The Dismantling Doctrine Podcast

As I've been connecting with more and more ex-cult members, I have been learning that even though each cult has very different ideology, the psychology of mind control, thought reform, manipulation, abuse and exploitation is virtually identical group to group. Thus, whether you've come out of a dangerous cult group, or a fundamentalist Christian church--chances are, you'll have suffered a lot of religious trauma, identity suppression, and many other forms of abuse. Helping you to recover from your experiences in such groups is the goal of people like this week's guest, former Scientologist Chris Shelton. Although we don't delve much into Scientology itself, we get into the practicalities of how groups control their followers--and how you can rebuild your sense of identity after leaving.

This special bonus episode draws upon the work of psychologist Dr Robert Lifton and his seminal 1961 work on the psychology of brainwashing, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China.  In particular, I make use of Lifton's 12-step model to explore further the psychology of conversion, as well as what happens to a person who deconstructs his or her religious faith and leaves their church or cult group behind--the process of "deconversion," or spiritual transitioning. This is a helpful discussion particularly for ex-evangelicals, but also for those who have left a cult. Unpicking the conditioning, and understanding how you were controlled and manipulated will help you reconstruct your sense of self--and your identity. 

In this episode of MindShift podcast, I catch up with Keith Davis, formerly of the Pilgrims & Prodigals podcast. Last year we had a great chat with ended up on their show, and since then a lot has changed--both for Keith and myself. Since I've been studying the psychological aspects of how cults (and some evangelical churches too) control, manipulate and coerce their followers, I wanted to see if Keith's experiences in evangelicalism matched up to the classic markers of cults as laid out by psychologist Robert Lifton in his 1981 article, "Cult Formation." In our exploration of the cult-like aspects of evangelicalism, Keith and I discuss theology and coercion--why the dogmas of evangelicalism, along with the mind control aspects, have affected us psychologically and in other ways--and how we're recovering from it all.

This week's episode of MindShift podcast features cult expert Rick Alan Ross, author of the book Cults Inside Out: How People Get in and Can Get Out. Rick is not just someone who is informed about cults--he is a court-certified expert who has testified in multiple cases in courts all across America related to cults. In this informative and thought-provoking episode, I have a whole series of questions I had prepared for Rick, as I had been doing reading and research on how cults operate, controlling and manipulating their followers. In our discussion, we covered not only most of the questions, but went further into areas related to cults: fundamentalism and its associated dangers. If you're an ex-evangelical, or ex-cult member looking to educate yourself and reconstruct your identity, then this episode is for you!

Catch the early release of my conversation with 2 ex-Jehovah's Witnesses from Melbourne, Australia: Lara Kaput and Steven Unthank. We'll go behind the scenes of the Watchtower organization and talk about not only their experiences of leaving the cult behind, but major issues such as the epidemic of child sexual abuse within the organization that has been covered up by the Watchtower for decades.  

In this episode of MindShift podcast, I talk to ex-pastor, ex-evangelical and...progressive Christian, Chris Kratzer. Chris is the author of the new book Leatherbound Terrorism: Crucified by Conservative Christianity, Resurrected by Jesus. Although Chris is no fan of conservative evangelicalism, somehow he has not abandoned his beliefs in God and Jesus--albeit in a radically different form. So why didn't Chris walk away from it all? And why is he, although still considering himself a Christian, so vociferously speaking out against the evils of the church?   

In this inaugural episode of MindShift podcast for 2019, I begin to explore what--if any--connections exist between the world of recognized, mainstream cults and the evangelical church. Most evangelicals would doubtless be outraged and offended if anyone suggested their church might in any way resemble a cult. But since the symptoms reported by both ex-cultists and ex-evangelicals are remarkably similar, I began to wonder if there surely must be a connection between the two. Listen in to find out more on this fascinating and intriguing topic!

In this final episode of MindShift podcast for 2018, I bring back a guest from the buckle of the Bible belt in the South of the United States--one "Seamus Clarke."    In our previous episodes, Seamus mentioned that the film "The Last Temptation of Christ" was hugely helpful in his deconstruction journey. So in this episode, we not only unpack the movie in more detail, we examine the evangelical and fundamentalist responses to it--30 years ago back in 1988 when it came out.   We also delve into the many issues the film raises: the humanity of Christ, how the portrayal of him having sex impacts upon the evangelical purity culture, the reliability of the Gospels, and more.

Several months ago, Andrew was a guest on MindShift podcast and provided a lot of very helpful analysis regarding much of what causes religious trauma--particularly in evangelical Christianity. In this episode, Andrew and I get into the specifics of what emotional health looks like, particularly for the person who has de-converted from religion. Andrew not only explores spirituality as a path for healing from religious trauma, he also provides a wide range of options for exploration.

In September of this year, I caught up with Andrew Gurevich down in Portland, OR and sat down for a great interview around the topic of "reconstruction after deconstruction." In this process, it turns out that reconstructing involves nothing less than...a total reorientation of our former worldviews, belief systems, and identities. If you've left religion behind, and are wondering what happens next--then you'll get a lot out of this wide-ranging and challenging conversation.