In this episode, Troy and Brian welcome Josie McSkimming, and discuss her new memoir, 'Gutsy Girls: Love, Poetry and Sisterhood.' The conversation delves into Josie's experiences growing up in a volatile family environment, her journey through fundamentalism, and the influence of her sister, renowned poet Dorothy Porter. They explore themes of resistance, creativity, and the complexities of family dynamics, particularly in the context of trauma and fundamentalist Christianity. Josie shares insights on the importance of self-acceptance and offers advice for women navigating their own paths after leaving fundamentalist backgrounds.

Links:

• Gutsy Girls | UQP
• Gutsy Girls | Amazon
• Leaving Christian Fundamentalism and the Reconstruction of Identity
• Josie McSkimming | Sydney Eastern Suburbs Counselling Services
• Josie on Ep 25 of this podcast in 2021
• Josie on a Patreon Live call in 2023
• The Fiery Maze - Album by Tim Finn | Spotify

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

In this episode, Troy and Brian engage with Sarah Bacaller, editor of the book, 'Apostate: Stories of Deconversion'. They explore Sarah's background in fundamentalism, her academic pursuits in philosophy, and her reflections on the ethical implications of church authority. The discussion delves into personal narratives of deconversion, the impact of evangelical theology on mental health, and the importance of critical thinking in faith contexts. Sarah shares her complex relationship with faith, shaped by her upbringing in a minister's family and the trauma associated with it. She reflects on her journey through academia, transitioning to a secular environment, and the motivations behind her book 'Apostate,' which collects diverse stories of deconversion.

Links

• Sarah Bacaller's website
• Apostate: Stories of Deconversion - Apocryphile Press

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

Dr. Cath McKinney is the Professional Supervision Program Director at the University of Divinity in Australia. Her background includes extensive experience as a group relations consultant, a prison chaplain and inner-city minister. In this episode, Cath shares her journey from a complex religious upbringing to her experiences in church leadership, motherhood, and academia. She discusses the challenges her expulsion from a church community aligned with the God Squad Christian Motorcycle Club due to her advocacy for inclusivity. Through her experiences, she highlights the need for compassion and understanding in the face of religious trauma and the ongoing struggle for social justice within faith communities.

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

Kicking off the first episode of 2025, Troy and Brian revisit their conversion stories...after four years of Exvangelical podcasting. They explore their early lives, the vulnerabilities that led them to embrace fundamentalist Christianity, and the roles of community and belonging in their experiences. The conversation delves into the impact of identity, and the emotional manipulation often present in Christian environments. They reflect on the long-term effects of their conversions, emphasising the importance of vulnerability and belonging at the very beginning of their Christian journeys.

Links

• Brian's first conversion story episode is here.
• Troy's first conversion story episode is here.

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

In our second episode back in 2021, troy talked a little about his pre-conversion home life and his experience of two Christian camps. It was at the second camp where he found himself speaking in tongues and started to wear the label, 'born-again'.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying our best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

Let's go right back to the beginning. In Season 1 Episode 1, Brian recounted his conversion story. "No bibles, no preaching, no god-bothering!" These were the conditions he put upon his two brothers, who had recently converted to Pentecostal Christianity, if he were to visit them while on holidays. What happened next would change the course of his life and still continues to impact who he is today.

As part of our 2025 Down Under Summer Series, we're replaying out best episodes. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

We'll be back with new episodes in April 2025!

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

We'd love you to tune in as we say goodbye to 2024 and look forward to 2025. We look back on some of our best episodes of 2024, and even a couple of our worst. We'll definitely be back later in 2025, so see you then!

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.

We think you'll really connect with this episode. In 2000, Desiree Richter's two-year-old son Elijah died in a tragic domestic accident. The world as she knew it was dismantled along with her understanding of her place in it, leaving her to figure out how to parent her remaining children and how the fundamentalist Christian faith she'd practiced all her life fit into her new reality. We talk with Desi about her Fundamentalist upbringing, the death of her son, leaving the faith, and rediscovering purpose after so much loss.

Links

• The Presence of Absence: Kitchen table talks about parenting, leaving fundamentalism, and the very messy business of living with loss
• Desi on Facebook
• Desi on Instagram

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Doubting your beliefs? Have questions about changing or leaving your faith? You are not alone, and Recovering from Religion is here to help.