Product Description

This book by psychologist Marlene Winell provides valuable insights into the dangers of religious indoctrination and outlines what therapists and victims can do to reclaim a healthier human spirit.... Both former believers searching for a new beginning and those just starting to subject their faith to the requirements of simple common sense, if not analytical reason, may find valuable assistance in these pages. -Steve Allen, author and entertainer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #523169 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 316 pages

From Library Journal
Winell, daughter of a missionary and now a psychologist, had a genuine "born again" Christian experience and then much later went through another rebirth and found herself apart from that tradition. Although she criticizes fundamentalism for its rigidity, militancy, authority, and strong opposition to modern culture, she focuses on understanding and rebuilding, addressing herself not only to fundamentalists (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim) who feel the call but also to those who left and then realize, perhaps years later, that they need to think through the hold that religion still has on their lives. She then addresses issues of healing, reclaiming buried feelings, finding and loving oneself, and growing. Highly recommended for seminary and public libraries.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Workshop invitation from the author
Hello there,
If you are reading about this book, you might like to know that I hold periodic retreats. Here's the information for one coming up, and you can check my websites for future events. And please write to me! I'm continuing to do research on recovery issues, especially how one copes with family relationships. I'd like to hear your story.

Kind regards,
Marlene Winell

recoveryfromreligion@gmail.com
www.marlenewinell.net, www.recoveryfromreligion.org


LEAVING YOUR RELIGION?

It's not the end of the world! Join us at a recovery retreat.

"RELEASE AND RECLAIM"

August 15-17, 2008

Do you feel alone in your struggle for healing? Come to a supportive and powerful weekend with others who can understand you -- an oasis from dogmatic teachings and judgmental groups. We'll rant and rave, tell our stories, discuss the issues, visualize, role-play, dance and draw - whatever it takes to think for ourselves and reclaim our lives. A joyful, empowered life is your birthright and you can start now.

WHEN: FRIDAY, Aug. 15, 7PM - SUNDAY, Aug. 17, 3PM.

WHERE: A beautiful house in Berkeley, California,
with hot tub and other amenities.

COST: $320 for the workshop, $125 for room and board. Financial need considered & options available. Pay what you can.

TO REGISTER: Call 510-292-0509 or send an email to recoveryfromreligion@gmail.com. Register soon as group size is limited.


Dr. Marlene Winell is a psychologist with a practice in Berkeley & also counsels individuals by phone. For more info, mailing list, comments about retreats, & Youtube link for scenes from a retreat, visit: www.marlenewinell.net. Or call Dr. Winell for a complimentary discussion about your interest.

Informative, helpful, but also disappointing.
Most of the book is easy to read for the layperson but you do need to be familiar with the following terms: a priori, ethnocentric, tautological, cognitive dissonance, and so forth. Any good dictionary can help you with this.

Although I was familiar with fundamentalist Christianity (from having talked to them at various points in my life) I didn't realize how dogmatic, unhealthy, and unreasonable they can be. The author's own experience and those of the others were eye-opening. Although the author still appreciates certain Bible principles such as the Golden Rule, she claims that God was responsible for Job's suffering and also the following:

page 90 "problem with occasions of Jesus expressing vindictiveness, discourtesy, narrow-mindedness, and ethnic and religious intolerance."

page 93 "Eve is blamed for bringing sin into the world."

I can only attribute this to her fundamentalist upbringing, which apparently didn't teach her how to think about the Bible in a holistic manner. For example, the scriptures blame Adam for bringing sin into the world, even though Eve was the first human to sin. This is because he was created first, had more knowledge and experience, and unlike Eve was not deceived.

God allowed Satan to persecute Job. He was not responsible for it.

At any rate, the author's suggestions for psychological and spiritual recovery for the fundamentalist Christian who has left dogmaticism are fairly good. Probably the best part of the book are the question and answer checklists, exercises, and the section on humor as healing.

She claims that her advice is applicable to former Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, having had them as clients. However, unlike fundamentalists, JWs are not taught "hellfire and damnation." I do agree that dogmatic individuals can exist in any group, even among atheists.

She includes black and white photos of her art collages, which I found ugly and unnecessary.

For Mormons I recommend another book with the same title: Leaving the fold: candid conversations with inactive Mormons. I would love to see a book about inactive Jehovah's Witnesses.

A must read for anyone in the process of de-conversion & recovering from christianity!
This book gives me the comfort and determination to recover from a religion I no longer believe in. The recovery experience shared by the author was very well presented and to the point, and the methods used were very helpful. The fact that the book is written by a psychologist gave you a very useful scientific approach to recovery and self-discovery, you might find out a lot more about yourself in the recovery process. Also recommended is Dan Barker's "Losing Faith In Faith".