Former evangelicals and ex-megachurch youth workers Emily Arnold & Heather Leith hold curiosity-driven conversations about deconstruction, spirituality, and rediscovering who they are. From meeting way back in their megachurch's junior high ministry to working on the same youth ministry team to going to Christian college together, these two dear friends are now processing the evangelical culture they grew up in...and out of.
Along with guests who are on various paths of deconstructing Christianity, they'll be unpacking their church-kid baggage, addressing once-taboo topics, asking their once-suppressed questions, embracing mystery & uncertainty, and having a good time being Baddies as they figure out their way forward.
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Former evangelicals and ex-megachurch youth workers Emily Arnold & Heather Leith hold curiosity-driven conversations about deconstruction, spirituality, and rediscovering who they are. From meeting way back in their megachurch's junior high ministry to working on the same youth ministry team to going to Christian college together, these two dear friends are now processing the evangelical culture they grew up in...and out of.
Along with guests who are on various paths of deconstructing Christianity, they'll be unpacking their church-kid baggage, addressing once-taboo topics, asking their once-suppressed questions, embracing mystery & uncertainty, and having a good time being Baddies as they figure out their way forward.
Are We More or Less Anxious Since Leaving Evangelicalism?
Church Girls Gone Bad
1 hour 43 minutes
1 year ago
Are We More or Less Anxious Since Leaving Evangelicalism?
Christianity messed with our minds, and we get into it! We ask ourselves the question: Did our mental health get better or worse after leaving the church? And how was it when we were in the church?
Emily describes how a lot of her anxiety is night-and-day better because the burden of Christianity is lifted, and discusses how her faith was intertwined with her OCD. Heather talks about how her anxiety actually got worse in some ways after leaving, because she no longer had a God to dump all her worries onto and had to actually face the depths of her brain for the first time.
We focus on the stress that plagued us as devout Christians who felt a need to do everything right, and how confusing it was to receive conflicting messages of sin and grace. We share in the joy of how we feel more freedom now to just be humans, without so much worry about converting people, honoring God in every damn thing, and monitoring our behavior.
We both share what helps us deal with our anxiety now — medication! Internal Family Systems! Friends! Autonomy! Being free from our former God concept!
Very importantly, we also close out by discussing VIBRATORS! And our shame in discussing them and even saying the word “masturbation” aloud.
Other fun things:
Which meds we’re on :)
God’s voice adding to & becoming our anxiety
The Bachelor & MTV being “sinful”
Religious OCD
Shroom trips
Emily reads the Bible aloud for the first time in forever
The “playground for perfectionism” of Christian culture, and never measuring up
A pretty bad Rick Warren quote
Blindly pondering about what today’s youth groups are like
Getting kicked off the roster of people who were asked to volunteer at youth group summer camp (whoops!)
Resources mentioned:
This Instagram post by The Naked Pastor
D.L. Mayfield’s Substack: Healing is My Special Interest
Our episode with Beth K. Schwartz
The Religious Trauma Institute — this is how Emily found her therapist!
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Church Girls Gone Bad
Former evangelicals and ex-megachurch youth workers Emily Arnold & Heather Leith hold curiosity-driven conversations about deconstruction, spirituality, and rediscovering who they are. From meeting way back in their megachurch's junior high ministry to working on the same youth ministry team to going to Christian college together, these two dear friends are now processing the evangelical culture they grew up in...and out of.
Along with guests who are on various paths of deconstructing Christianity, they'll be unpacking their church-kid baggage, addressing once-taboo topics, asking their once-suppressed questions, embracing mystery & uncertainty, and having a good time being Baddies as they figure out their way forward.
