Is religious trauma syndrome an official DSM diagnosis?

No. The article describes RTS as a framework for a cluster of difficulties, not an official DSM diagnosis. It does not replace an individual assessment by a healthcare professional.

What difficulties can occur after religious trauma?

The article mentions difficulty making decisions, guilt or shame, anxiety, social isolation, sleep problems and uncertainty about identity. People do not all experience the same difficulties.

What may help with recovery from religious trauma?

The article mentions therapy that respects the religious context, contact with people who have similar experiences, learning about group dynamics and time. Recovery does not follow a fixed schedule.

Religious trauma: what it is and how to recognize it

Recognizable questions

- ‘What do I believe?’

- ‘Who do I belong to?’

- ‘Who am I?’

- ‘How do I see the future?’

- ‘Who will remain in my life?’

- Recognizable questions Why do I still feel afraid even though I no longer believe what I used to believe? Why do I feel guilty about things I no longer intellectually think are wrong? Why, after leaving, do I sometimes no longer know who I am? Can losing faith, family, and community be traumatic? And does religious trauma mean that religion itself is harmful?

The term religious trauma is used for psychological and emotional complaints that people associate with major religious experiences. You may also come across the term Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS).
It is important to say right away: RTS is not an official psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM. It is a descriptive term that became especially well known through the work of American psychologist Marlene Winell.
That also means you should be careful with saying: ‘I have RTS.’ Anxiety, depressive symptoms, trauma symptoms, grief, and identity issues can have different causes and, when severe, should be assessed by a qualified professional.

Not everyone who leaves a religion is traumatized

This distinction is important. Leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses does not automatically lead to religious trauma. Some people experience their religious past as mostly positive. Others leave and adapt relatively easily. Still others retain both positive and negative memories of the same period.
But there are also people for whom religious experiences or the consequences of leaving are very significant. For example, when faith was intertwined with fear, guilt, family, social relationships, identity, and major life choices.
For Jehovah’s Witnesses, there can be one more factor for some people: when someone leaves the organization or is disfellowshipped, important relationships may change or disappear.
Then sometimes not only does:

That can be a very major transition for some people.

Where does the term RTS come from?

The term Religious Trauma Syndrome became especially well known through Marlene Winell, a psychologist and author of Leaving the Fold. She described problems she observed in people who had left a highly controlling or fundamentalist religious background behind.
The concept can help people put words to their experiences, but it should not be confused with an officially recognized psychiatric disorder.
That difference is important.
A descriptive framework can offer recognition without everyone who identifies with it automatically having a mental health diagnosis.

What symptoms can people experience?

People who have had negative or major religious experiences describe, among other things:

anxiety and guilt;
shame;
difficulty making decisions independently;
uncertainty about their own judgment;
black-and-white thinking;
loss of meaning and purpose;
loneliness or social isolation;
difficulty trusting;
sleep problems or intense tension;
uncertainty about one’s own identity.

But here too, the following applies: these symptoms are not unique to religious trauma. They can occur with all kinds of psychological or major life experiences.
That is why a list on the internet is not a diagnosis.

When faith and identity are intertwined

For someone who has been one of Jehovah’s Witnesses from a young age, faith can be much more than a set of Bible beliefs.
It can be tied to family, friends, choice of partner, weekly routine, holidays, morality, expectations for the future, and the answers to major life questions.
When beliefs change, multiple certainties can start shifting at the same time.
For example, someone may no longer rationally believe in Armageddon and still feel fear when war breaks out. Someone may no longer think a birthday is wrong and still feel guilty when celebrating one.
That does not automatically mean someone has a trauma.
It does show that emotions and learned responses do not always change immediately when a belief changes.

And if you are still one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

Even then, you can examine this topic without first having to conclude that your faith is harmful.
You might, for example, ask yourself:
Does my faith mainly give me peace, meaning, and connection?
Are there parts of it that bring up a lot of fear or guilt for me?
Can I ask questions without constantly being afraid?
Can I distinguish between my love for Jehovah and my fear of possible consequences?
The answer can be different for different Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Psychology does not have to determine whether a religious belief is true or false. It can, however, help examine what certain experiences do to someone psychologically.

Religious trauma is not the same as losing faith

That distinction is important to me as well.
Someone can leave Jehovah’s Witnesses and still believe in Jehovah or God.
Someone can seek out another Christian community.
Someone can become agnostic or atheist.
And someone can, after investigating, decide to remain a Jehovah’s Witness or return.
Psychological help should not aim to decide for someone which of those outcomes is the right one.
It is about the person’s complaints and well-being.

What can help?

What helps depends on the complaints and on the person. For some, recognition among peers is valuable. For others, it helps to learn more about anxiety, guilt, group dynamics, or identity. And some people need professional treatment.
When you seek professional help, it may be more important that a therapist takes your religious background seriously than that they specifically call themselves an expert in “religious trauma.”
You could, for example, ask:
‘Do you have experience with clients who have left a highly religious community or gone through a major change in faith?’
A practitioner can then explore with you what symptoms are actually present and which treatment fits best.

In closing

The term religious trauma can offer recognition, but it does not have to become a label you put on yourself.
Not every Jehovah’s Witness is harmed by their faith. Not every ex-JW has a trauma. And not every difficult emotion after leaving is a mental disorder.
But the opposite extreme is no help either: simply telling someone who has experienced years of fear, guilt, loss, or identity problems:
‘You’re out, aren’t you? Get on with your life.’
For some people, the transition is far more intense.
So perhaps the most important question is not:
‘Do I have Religious Trauma Syndrome?’
but rather:
‘What have I been through, what effect is that still having on me now, and what do I need to be able to move forward?’
Both an active Jehovah’s Witness and someone who is questioning or an ex-JW are allowed to look at that honestly.