Teenage Exorcisms & Mega-Church Millions: Rachael Reign’s UCKG Story

Jul 14, 2025

This week, Rachael Reign, a survivor of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and current law student, shares her harrowing journey through a world of teenage exorcisms and financial exploitation. She details how love bombing and manipulative practices led her from a curious teen to a leader in a cult focused on fear and shame. Rachael opens up about her escape from control, the psychological trauma inflicted by the church, and her transformation into an advocate for cult survivors and legal reform in the UK.

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ANECDOTE

Rachael's Introduction to UCKG

At 13, Rachael joined UCKG after being invited to a lively youth group near her home.
She quickly became heavily involved, attending multiple services daily and becoming a born again Christian.

INSIGHT

Money as a Spiritual Tool

UCKG teaches prosperity by giving, linking money donations to blessings.
They target young people early, encouraging tithing from pocket money and student loans.

ANECDOTE

Youth Group Grooming and Labor

The Victory Youth Group grooms young members into future church leaders.
Members performed free labor like cleaning and recruitment, with strict hierarchical roles.

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This episode is sponsored in part by Betterhelp. This week our guest is Rachael Reign, a survivor of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG).

At just 13, Rachael was swept into UCKG’s world of fire and brimstone – where teenage exorcisms were a weekly ritual, your mental health struggles meant demons were lurking inside you, and giving your last cent to the church wasn’t just encouraged – it was demanded.

She shares how she went from being a bright, curious teenager to a youth group leader tasked with recruiting others, cleaning the church floorboards with her tears, and enduring violent “strong prayers” that left her bruised, broken, and questioning her sanity. Behind the gospel music and shiny sermons was a cult built on fear, shame, and draining its members dry in the name of salvation.

Rachael doesn’t hold back as she unpacks the manipulative recruitment tactics, the psychological torment disguised as faith, and the way UCKG weaponized scripture to justify abuse and financial exploitation. She also takes us through her escape – losing everything she knew, only to rebuild from the ashes into an advocate fighting for cult survivors and legal reform in the UK.

Because when your church tells you to give God everything, what they really mean is: give it to us – your money, your body, your mind, your freedom.

For more from Rachael, follow her on Instagram @rachaelreign.

Also… let it be known that:

The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad.

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CREDITS:

Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames

Production Partner: Amphibian.Media

Co-Creator: Jess Tardy

Associate producers: Amanda Zaremba and Matt Stroud of Amphibian.Media

Audio production: Red Caiman Studios

Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin