I was a Teenage Fundamentalist. An Exvangelical podcast.

Dr. Laura Anderson is a licensed psychotherapist, trauma resolution coach, religious trauma consultant, speaker, author, and educator. We talk with her about how when we leave fundamentalism, fundamentalism doesn't necessarily leave us, and its toxicity seems to manifest in other ways.  Laura's links: Laura Anderson | Religious Trauma Expert When Religion Hurts You (book) Dr. Laura Anderson on Ins...

Cait West is a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement and advocate for survivors of spiritual abuse. In this episode, we talk about her experiences and her book, Rift: A memoir of breaking away from the Christian Patriarchy . She shares her story of hope for those who want to break free from high control environments. Links Cait West's website Tears of Eden: Supporting survivors of Spiritua...

Following on from Part 1, we continue our recount of a recent Sunday service at Great Big AOG. We dive into the sermon and challenge the f*ck out of his claims and assertions and ask just how reliable are the supposed miracle stories that the pastor told. Judging by the amount of laughter, this two-parter is easily up there with our most fun episodes so far. Links: Let's go back to Great Big AOG P...

It's been nearly 30 years since our last visit to Great Big AOG, and in this episode, we go back for a Sunday service. Join us as we recount the weird and bizarre antics and carry-on of these modern Pentecostals. We also introduce you to Brian's significant other, Michelle, as she joined us on our expedition back into the world of church. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll sing in tongues and raise...

In this episode, we are joined by Tracey and Sharon from the podcast, Feet of Clay—Confessions of the Cult Sisters . We talk about the black and white thinking of fundamentalism and how to leave it behind and embrace 'the grays' and nuances that pervade most of what life throws our way. Links: Feet of Clay—Confessions of the Cult Sisters Tracey & Sharon on Instagram --- We're on YouTube here. Want...

When you leave church and/or the faith, what do you do about those who choose to stay? How do you navigate, maintain or even grieve those you leave behind? Troy and Brian share their own stories and give some advice on this very tricky part of deconstructing. --- We're on YouTube here. Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here. Our blog is here . Join the conversation and connect wi...

Troy chronicles the events immediately leading up to and after he lost his faith in Jesus. He describes the factors that influenced his decision and how it felt to be finally free of the mental gymnastics he needed to apply to remain a Christian. Links: So long, and thanks for all the guilt! (Troy's deconversion blog) Internet Infidels » a drop of reason in a pool of confusion --- We're on YouTube...

We talk with Zenith Virago, a highly respected celebrant, educator, public speaker and author and self-proclaimed Deathwalker. She is the founder of the Natural Death Care Centre and was named Byron Bay's Citizen of the Year in 2021 in recognition of her important work. Links: Zenith Virago, Deathwalker Training Natural Death Care Centre Zenith on TEDx --- We're on YouTube here. Want more? Check o...

We talk with the hosts and producers of the Humanize Me podcast , Bart Campolo and John Wright, about leaving fundamentalist communities behind and whether it is possible to find new communities afterwards. Bart Campolo is an American humanist speaker, writer, former pastor, and son of Tony Campolo, the well-known Christian pastor and speaker. John Wright is a documentary filmmaker, freelance cine...

Rob Haskell was born to missionary parents, spending his childhood in Argentina. He later attended Bible College and seminary before reevaluating his beliefs and embracing critical thinking over religious orthodoxy in 2015. We speak with Rob about his new book, God of the Mind: an eXvangelical Journey , a personal exploration of the intellectual incoherencies of evangelical Christianity, the psych...

Here it is! The 100th episode! Brian and Troy continue with their own deconstruction stories and share what life was like after having left church...and Jesus. Did they completely fall apart? Did they return to their sin like a dog to its vomit? Tune in and find out. Links: So long, and thanks for all the guilt! (Troy's deconversion blog) Internet Infidels » a drop of reason in a pool of confusion...

If there's one religious sounding label that Troy is willing to wear, it's ' Buddhist '. In this episode we speak with Ted Meissner, the Executive Director of the Secular Buddhist Association, and the host of The Secular Buddhist Podcast . Ted explains Secular Buddhism and how it contrasts with the more traditional forms of Buddhism. Ted's links: Secular Buddhist Association The Secular Buddhist P...

In this episode, we explore Progressive/Reformed Judaism with Michel Laloum, Cantor at Temple Beth Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia. He was ordained as a Cantor at the Progressive Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion and completed Rabbinic studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion, Jewish Theological Seminary and New York University. Temple Beth Israel Melbourne World Union...

Tim Costello is an Australian social justice advocate, community leader, and a prominent figure in the Christian faith, albeit a progressive form. He is known in Australia for his public commentary on political and ethical matters, often offering a perspective informed by his Christian faith and commitment to social justice. In this episode we talk to Tim about his commitment to his faith, and wha...

In this episode, we talk with Dr Eben Alexander, an American neurosurgeon and author. In 2008, he suffered a coma caused by a rare and mysterious bacterial meningo-encephalitis of unknown causes. We talk with him about his own near-death experience and his book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife . Dr Alexander's links: Eben Alexander Division of Perceptual Studies - Univ...

We recently stumbled upon a podcast we thought you'd love. Sexvangelicals is a sexual health podcast and education platform with the mission to support relationships in reclaiming sexuality following adverse religious experiences. This is one of their episodes, The Sex Ed We Wish We Had: Consent, Part 1 of 2. We hope you enjoy it. If you want to connect with Sexvangelicals then find them here: Sex...

We talk with Ani Zonneveld about Progressive Islam and the life she lives as a Progressive Muslim. Ani is a writer, singer/songwriter, and founder & President of Muslims for Progressive Values , an international human rights organization that advocates for social justice and equality for all, a strong supporter of freedom of expression and of conscience, women’s rights and as an ally, LGBTQ rights...

In this episode, we talk with writer Bernard Warnick about humanity's obsession with certainty and ask, is certainty attainable? Bernard spent nineteen years as a judge of the trial division and later the Appeal Division of the Family Court of Australia before retiring from the bench in 2010. He developed a deep interest in the reasoning process and researched the works of neurobiologists, cogniti...

We're back for Season 5! In this episode we review the highlights of Season 4, let you know about the changes we've made and where the podcast is heading in 2024. --- We're on YouTube here. Want more? Check out our exclusive Patreon episodes here. Our blog is here . Join the conversation and connect with others here . The transcript of this episode is here. All our other links are here .  Dou...

Emily John Garcés is an artist, poet, ex-missionary with YWAM, all-round creative enthusiast, and author of the memoir, Hitchhiking with Drunken Nuns . In this final episode of Season 4, we speak with Emily about her life as a YWAM missionary in Argentina and the Netherlands, and her unique perspective on the world we share. Despite her fundamentalist past, Emily has a positive view of the world a...

Maggie Rowe is an author, writer, director, & producer. Her memoir, Sin Bravely: A Memoir of Spiritual Disobedience , was named to NPR's Best Books of 2017 . In this episode, we speak to Maggie about her childhood where she describes being tormented by the fear of Hell and not being truly saved. At 19 years old she admitted herself to an 'evangelical psychiatric institution' where she found an unl...

Van Badham is an Australian playwright, novelist, journalist and activist who writes regularly for the Guardian . In this episode we speak with Van about her 2021 book QAnon and On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults in which she investigates who is behind the internet cult and how it often intertwines with the world of Evangelical/Fundamentalist Christianity. She also tells...

We talk with Janice Selbie, a former fundamentalist Evangelical Christian of over 40 years and now a counsellor and specialist in the area of religious trauma. Janice shares her own story and the work she does with others in helping heal the pain caused by religious trauma. This is the first of a two-part episode we did with Janice. You can find part two on Janice's The Divorcing Religion Podcast....

We talk with April Ajoy, a well-known viral TikToker, YouTuber and podcaster. She describes herself as a “recovering conservative, humorously detoxing religion.” Raised as a pastor's kid, April was deep in Evangelicalism to the point of working for The 700 Club and singing her original song, America Say Jesus on The Jim Bakker Show . While deconstructing from fundamentalism, she walked away from h...

Brian & Troy take a look at how divorce is presented in the New Testament and how the Church has handled it over the last 2000 years. Our hosts also reflect on their own experience and ask, do Jesus and the Bible really offer adequate guidance for the 21st century. Spoiler alert, no. The resources suggested in this episode are: Christian views on divorce - Wikipedia A Theology of Divorce – Religio...