"Talking About Sex in Church Broke Us" — Donna Freitas on Healing What Religion Couldn’t

Author, scholar, and survivor Donna Freitas joins us for a raw and deeply thoughtful conversation on the ways purity culture, religious silence, and institutional failures around sexuality have left lasting wounds — and where healing might actually begin.

In this episode, we talk about:

• 📚 Donna’s personal story of church trauma and spiritual silence

• ✝️ The impact of purity culture on desire, consent, and autonomy

• 🧠 Why Christian spaces still struggle to talk about sex without shame

• 💔 How writing became Donna’s way back to something like prayer

• 🔍 The difference between sexual ethics and sexual rules

• 🧎‍♀️ What healing can look like when religion has been the source of harm

• 👀 The things that don’t get said in evangelical and Catholic conversations around sex — and why they matter

This one is for anyone who's been handed shame in the name of God — and is still trying to sort through what’s true, what’s trauma, and what’s worth keeping.

 

Donna Freitas is an author, researcher, professor, and leading voice in conversations around sex, consent, spirituality, and young adult faith.

• Website: www.donnafreitas.com

• Substack: @donnafreitas

• Instagram: @donnafreitas.writer

 

Where Do We Go From Here is a podcast by Jessica Vanderwyngaard

For more content and to partner with the show: https://www.patreon.com/wheredowegopod

Today's Host was EDJ - https://evangelicaldeconstructionjourney.com/