We live in a world filled with voices promising guidance, voices that claim to have special wisdom, secret insight, or a path to freedom. Some are self-proclaimed leaders who project unwavering confidence and attract devoted followers. Others are outright con artists who know how to manipulate that confidence into control. Their certainty feels magnetic. For many, it is easier, even comforting, to let someone else take the wheel of our lives. But why does this happen?

Some groups or movements use religious teachings as a tool for control, turning faith into a mechanism for manipulation, fear, and abuse.

Religious trauma/abuse can be challenging to define because it often intertwines deeply personal beliefs with systemic or interpersonal harm