There is a growing awareness of the impact that religious trauma—damaging things we’ve been told, that have been done to us, and that we’ve believed in negative religious environments—can have a lasting affects on our self-esteem, our relationships, and can even get down into our very nervous systems. This is a heartfelt conversation with Dr Mark Karris that focuses on his experiences in helping others heal the trauma of their adverse religious experiences, as well as the story of his own journey to heal his own traumatic experiences in the church. This is an important discussion for anyone who wants to understand religious trauma better, for those who pastor or counsel others who may have religious trauma, or for those who know that something wasn’t right in the religious environment they were brought up in, and need to hear it: you’re not crazy. Dr Mark G Karris a licensed Marriage and Family therapist who works with youth, families, couples, and individuals. He brings a range of professional, academic, and travel experiences that give him a breadth of knowledge and empathy. In addition to his role as therapist, Karris is also a prolific author. His latest book is Beyond Fairy Tales: A Couple’s Guide to Finding Clarity, Doing the Work, and Building a Lasting Relationship. He is also the author of Religious Refugees: (De)Constructing Toward Spiritual and Emotional Healing; The Diabolical Trinity:Healing Religious Trauma from a Wrathful God, Tormenting Hell, and a Sinful Self; and Divine Echoes: Reconciling Prayer with the Uncontrolling Love of God. You can find out more about Dr. Karris and his work at https://markgregorykarris.com.

Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD

On March 10, a demolition crew tore up the pavement of Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington DC, and Reverend Starlette Thomas was there to bear witness. With this moment of government-ordered erasure as our starting point, we talk with Thomas about the protest and community that happened on that very ground after the killing of George Floyd in 2020—and why recent history has made many African-American protestors avoid the recent “Hands Off” rallies across the country. In this fiery and revelatory conversation, Thomas explains how our “color-coded” society is a facade for a destructive caste system, how those who are “racialized” with the identity of “white body supremacy” need to squelch the voices of others to stay in power, and makes the case for finding our holy “somebodyness” in something other than race.

Starlette Thomas is an author, activist, visual artist, and race abolitionist. She is also editor and director of the Raceless Gospel Initiative. She regularly preaches and teaches throughout the country and her sermons have been featured by Sojourners and other publications. Starlette is also a contributing author for the book Faith Forward: A Dialogue on Children, Youth & a New Kind of Christianity and author of the the book, “Take Me to the Water”: The Raceless Gospel as Baptismal Pedagogy for a Desegregated Church (Nurturing Faith). She is also the host of the Raceless Gospel podcast, now in its fifth season.

Find more of her work at racelessgospel.com or on social media at @racelessgospel.

Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD

What’s so crazy about diversity, equity, and inclusion? We are so glad to welcome back Melanie Hood-Wilson, DEI consultant and educator, to talk about her work and mission in the midst of the current administration’s attacks on programs it calls “Radical and Wasteful.” Melanie is incisive, bold, and clearly lays out the issues we’re facing as America “says the quiet part out loud”, the core issues of identity and belonging that are driving the backlash against DEI programs, and opens up the possibilities for things that all of us can do to help ensure that our companies and organizations include every qualified candidate, without preferencing or shutting out anyone because of their identity. Melanie is the leader of Melanie Hood-Wilson and Associates, a “consulting company providing services designed to teach, enlighten, and change lives through teaching, learning, diversity, equity, and inclusion.” She and her team are dedicated to helping organizations improve their cultural competency and increase the representation of communities of color, women, individuals with differing abilities, the LGBTQIA community, and those of diverse religious and national backgrounds. Her company also sponsors an innovative range of “caucuses,” where groups of open-minded people with similar backgrounds can learn more about disrupting biased systems and advocating for themselves. Prior to being a consultant, Melanie gained tremendous experience as a teacher both in middle school and at the Community college of Baltimore County.

Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you’ve ever deconstructed your faith you know it’s not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you’ll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD