Cult Abuse / Abusive Churches

I was wondering if there is a section on this forum for survivors of cult/spiritual abuse in churches. If not, has anyone been a victim of this type of abuse?

It seems to me what happens is people who were raised in cults either stay in the cults or leave. Those who leave, like myself, feel alone in their struggles, trying to assimilate into secular society and figure out what "normal" is.

I don't know of any real-life support groups that meet. It would be nice to meet other survivors for support. Online support is good too.

Hi freespirit. Glad you are a survivor. There are many groups listed with a google search searching under Here you might try survivors of abuse forum but often that is a one person to another person kind of abuse.

The church I grew up in was very racist, creepy and controlling, among other things. Some of the things they did I still don't really understand to this day. I think it scared me away from religion for life, though. Just wanted to chime in to say you're not the only one here who has been through some whack religious crap, it's definitely a mind**** when you grow up with it.

I'm in the same boat, freespirit. I'm trying to find resources for cult survivors. I hope we can maybe start something on this forum for this. I know I could really use it, because I left only very recently, and really struggle sometimes.

ICSA does hold in-person support groups for survivors of any cult, and the facilitators are all ex-members of various cultic organizations themselves. I've attended in the past and found them very helpful. It's validating and enlightening to understand firsthand what's common about the experiences of people even coming from disparate types of groups. They do a lot of good work: International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)

Here on psychcentral there seems to only be a few of us, if the membership of our Cult Survivors social group is any indication: http://forums.psychcentral.com/group...survivors.html

Cult Education Institute is probably the best information resource though, having been around over a decade and maintaining many years of postings and articles: Cult Education Forum

Best of luck in your recovery. You may have already become aware of some of these resources, but I figure they're worth mentioning. I know how hard this particular type of recovery can be; I consider myself to be still "in" recovery, in that regard.

When i was young my mother was in a cult which included many bizarre and abusive rituals. I was often included and used.