Spiritual Abuse & Religious Trauma

In today’s episode, Michael DiIorio invites special guest Jeremy Russo to explore how spiritual abuse can manifest within religious communities, causing harm to individuals' mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. We also touch upon religious trauma, discussing its lasting impact on survivors, and the journey towards healing and forgiveness.  While this is a deeply sensitive topic, we believe it’s crucial to shed some light on the dark corners of this often-overlooked aspect of faith and spirituality. Resources discussed in this episode: Emerge New Worshiping Community Global Center for Religious Research Tempest Counseling Services Thomas Hanna, LMHC Today's Guest: Jeremy Russo Facebook Instagram Today's Host: Michael DiIorio Website Instagram Men's Group Take the Attachment Style Quiz! Watch this ep on YouTube - Connect with us - Join the private Facebook community including access to monthly group Zoom calls Take our "Building Better Relationships" course Take our "Healing Your Shame" course Coaching Collection - Our 2 courses + 45 coaching videos, and 2 workshop series Follow us on Instagram GayMenGoingDeeper.com Support the Show - viewer and listener support helps us to continue making episodes Chapters (00:00:00) - Gay Men Going Deeper: Spiritual Abuse and Religious Trauma(00:00:55) - This is What Spiritual Abuse Is Really Like(00:01:54) - Queer Experience: Sex and Religion(00:04:23) - Spiritual Abuse and Religious Trauma(00:06:48) - What's The Difference Between Spiritual Experience and Religion?(00:07:53) - Jeremy's Story of Sexual Abuse(00:12:25) - He Said He Was Gay(00:17:41) - Bob Jones' Physical Abuse(00:22:04) - Coming out as gay at 18 years old(00:27:15) - Pauline On Gay-Friendly Churches(00:31:11) - Spiritual Abuse and Sexual Abuse(00:35:35) - How Shame Affects My Life(00:37:29) - Trying to Heal From Trauma(00:43:20) - How to Heal From Trauma(00:47:58) - Did You Want Justice Or Revenge For What Happened To You?(00:53:53) - Michael Jackson on His Own Past Abuse(00:56:58) - Jeremy on His Own Healing(00:58:32) - What else would you want to say to people who've been through(01:05:44) - Where to Find Support for Codependency