Think of this in context of dealing with friends and family members who are still in a high-demand group.

Think of this when strategizing politically against cults of personality.

How can you stay curious, and how can you make them curious?

Then,

Think of this when recovering from a coercive environment and unpacking your mind of what they put in there.

Think of this in how you treat yourself.

Doubt is not the opposite of unquestioning faith; Curiosity is.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma #exmo #exmormon #exJW #exvangelical #cult #LDS #mormonism #AbuseCulture

I wish I’d had this insight to give as advice to all the many people over the years who have asked me how to help family members who are in a cult or high-demand religion.

THEY made doubt the opposite of unquestioning faith. But doubt isn’t a value. It’s a result of values. Nobody wants to identify as a doubter. Even skeptics aren’t operating out of doubt. Doubt isn’t an end point. It isn’t a goal. It’s a means to an end.

Curiosity tho? That flows. It moves. It’s dynamic. It has a resolution, and in cases where it doesn’t, it’s satisfying on its own.

Curiosity inspires critical thinking.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma #exmo #exmormon #exJW #exvangelical #cult #LDS #mormonism #AbuseCulture

I didn't leave Mormonism because I doubted. I left because I got curious, and the thing I got curious about led me to answers that contradicted the Church's story about God.

They've built all kinds of walls against doubt. "Doubt your doubts" is their current thought terminating cliché on the matter.

They've even built walls against being curious about very specific things.

But they haven't built any walls against curiosity in general, as a concept. If you can make a coercion victim be *curious*, you might get them to thinking. More importantly, if YOU can stay curious about them, you'll approach them with love.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma #exmo #exmormon #exJW #exvangelical #cult #LDS #mormonism #AbuseCulture

Curiosity towards people leads to empathy. It breaks down dehumanizing walls. You can't be fascist towards queer people or immigrants if you're *curious* about them. No, people are fascists because they have all the answers already. Curiosity opens the mind to love.

🧵

#ReligiousTrauma #exmo #exmormon #exJW #exvangelical #cult #LDS #mormonism #AbuseCulture #antifa