The Divorcing Religion Podcast
The Divorcing Religion Podcast was launched by professional counsellor Janice Selbie to highlight the impact of Religious Trauma Syndrome. Guests include The Thinking Atheist Seth Andrews, The Friendly Atheist Hemant Mehta, author Margaret Atwood, Godless Mom, Mandisa Thomas, Dr. Darrel Ray, Dr. Marlene Winell and more.
Episodes
Timmy Joe Gibson - Former Tongue Talkin, Holy Rollin, Bible Thumper
Divorced: Christianity
Timmy Gibson, is a former fundamental evangelical Bible thumping tongue-talking Holy Ghost Rollin Pastor. After graduating Bible College, Timmy spent 30 years teaching and preaching the Bible, with his main message being that the only way to escape the eternal flames of Hell was to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Ironically, this “...
Lacey Bond - From Bible Study to Sex Ed, Part 1
Divorced: Christianity
CW: Frank discussion about sex
Lacey Bond (IntimacyLacey) is a Certified Sex, Relationship, and Intimacy Coach and sex/kink educator based in Los Angeles. She's dedicated to helping people heal from Purity Culture, growing healthy relationships with other people and developing awesome, shame-free sexuality.
David Hayward - The Naked Pastor, Revealed
Divorced: Christianity
My guest today is known by many of you for his powerful cartoons and paintings related to deconstruction from Christianity. I’m speaking with my fellow Canadian, David Hayward, who is an ex-pastor turned full-time artist. David is also known as The Naked Pastor. He's been blogging about spirituality, deconstruction, and religious freedom since 2006. He is also the...
Pamela Jones - Escaping a Deadly Polygamous Cult
DIVORCED: FLDS Cults
TW: Brief mention of CSA and child abuse in this episode
In 1965, PAMELA JONES was born in Los Molinos, Mexico, into a polygamous Mormon cult known as The Church of the Firstborn of the Fullness of Time. As the eldest daughter of 13 children, she left school at age 11 to care for her younger siblings in a remote desert compound without electricity or running water....
Tara Jean Stevens - Heaven Bent
Divorced: Pentecostalism
CW: Sexuality discussed
Today I’m speaking with fellow Canadian Tara Jean (TJ) Stevens, the host and creator of Heaven Bent, a podcast docuseries with a special focus on Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. In addition to her successful podcast, TJ has also been a morning show favourite on Vancouver radio & TV for 25 years. Listen to "Tara Jean in the Morning" on...
Karrah Youngblood - Exposing A Predator: Wildfire
TW: Violence and sexual assault
Karrah Youngblood is a professional artist, single mom, and unexpected memoirist from Oklahoma. She never planned to be an activist, but standing up to the man who hurt her — and so many others — turned into a fight she couldn’t walk away from.
Karrah is now telling her story: The story of what happens when one woman refuses to stay silent, despite every...
Pamela Nickel Williams - Scientology: When Lies Are True
DIVORCED: Scientology
TW: Incest
Pamela Nickel Williams was born into Scientology. Her parents were early Scientologists who worked closely with L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology’s founder, at the first Church of Scientology in the late 1950s. Pamela and her parents were practicing members of the church until the late 1970s. After years of burying her childhood memories, Pamela began...
Allie Monday - Erotic Photographer & Worshiper of Women
DIVORCED: Fundamentalism
TW: Eating disorder mentioned briefly
My guest today was one of our sponsors for Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture 2025. Allie Monday is an erotic photographer and the creator of Ladygroove, a body-led portrait experience rooted in healing, sensuality, and self-acceptance. Her work invites women to shed shame and come home to their eroti...
Cynane Shay - Tinfoil Hats and Lizard People PART TWO
DIVORCED: Christianity
TW: Antisemitism, violence, and satanism are all mentioned in this episode.
Today, nuclear engineer and writer Cynane Shay joins me for Part 2 of our conversation, "Tinfoil Hats and Lizard People." Our discussion today is based on research Cynane has conducted over the past few years to gain an understanding of where and how QAnon beliefs and antise...
Cynane Shay - Tinfoil Hats & Lizard People PART ONE
DIVORCED: Christianity
Cynane Shay is a nuclear engineer living in South Carolina. Her childhood in White Christian Nationalism normalized conspiracy theories like Obama Birtherism and the Biblical apocalypse; but 2020, with COVID and Qanon, finally made her realize something was deeply wrong.
Now Cynane is writing a book, “Taking Off the Tinfoil Hat: How Lizard People and S...
Alyona Smoky - A Beautiful Liberation
CW: War in Ukraine
Alyona Smoky was born and raised in Ukraine, where her mother joined a high-control, conservative evangelical church when Alyona was young. As a result of family stressors, Alyona shouldered much of the emotional burden in her family as a child, and she grew up very quickly in a chaotic and emotionally intense environment.
When she was 16, Alyona moved to the U.S. with her famil...
Michelle Moffitt - From Abuse to Freedom
CW: Sexual Assault
Michelle Moffitt Rogers is a licensed therapist, Enneagram expert, and author. In this episode, Michelle shares her story and explores the psychological impact of spiritual abuse, the complexities of leaving both faith and a toxic marriage to a pastor, and what healing looks like on the other side.
You won't want to miss her raw, honest exposé about the dangers of being...
Steve Ghikadis - Humanism from the Heart
Steve Ghikadis is a Humanist Officiant who conducts secular marriages, memorials, and many more meaningful life-affirming celebrations. Raised as a freethinker, Steve has been married to a Christian for over a decade. He and his wife, Cindy, believe in the importance of bridging the gap between believers and non-believers. Their two young children are being raised in an interfaith household a...
Forest Benedict, LMFT - Porn Is Not the Problem
Divorced: Evangelical Christianity
CW: Frank discussion of porn, sex, and self-pleasure
Forest Benedict is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and Washington states who specializes in religious trauma and sexual shame.
Forest began his career as a Christian who was passionate about helping others recover from sex and porn addiction—b...
Pavna K. Sodhi, EdD - Exploring the Intersections of Punjabi-Sikh Cultural/Religious Identity - Part 1
As a humanist and mental health clinician, I'm interested in learning about other cultures and belief systems. To that end, Dr. Pavna K. Sodhi graciously agreed to join me on the Divorcing Religion Podcast to share her knowledge about Punjabi-Sikh teachings, values, practices, and experiences. This episode is Part One of our c...
Unquestionable Calvin - From Religion to Conspiracies to Reality
DIVORCED: Christianity and Conspiracies
My guest today is Calvin Smith, whom you may recognize from his YouTube channel Unquestionable Calvin. Calvin was exposed to both Christianity and supernatural ideas from an early age. Eventually he rejected Christianity but firmly believed multiple conspiracy theories, even attempting to build a career around them. In this episod...
Tessi Muskrat, M.A. - Free To Explore: Sexuality After Purity Culture
Divorced: Evangelical Purity Culture
A native woman of Cherokee and Irish descent, Tessi Ynada Muskrat holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology and is a doctoral student researcher at the University of Missouri. Co-founder of the international Purity Culture Research Collective (PCRC), Tessi’s research centers the voices of those who have experienced sexua...
Patti & Nancy, Apostate Sisters - Life After a Doomsday Cult
DIVORCED: Worldwide Church of God
CW: Mature themes
Today I’m excited to interview Patti and Nancy, who recently interviewed me on their popular APOSTATE SISTERS YouTube channel! Patti and Nancy are sisters deconstructing their upbringing in the Worldwide Church of God Christian doomsday cult. The sisters note that the cult stifled thei...
Quantas Ginn, MBA, MS, LMFT-S, CST (he/him) - Sex Therapy for Purity Culture Survivors
My guest today is Quantas Ginn. Quantas is a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) professor teaching courses on Human Sexuality and MFT theories. His research interests include interracial relationships, perinatal parenting, and the intersection of religion and sexuality.
Quantas also operates a private practice as a marriage, ...
Dr. Kayden Vargas (they/he) - From Conservative Christian to Nonbinary Psychologist
TW: Brief references to CSA
Dr. Kayden Vargas (they/he) is a trans nonbinary poet, parent, and psychologist located in the traditional homelands of the Yakama Nation. Their poetry revolves around themes of small-town living, bicultural/bilingual/biracial life, trauma healing, and trans identity. Their clinical specialties include gender affirming hea...
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