“Every time you masturbate, God kills a kitten.” Ah yes, the threat of divine felicide, God’s one weapon in the fight against sexual deviancy. Unfamiliar with God’s displeasure at self-pleasure? You must not have grown up evangelical in the ’90s…
They grew up in purity culture, then taught it and now want to help others recover from it
Ryan Clark and Nathan Novero grew up in evangelical purity culture and even preached it as youth ministers. Now they are trying to address the sexual dysfunction and trauma inflicted on themselves and others by what seemed at the time…
Losing my religion
Do we really wonder why so many people are leaving organized religion? A new Gallup poll has found that for the first time, the proportion of Americans who say they are members of a church, synagogue or mosque has dropped…
The link between the Atlanta shootings and purity culture
The shootings that happened in Atlanta on March 16 were a needless tragedy — the loss of innocent lives at the hands of yet another gunman, where women of color once again were the victims. While lack of gun control…
My journey through purity culture and Christian worship music
The year was 1993. I was a sweaty junior high kid who had recently gotten my first stick of deodorant and had begun experiencing sensations in my body that felt both good and confusing. But one night, as my brothers…
Jesus and John Wayne exposes militant masculinity in the age of Trump
Why Donald Trump? Why are American evangelicals so enamored of a president who could serve as a poster boy for the seven deadly sins?
Therapist guides clients through loneliness, trauma created by spiritual abuse
“They think they are horrible people because that’s tied to the theology. You’ll find that in churches that place super focus on language like ‘I’m a sinner’ and ‘I’m a wretch.’”
Naked and ashamed: American Christianity’s purity culture and embodiment in the Church
Purity culture, alive and thriving in church youth groups, argues that Christians should shut down their sex drives and minimize the relationships to their bodies. Research shows the damage being done.