Resources
For Healing From Spiritual Abuse
Those who have experienced spiritual abuse often have so many questions—good questions—more than we can answer with our content alone. In an endeavor to help you find quality content and support, we’ve compiled the following directory of resources.
There is a lot of information here. If you’re still in the process of disentangling faith and hammering out what you believe, this page may become overwhelming. Please don’t feel pressured to find all the answers in a day. God sees where you are, He is pleased that you are seeking His truth, and He cares about you. If you find yourself becoming mentally/emotionally exhausted, we recommend taking a break and coming back at a later time when your mind is refreshed and able to focus. If it would help to share your story with someone, feel free to reach out! We’re here and happy to listen, as well as connect you with likeminded believers (when opportunities arise).
This resource page was created to be as comprehensive as possible, so feel free to bookmark it and take your time working through each topic. Please note, we are not in complete agreement with all the content, authors, and organizations we recommend. However, each source on this page has been carefully selected and vetted as much as possible for alignment with Christian values. If a resource made our list, then we believe it contains valuable information that is worth taking into consideration. We pray that these resources will encourage you as you heal from spiritual abuse and disentangle from harmful teachings.
“The first step to finding healing from spiritual abuse is to become educated about it.”
—Connie Baker, Traumatized by Religious Abuse
Directory
Healing from Spiritual Abuse
Exiting from a high-control group can feel incredibly isolating, but you are not alone.
Spiritual abuse is a form of abuse that is not widely addressed, and it can have long-term effects on a person’s spiritual health. One of the most dangerous aspects of spiritual abuse is exposed in The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse; “Spiritual abuse puts people at odds with their best Friend. It causes some people to question, doubt, and even run the other direction from their Source.” In Churches That Abuse, Ronald Enroth also puts it well: “Unlike physical abuse that often results in bruised bodies, spiritual and pastoral abuse leaves scars on the psyche and soul.” Spiritual abuse is harmful because it makes its victims question the safety of the One who is supposed to be a safe refuge and protection.
Examples of spiritual abuse can be found in the Bible, but the term “spiritual abuse” was coined in the publication of The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse in 1991. In 1992, a similar book that was written by Ronald Enroth, Churches That Abuse, describing the ten identifying traits of abusive churches: control-oriented leadership, spiritual elitism, manipulation of members, perceived persecution, lifestyle rigidity, emphasis on experience, suppression of dissent, harsh discipline of members, denunciation of other churches, and the painful exit process. Other teachers and authors on this topic share similar observations. If any of those traits sound unfortunately familiar, you’ll want to explore the rest of this page to learn more.
As you start to understand the reality of spiritual abuse, a great starting place on this place is to learn about grace. Once you are able to reacquaint yourself with God’s sweet grace (or perhaps for the first time), you will hopefully be able to take the pressure off of yourself, find rest, and allow yourself to grieve if you need to. Understanding God’s grace is a crucial point to begin your healing journey. Start with this video.
What is Spiritual Abuse?
Articles
- Spiritual Abuse Profile by Watchman Fellowship
- What is Spiritual Abuse?
- 14 Signs of Spiritual Abuse by Mark DeJesus
- Elements of Spiritual Abuse by Watchman Fellowship
- Spiritual Abuse in the Bible? by Watchman Fellowship
- Beating the Sheep by Watchman Fellowship
- Spiritual Abuse by Leaving the Network (adapted from Broken Trust by F. Remy Diederich)
Books
- The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse by David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen
- Churches That Abuse by Ron Enroth (available for free at link)
- Recovering From Churches That Abuse by Ron Enroth (available for free at link)
- Soul Repair: Rebuilding Your Spiritual Life by Jeff VanVonderen, & Dale & Juanita Ryan
- Healing Spiritual Abuse by Ken Blue
- Wounded Faith edited by Neil Damgaard
- Toxic Faith by Stephen Arterburn & Jack Felton
- Broken Trust by F. Remy Diederich
- Understanding Spiritual Abuse: What It Is and How to Respond by Karen Roudkovski
- When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse by Chuck DeGroat
- Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church by Michael Kruger
Workbooks
- Spiritual Abuse Recovery Workbook by David Henke
- Spiritual Abuse Recovery Workbook: Engaging Faith in Healing by Karen Roudkovski
Videos
- Identifying Spiritual Abuse In Church by The Grace Escape Podcast
- Recognizing and Healing from Spiritual Abuse with Ken Garrett
- The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse Part 1(Interview with the authors)
- The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse Part 2
- How to Identify Spiritual Abuse by a Spiritual Leader by Allen Parr
- How Do We Heal From Spiritual Abuse? by Teasi Cannon
- How To Heal From Spiritual Abuse by Keepin’ It In Context
- 7 Battles People Have from Being Under Religious Legalism by Mark DeJesus
- What Is Spiritual Abuse? How Can I Recover From Being Spiritually Abused? on the Got Questions podcast
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
— Matthew 11: 28-30 —
Recovery Topics
Grace
- Luke 15 and the Theology of Grace by Jonah McElhaney (Article)
- Case For Grace by Lee Strobel (Book)
- Grace and Mental Health by Mark DeJesus (Podcast)
- Understanding grace is essential to healing.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace by Josh Benner (Article)
- In The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer differentiates between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” This article explains the concept well. For more in Dietrich’s own words, see this excerpt from The Cost of Discipleship.
- What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey (Book)
- In this book, Yancey spends time differentiating between “grace abuse” and “grace avoidance” in Chapters 14 and 15. As he describes “grace abuse” he notes, “If we truly grasped the wonder of God’s love for us, the devious question that prompted Romans 6 and 7 — what can I get away with? — would never even occur to us. We would spend our days trying to fathom, not exploit, God’s grace.”
- Grace by Max Lucado (Book)
- “On-and-off salvation never appears in the Bible. Salvation is not a repeated phenomenon. Scripture contains no example of a person who was saved, then lost, then resaved, then lost again. Where there is no assurance of salvation, there is no peace. No peace means no joy. No joy results in fear-based lives. Is this the life God creates? No. Grace creates a confident soul who declares, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Tim. 1:12 NIV)
- Grace Plus Nothing: Freedom From Performance-Based Acceptance by Jeff Harkin (Book)
- Reads like a devotional (short sections)
- Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapel (Book)
- “How do we keep the wonders of grace and the standards of Scripture married–beautifully supporting each other? The answer lies in making sure that people know that grace is not contrary to holy living. Grace and holiness perfectly agree; the psalmist says they ‘kiss’ (Ps. 85:9-10). …Grace does not preclude holiness, but makes it possible. Holiness springs from the foundation of grace.”
Boundaries
- Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Book- get a free sampler of the Boundaries books series here)
- Sample the Boundaries books series for free here
- Good Boundaries And Goodbyes by Lysa TerKeurst (Book)
- Am I in Denial That This Relationship Is Unhealthy?
- What if We’ve Misunderstood God’s Intent for Boundaries?
Love Bombing
- Love Bombing: Affection Today, Abuse Tomorrow by Keepin’ It In Context (Video)
- Love Bombing and Spiritual Abuse: A Psychological Perspective
Grief
- The Forgotten Art of Grieving and Why Embracing Grief Is a Must by Be Emboldened
- Beyond Boundaries by John Townsend (see Chapter 8, “You Grieve and Let It Go”)
Religious Trauma
- How To Understand the Complexity of Trauma and Spiritual Abuse by Be Emboldened
- Healing from Trauma: Understanding the Stages and Steps with Naomi Wright by Be Emboldened
Trust
- I Want To Trust You, But I Don’t by Lysa TerKeurst (Book)
- Beyond Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Book)
Spiritual Anxiety
- How God’s Grace Calms Spiritual Anxiety (Article)
- Holy Ghosted: Spiritual Anxiety, Religious Trauma, and the Language of Abuse by Tiffany Yecke Brooks (Book)
Spiritual Gaslighting
- Spiritual Gaslighting & How To Overcome It by Keepin’ It In Context (Video)
- Spiritual Abuse: Grooming and Gaslighting in High Control Churches by Responsible Faith (Video)
- What is (Spiritual) Gaslighting? A Discussion with Kyle Spears @TruthTraumaTheology (Video)
- Gaslighted by God: Reconstructing a Disillusioned Faith by Tiffany Yecke Brooks (Book)
Fear
- Using Fear to Control and Manipulate by the Grace Escape (Podcast)
- Overcoming Fear after leaving an Unhealthy, Spiritually Abusive Church by Divide The Word Blog (Video)
- How Do Fear and Shame Distort the Gospel? on Not Ashamed (Podcast)
Performance-Based Acceptance
- 5 Problems Of Performance-Based Christianity by Keepin’ It In Context (Video)
- 7 Signs of Performance Based Christianity by Mark DeJesus (Video)
- 10 Toxic Stages of Performance Based Christianity by Mark DeJesus (Article)
- Discerning Performance Based Christianity by Mark DeJesus (Article)
- Grace Plus Nothing: Freedom From Performance-Based Acceptance by Jeff Harkin (Book)
- People Pleaser: Breaking Free from the Burden of Imaginary Expectations by Jinger Vuolo (Book)
Rethinking the “Will of God”
- Rethinking the “Will of God” by The Grace Escape (Podcast)
- The Gospel Coalition Podcast: What’s the Will of God? (Podcast)
- You Don’t Need to Discover God’s Will on The Gospel Coalition (Article)
- Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will by Kevin DeYoung (Book)
- Finding God’s Life for My Will: His Presence Is the Plan by Mike Donehey (Book)
Rebuilding Faith
The Bible
- Why So Many English Bible Translations? by Keepin’ It In Context (Video)
- Scripture Twisting Methods of the Cults by Apologetics Index (Article)
- Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible by James Sire (Book)
- Tips and tricks for untwisting scripture with Rebecca Davis by Be Emboldened (Video)
- Respecting the Original Language by Berean Holiness (Article)
- Interpretation by Allegory by Berean Holiness (Article)
- No, This Bible Story Isn’t About You! by The Grace Escape (Video)
- Stop Googling your theology, use this instead… by Alisa Childers (Video)
- Rebuilding [with Biblical Literacy] by Be Emboldened (Course)
- How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (Book)
- How To Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur (Book)
- How to Eat Your Bible: A Simple Approach to Learning and Loving the Word of God by Nate Pickowicz (Book)
- Interpreting the Bible (Article)
- How to Study the Bible on Cru
- 5 Basic Tips On How To Study The Bible by Keepin’ It In Context (Video)
- Do We Need An Interpreter to Understand the Bible? by Don Stewart (Article)
- “To make matters worse, each of these groups, which claim that an infallible interpreter is needed, contradict all of the other groups in their main teachings!”
The Gospel
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What Is The Gospel & How Do We Obey It? by Jonah McElhaney (Article)
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Justified by Faith, Alone by Divide the Word Blog (Article)
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What is the Gospel? by Chelsea Knight (Article)
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What Must I Do To Be Saved? by Divide the Word Blog (Article)
Salvation
- What is the Propitiatory Sacrifice of Jesus? (Article)
- “Propitiation refers to the turning away of the wrath of God as the just judgment of our sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.” —Propitiation: An Essay by Ligon Duncan
- What Does the “Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness to All Believers” mean? (Article)
- “The doctrine of imputation teaches that in the doctrine of justification, God imputes or accredits the righteousness and suffering of Jesus to those who are in him and, conversely, imputes the sins of those redeemed to Christ.”— The Doctrine of Imputation: An Essay by J.V. Fesko
- What is Justification? How Are We Justified By Faith? (Article)
- In-depth Sunday School Series on Salvation by Dr. William Lane Craig (Podcast, Transcripts)
Faith And Works
- Is Salvation By Faith alone, Or By Faith Plus Works? by Got Questions
- “This question is a key difference between biblical Christianity and most of the cults. Is salvation through faith alone or through faith plus human works? Stated another way, am I saved by trusting in Jesus, or do I have to believe in Jesus and, in addition, do certain things?”
- What’s the Deal with Faith and Works in James? by The Gospel Coalition
- Regarding James 2: 24,“Observe that St. James says a man is not justified ‘by faith only,’ putting the adverb in the last and most emphatic position. He never denies Justification by Faith; but that fancied one of idle, speculative, theoretic faith, with no corresponding acts of love.” —Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
- What is Antinomianism?
- “Jesus Christ freed us from the burdensome commands of the Old Testament Law, but that is not a license to sin. […] We are to strive to overcome sin and cultivate righteousness, depending on the Holy Spirit to help us.”
- Faith Vs. Works? Is there a contradiction between the Apostle Paul And the Apostle James? by Keepin It In Context
Healthy Churches Vs. Unhealthy Churches
- How to Tell if Your Church and Pastor Are Biblically Faithful by Alisa Childers (Video)
- How Do We Find A Safe Church? by Teasi Cannon (Video)
- “What is the Role of Faith Community?” on Not Ashamed (Podcast)
- When You Are Ready To Try Again: Going Back to Church by Jeff VanVonderen (Article)
- Signs of a Dysfunctional Church by Leaving the Network (Article)
- “What Are Red Flags of an Unhealthy Church?” on Not Ashamed (Podcast)
- 7 Signs Of A Cultic Church by Keepin’ It In Context (Video)
- Recognizing a Spiritually Abusive Church by Divide the Word (Video)
Denominations
- Why So Many Christian Denominations? by Keepin’ It In Context (Video)
- 20 Questions with Mike Winger by Mike Winger (Video)
- Why Are There So Many Denominations? on Theology Pathfinder (Article)
- A Handy-Dandy Breakdown of Different Christian Denominations on Theology Pathfinder (Article)
Tithing
- 20 Questions with Pastor Mike by Mike Winger (Video)
- Is Mandated Tithing Biblical? by The Grace Escape (Podcast)
- Is Tithing for New Testament Christians? by the Divide The Word Blog (Article)
- 7 Reasons Christians Are Not Required to Tithe by The Gospel Coalition (Article)
- How Do We Obey the Old Testament? by Berean Holiness (Article)
Apologetics
- Animated Videos by Reasonable Faith
- How Can a Good God Allow Suffering? (Video)
- Courses from The Gospel Coalition – Free Online Learning
- Equip by Reasonable Faith
- TalkAboutDoubts.com
- The Case For Faith Lee Strobel (Book)
- Cold Case Christianity (Book)
- Reasonable Faith (Book)
Courses & Ministries
Courses
- Healing from Spiritual Abuse with Mark De Jesus (Free)
- Trauma REBOOT by REBOOT Recovery
- Rebuilding [After Religious Abuse] with Be Emboldened
- Can I? with Be Emboldened
Ministries
Events
Living Out Freedom Conference: Sept. 12–13, 2025
The Living Out Freedom (LOF) Conference is hosted by beEmboldened and taking place in Sevierville, TN. It will be a time of learning, untangling, and healing, specifically designed for survivors of spiritual abuse and for advocates of those who have suffered. You can find more information and purchase tickets now at: beemboldened.com/lof
Helping Others Recover
Books
- Recovering From Churches That Abuse by Ron Enroth (available for free at link)
- Wounded Faith by edited by Neil Damgaard
- Understanding Spiritual Abuse: What It Is and How to Respond by Karen Roudkovski
Workbooks
- Spiritual Abuse Recovery Workbook by David Henke, founder of Watchman Fellowship
- Spiritual Abuse Assessment: A Tool for Survivors and Their Helpers by Karen Roudkovski
- Spiritual Abuse Recovery Workbook: Engaging Faith in Healing by Karen Roudkovski
Articles
- Escaping High-Control Religious Groups on Christianity Today
- Recovery From Spiritual Abuse: How You Can Help by Sharon Hilderbrant
- Dispelling the Myths: The Psychological Consequences of Cultic Involvement by Paul R. Martin
- Who Needs Missionaries? (It’s Not Just the ‘Unreached’) by The Gospel Coalition
- This article describes the importance of engaging with the “misreached.”
Videos
- Spiritual Abuse Survivors: Effective Ways to Offer Support by Be Emboldened
- What Is Spiritual Abuse? on The Got Questions Podcast
- How to Understand the Complexity of Trauma and Spiritual Abuse by Be Emboldened
Professionals
- Cult Recovery: A Clinician’s Guide to Working With Former Members and Families
- This is a comprehensive guide published by the International Cultic Studies Association. Read a review here.
- Understanding Religious Abuse and Recovery: Discovering Essential Principles for Hope and Healing by Patrick J. Knapp (Book; hear an overview of the book here)
- Cracking the Cult Code for Therapists: What Every Cult Victim Wants Their Therapist to Know by Bonnie Zieman (Book)
- Recovery from Cults: Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse by Michael Langone (Book)
- Basic Knowledge Needed To Be Cult-Informed by Rosanne Henry (Article)
- Clinical Skills Needed To Be Cult-Informed by Rosanne Henry (Article)
- Workshop for Mental Health Professionals: Psychological Manipulation, Cults, and Cultic Relationships by Rosanne Henry
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’“