Through exercises, interviews, and personal stories Dr. Winell gives practical advice for those starting to reclaim their life after have spent years or decades stuck in spiritually manipulative situations. I found this book to be extremely helpful as I navigate leaving church and Christianity. I highly recommend this book and would love to read it again with others in a support group settimg

I am so grateful for this book. I'm about half way through it so far, but Dr. Winell communicates so articulately the pain and psychological trauma that comes from a life baptized into Evangelical Fundamentalism. She explains how different negative belief systems of fear, self hatred and behavioral patterns of self harm can occur specifically, how they can be difficult to detect to the person believing them, and then how to overcome them. For years after my deconstruction from Evangelical Pentecostalism, I have tried to find information on psychology that would be able to help me identify the problems created by very particular faith doctrines and theologies, because I have experienced its destruction first hand, so deeply in my own psyche and life. This book is helping me to identify the cognitive problems created by toxic religion and then know specifically how to counteract them. Dr. Winell not only points out the negatives caused by religion, but for those who have left religion in one way or another, she also identifies the positive things that we had but have now lost, and finally teaches how to reclaim those positive dynamics in healthier contexts.I still am trying to find the best words about how to articulate this transformation-- but then again, that's why I am reading this life-changing book! I highly recommend it.

I want to sincerely thank Marlene for this book. I was raised in evangelical Christianity and that belief system completely annihilated my own sense of self. I used to be completely dependent on that system for any sense of worth, acceptance and love. Thank you for putting into words the struggle that I did not understand how to express. Thank you for pulling off the blinders so I could really understand just how deeply and fundamentally this religion affected me. Thank you for being so transparent with your own experience so that I could trust that you really understood the extremely painful and difficult transition I am making. This book has been invaluable and a life changer. Thank you!!!!

The moment I began to read this book I was in it. I identified with everything that the author says about fundamental Christianity.I have recently written a book about my life and the problems that ensued from my upbringing. Leaving the Fold echos everything I experienced and I felt validated at last.My book is the journey of how I freed myself up from those terrible beliefs about myself. So I had already healed from most of it. But there were still some powerful exercises in this book for me to look at. Especially how much dogmatic beliefs still affect my thinking.I am so happy that I came across Leaving the Fold.

I was born into a fundamentalist church and left in my late teens. Now as an adult in my mid-30s, struggling to really ‘live’, this book has helped me unpack and realise the tangled web of beliefs and emotions in which I’ve been stuck. I didn’t even know and understand what fundamentalism was, because it wasn’t how we defined ourselves.After reading this book, I now realise how much I grossly underestimated the impact that it had on me, and I’m deeply grateful for the guidance of insights that Winell has shared with us. It’s been a lonely struggle up until now, but I suddenly feel that I’m understood. I also feel aware that I’m one of many people who are likely going through a similarly painful journey. I can only hope that as many people as possible will find and benefit from this well-researched and important piece of work.

Not just for fundamentalists. Comprehensive information for those wishing to deprogramme negative self talk and shame messages from Christian religious indoctrination. Lots of case studies for identification of cult like mind washing. Remains open minded to free choice about spiritual beliefs whilst debunking dogma.

An excellent read for anyone who [for whatever reason] has to travel the difficult road away from religious indoctrination towards the experiential freedom which only an informed maturity and insight afford.Religious Trauma Syndrome [a concept devised by the author and now widely accepted] is expertly described in readable jargon-free prose - along with several testimonies from people psychologically damaged by their experiences of fundamentalist doctrines and practices.A section devoted to "what you can do to help yourself" completes the second half of the book. It is undeniably dualistic, ego-centric and transactional - which is to be welcomed.I think the time has now come for health-care professionals to question and oppose the Religious Leaders who refuse to change the dangerous man-made traditional teachings of organized religion. Teachings which have caused distress to millions and continue to do so.If this is heresy then so be it.Dr RJW

I had seen this book recommended several times but only just got around to reading it. Despite its age, it is a really valuable read. I'd recommend it to anybody who has left or is leaving fundamentalist religion, even if they feel relatively unscathed by the whole experience.I'd also suggest that anybody still in this kind of environment should read it, to give themselves a better chance of not falling foul to the more avoidable aspects of the fundamentalist culture and mindset, even if you intend to stay within it, particularly if you are raising children in this sub-culture. Lastly, if you are the spouse or relative of someone affected, it will give you an insight into what they are coping with and acting out.The content is remarkably non-judgemental about religious beliefs and those who instil them. It focusses upon both the harm but also the benefits that religious beliefs provide, and gives a step-wise program for recognising and repairing any damage that a period in a fundamentalist environment may have done you. It is not about blame, but about healing.Buy it! Read it! Live your life!