Churches can do damage by silencing doubt and not addressing toxic behaviour - but there's hope

Author of (Un)Certain: A Collective Memoir of Deconstructing Faith, Olivia Jackson gives an insight into her research and encourages us all to do better.

"It’s a dangerous thing to work for the church you love," Harry tells me. "It’s like finding out what they put in sausages." Harry, from UK, is one of 140 people I interviewed for my new book, (Un)Certain: A Collective Memoir of Deconstructing Faith. Many of them had had negative experiences of their churches and Christian communities, from having their honest questions silenced to being taught harmful theologies and experiencing severe spiritual abuse. The treatment Harry underwent led to a breakdown.

I’ve had a few people tell me, "No church is perfect/people are just too sensitive," but it’s more than that. Abi, from the USA, said: "I keep saying I’m lucky because I’ve only been hurt by people with good intentions, but I’m still hurt and I still have PTSD." Some of this harm is built into the system and theology. Plenty of women told me about the shaming they experienced within "purity culture", leading to marriage difficulties and conditions such as vaginismus. Others mentioned churches which pressured them to stay in abusive marriages.