Reclaiming Your Voice After Religious Trauma | Kate Johnson

from Pulling Threads, Weaving Authenticity · host Leslie Mathews

What happens when the systems that raised you also silenced you? In this episode, memoirist and survivor advocate Kate Johnson joins Leslie to talk about religious trauma, purity culture, and the long road of finding your voice after a lifetime of being told to stay quiet. Kate grew up a pastor's daughter inside the PCA evangelical church, where Calvinist teachings around "total depravity" merged with authoritarian parenting to create a childhood organized around shame, obedience, and performance. When her family was placed on the sex offender registry, she learned a second, deeper lesson: her safety lay in her silence. This conversation traces what it took to undo that — through writing, embodiment, estrangement, anger, and the slow reclaiming of identity. Whether you're deconstructing your faith, healing from purity culture, navigating estrangement, or just trying to reconnect with your own voice after years of self-silencing — this one is for you. ─── WORK WITH LESLIE ─── THROUGH — 8-week divorce recovery program: https://theloomlife.com/throughdivorceprogram 1:1 Coaching & Therapy: https://theloomlife.com Book a discovery call: https://theloomlife.com ─── CONNECT WITH KATE ─── Substack (Quips & Confessionals): https://katejohnsonwrites.substack.com Instagram: @katejohnsonwrites TikTok: @katejohnsonwrites Threads: @katejohnsonwrites Bluesky: @katejohnsonwrites ─── CHAPTERS ─── 00:00 Welcome & introducing Kate 02:30 Trapeze as healing & reclaiming the inner child 06:30 Growing up a pastor's daughter (PCA & Calvinism) 11:00 "You are bad" — how religious shame forms core beliefs 13:30 Parenting across generations: authoritarian to conscious 18:30 Why kids in divorce need their own therapist 23:30 Voice as savior: from buried to spoken 25:30 The sex offender registry: when silence becomes safety 30:00 What most people don't understand about the registry 35:30 Why women stay: shame, survival & "Conjuring the Hurricane" 42:00 Family courts, custody & protecting children 46:30 Purity culture, bisexuality & leaving evangelicalism 51:30 Estrangement, boundaries & what repentance really means 55:30 Embodiment, grounding & coming home to the body 59:30 Reiki, The Artist's Way & reconnecting to creativity 1:03:00 Anger as a signal & reclaiming identity 1:08:00 Quips & Confessionals: humor as reclamation 1:12:00 Final message: trust your body, use your voice ─── FOLLOW THE LOOM LIFE ─── Website: https://theloomlife.com Therapy: https://loomlifetherapy.com Leslie's site: https://leslieellenmathews.com Instagram: @the.loom.life TikTok: @leslieellenmathews ─── DISCLAIMER ─── This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for therapy, medical care, or professional mental health treatment. If you are in crisis, please contact a licensed provider or call/text 988 in the U.S. Keywords: religious trauma podcast, purity culture recovery, evangelical deconstruction, healing religious trauma, pastor's daughter, finding your voice, embodiment after trauma, complex PTSD, mental health podcast for women, trauma healing stories podcast #ReligiousTrauma #HealingAfterTrauma #IdentityWork #SelfTrust #PullingThreads

What this episode covers

What happens when the systems that raised you also silenced you? In this episode, memoirist and survivor advocate Kate Johnson joins Leslie to talk about religious trauma, purity culture, and the long road of finding your voice after a lifetime of being told to stay quiet.Kate grew up a pastor's daughter inside the PCA evangelical church, where Calvinist teachings around "total depravity" merged with authoritarian parenting to create a childhood organized around shame, obedience, and performance. When her family was placed on the sex offender registry, she learned a second, deeper lesson: her safety lay in her silence. This conversation traces what it took to undo that — through writing, embodiment, estrangement, anger, and the slow reclaiming of identity.Whether you're deconstructing your faith, healing from purity culture, navigating estrangement, or just trying to reconnect with your own voice after years of self-silencing — this one is for you.─── WORK WITH LESLIE ───THROUGH — 8-week divorce recovery program: https://theloomlife.com/throughdivorceprogram1:1 Coaching & Therapy: https://theloomlife.comBook a discovery call: https://theloomlife.com─── CONNECT WITH KATE ───Substack (Quips & Confessionals): https://katejohnsonwrites.substack.comInstagram: @katejohnsonwritesTikTok: @katejohnsonwritesThreads: @katejohnsonwritesBluesky: @katejohnsonwrites─── CHAPTERS ───00:00 Welcome & introducing Kate02:30 Trapeze as healing & reclaiming the inner child06:30 Growing up a pastor's daughter (PCA & Calvinism)11:00 "You are bad" — how religious shame forms core beliefs13:30 Parenting across generations: authoritarian to conscious18:30 Why kids in divorce need their own therapist23:30 Voice as savior: from buried to spoken25:30 The sex offender registry: when silence becomes safety30:00 What most people don't understand about the registry35:30 Why women stay: shame, survival & "Conjuring the Hurricane"42:00 Family courts, custody & protecting children46:30 Purity culture, bisexuality & leaving evangelicalism51:30 Estrangement, boundaries & what repentance really means55:30 Embodiment, grounding & coming home to the body59:30 Reiki, The Artist's Way & reconnecting to creativity1:03:00 Anger as a signal & reclaiming identity1:08:00 Quips & Confessionals: humor as reclamation1:12:00 Final message: trust your body, use your voice─── FOLLOW THE LOOM LIFE ───Website: https://theloomlife.comTherapy: https://loomlifetherapy.comLeslie's site: https://leslieellenmathews.comInstagram: @the.loom.lifeTikTok: @leslieellenmathews─── DISCLAIMER ───This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for therapy, medical care, or professional mental health treatment. If you are in crisis, please contact a licensed provider or call/text 988 in the U.S.Keywords: religious trauma podcast, purity culture recovery, evangelical deconstruction, healing religious trauma, pastor's daughter, finding your voice, embodiment after trauma, complex PTSD, mental health podcast for women, trauma healing stories podcast#ReligiousTrauma #HealingAfterTrauma #IdentityWork #SelfTrust #PullingThreads

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Reclaiming Your Voice After Religious Trauma | Kate Johnson

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This episode is 1 hour and 12 minutes long.

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This episode was published on June 9, 2026.

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