Life Inside a Religious Cult

How do you break out of a religious cult? What does it look like to move forward afterwards? Today’s guest (unnamed here to protect her identity) will share her experiences growing up in a fringe Christian community: The Institute of Basic Life Principles. Listen in to learn about her family life within the organization, what was expected of a girl growing up in the Institute, how she left and what she’s doing now.

Trigger Warning: Sexual and physical abuse are discussed.

Topics Discussed in This Episode

• Characteristics of the Institute of Basic Life Principles
• Her understanding of the Institute
• Wisdom booklets and other curriculum required by the Institute
• Gender role expectations in the Institute
• How the parents pick future spouses for their children
• How she separated from the church and why she left
• Whether a person could push back if they disagreed with the organization’s teachings
• How her father’s substance abuse problems were treated within the church
• How the Institute would deal with a woman with the same problems
• What things about her current life would cause trouble for her within her former church community
• How she is moving forward with her life outside the organization
• Her current relationship with her family
• The most traumatizing parts of her experience
• What has been helpful in her spiritual healing journey
• The difficulty of explaining her story to someone who hasn’t experienced it

Related Links

The Incarcerated Christian

The Incarcerated Christian on Instagram

The Incarcerated Christian on TikTok

The Incarcerated Christian on Twitter

Recovering Grace

Annalise by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2017 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/56178 Ft: Kara Square