RTS – Religious Trauma Syndrome

Occurs when an individual struggles with leaving a religious set of beliefs that has led to their indoctrination. (Could be any set of beliefs, does not have to be religious).

The problem comes about when the person attempts to leave a group or develops a set of ideas or beliefs that are different or desperate from the group. This occurs in any system built around control. It could a religions, a philosophy, a political party, or even a family. Often there is a controlling figure that could be the party leader, a parent or a religious leader. Many leaders, in any situation, often develop Guru-itis and believe in their own wonderment and special-ness. This happens in most cults.

My God Is Better Than Your God

In the world of religion beliefs will often clash together. In Christianity it was taboo for inter marriages between Protestants and Catholics or between Jews and Gentiles. In most cases one person will have to abandon their beliefs and take on the beliefs of their partner for the situation to work. It can be the same in any company or organisation that has two unions that seek to represent the entire workforce. In national situations it’s might be between two nationalities coming together. In the Second World War many women fell in love and decided to marry a German Soldier, the enemy, and were then exclused from their own families.

The same is true of interracial marriages. It is now more common to see mixed race families though in many cultures it is seen as wrong and in some cultures it is not allowed at all.

It is easy to see that the induction into religious groups is a form of shared hypnosis yet we are all hypnotised by the beliefs that we grew up with and unless something occurs to make us question and re-evaluate them they will guide our entire life. Mor importantly we are likely to look down on anyone who decides to move away from our beliefs and change their lives.

Our group is seen as right and important. We have the truth which is often seen as the only truth. We are ‘us’ and anyone outside of our group is one of ‘them’. If ‘we’ are exclusive the ‘we’ will have nothing to do with ‘them’.

The whole of humanity, some would say the whole of creation, is one whole. In that sense we are all one and there is no ‘them’. However, humanity has man aged to breakdown into ever smaller groups to that now there are lots of ‘us’ and ‘them’.

If human being are to grow or even survive it will be because we have come together and become an entire us so that we learn to look after each other.

If We All Look After Each Other We Will All Be Okay!

Take care, be happy and help those around you

Sean x