What's the purpose of this project?

Over the last 25 years, research shows around 40 million people in America have stopped going to church for a variety of reasons including religious trauma and the church's responses to social and political events. Recent movements aimed at promoting equality and awareness of trauma (such as the #MeToo movement, LGBTQ+ rights, and Black Lives Matter) have prompted many churchgoers to evaluate their faith community’s commitment to trauma-informed practices. Additionally, popular documentaries on cults have left people questioning if all religions are cults and whether healthy spiritual authority can exist.

Trauma-informed church leadership is one of our best defenses in preventing unintended harm in faith communities. In our professional roles, we actively support survivors who have encountered varying degrees of harm or abuse in these settings. It’s difficult to describe just how heartbreaking it is to observe the long-lasting effects on one's physical and mental health, as well as their spirituality, after experiencing such harmful systems.

Our purpose is to support churches as they grapple with these issues and make decisions on how to create a safe and loving environment for all of the people in their congregations. Our missions are aligned in that we all want the church to be a place of healing rather than harm. Our project aims to prevent spiritual abuse and trauma in the community where the potential for healing is so great.