Sunday School Dropouts Patriarchy and Purity Culture
Andrew and Laura sit down with Dr. Bethany Peake, a trauma-informed counselor and spiritual director at the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery, for a raw, thoughtful, and surprisingly hopeful conversation about what happens when patriarchy shapes your idea of God. They dig into how purity culture, control, and the “male gaze of the divine” mess with people’s sense of self, spirituality, and relationships—and how that damage can be undone.
Dr. Peake brings deep expertise and compassion as she unpacks how attachment theory helps explain our spiritual development, why our “God image” matters, and how healing begins when we reconnect with our bodies. Along the way, listeners share their own stories of recovering from purity culture and reclaiming their autonomy, reminding us that unlearning harmful theology doesn’t mean losing faith—it can mean finally finding freedom.
Connect with Bethany: CTRR Practitioner Bio page, www.bethanypeake.com
Resources discussed in this episode:
God is a Black Woman by Dr. Christina Cleveland
The Shack by William Paul Young
The Whole Brained Child by Dan Siegal (attachment expert)
Birth of the Living God by Ana-Maria Rizzuto
This podcast is brought to you by the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery: an online trauma coaching company whose practitioners are trauma informed and trauma trained to work with individuals, couples and families who have experienced high control religion, cults, and religious trauma. For more information on the support that CTRR provides, for resources–including courses, workshops, and more–head to traumaresolutionandrecovery.com or follow us on Instagram: @traumaresolutionandrecovery
The views and opinions expressed by Sunday School Dropouts are those of the hosts and not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery. Any of the content provided by our guests, sponsors, authors, or bloggers are their own ideas and opinions.
The Sunday School Dropouts podcast is not anti-religion but it is anti -harm, -power and control, -oppression and, -abuse and will speak to the harmful practices and messaging of fundamentalist groups.
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Hosts:
Laura Anderson and Andrew Kerbs
Music by Benjamin Faye Music @heytherebenji
Editing by Kevin Crowe and can be found at kevincrowe.co