Research Article
Percentage of U.S. Adults Suffering from Religious Trauma: A Sociological StudyPercentage of U.S. Adults Suffering from Religious Trauma: A Sociological Study
"..harmful religious training may be one of the great unrecognized causes of
mental and physical illness in our culture."
This sociological study aimed to ascertain the percentage of adults living in the United States who have experienced religious trauma (RT) and what percentage presently suffer from RT symptoms now. After compiling data from 1,581 adults living in the United States, this study concludes
"...around one-third (27‒33%) of U.S. adults (conservatively) have experienced religious trauma (RT) at some point in their life."
"That number increases to 37% if those suffering from any three of the six major RT symptoms are included."
"It is also likely that around 10‒15% of U.S. adults currently suffer from religious trauma if only the most conservative numbers are highlighted. "
Of that 37%
~90% claim to know 1-10 people who suffer from RT.
~71% claim to know 2-10 people who suffer from RT.
~33% claim to know 5 or more people with RT.
"One problem is that the label “religious trauma” (RT) has remained ambiguously defined in much of the peer-reviewed literature, making it difficult for clinicians to identify and treat patients presenting with RT symptoms."
"This study
confirmed what Rossman and thousands of other practitioners have observed
for decades: religious trauma is, in fact, a society-wide phenomenon and
spiritual abuse is a chronic problem within religious communities"
Slade, Darren M., Adrianna Smell, Elizabeth Wilson, and Rebekah Drumsta. "Percentage of U.S. Adults Suffering From Religious Trauma: A Sociological Study." Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry 5, no. 1 (2023): 1–28.
"The analysis of religious trauma is enriched by considering how it may be produced by formation in chronic shame. The testimony of those who have experienced religious trauma and severe religious shame is essential to interdisciplinary understanding of and response to this harm. The experiences of those harmed indicates that some traditional Christian doctrinal interpretations are shaming. Thus, the potential for Christian communities to create climates of chronic shame and cause religious trauma is present wherever such theological interpretations dominate."
"Theological response to chronic Christian shame and religious trauma is necessary for at least three reasons."
"Firstly, these wounds have not received the serious and sustained interdisciplinary and theological attention they merit. These wounds are not only individual, interpersonal matters, but also systemic, social, and structural issues"
"Christian theological work testifying to and examining religious shaming may, in addition to breaking silence, open possibilities for interdisciplinary dialogue and deeper understanding of shame and trauma."
"Christian theological understanding of the human must continually be shaped by and respond to developing interdisciplinary knowledge regarding chronic shame and religious trauma."
Downie, A. (2022). Christian Shame and Religious Trauma. Religions, 13(10), 925. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13100925
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