Religious Trauma is Trauma...

“Religious Trauma is Trauma” is a fine art photo series bringing awareness to the psychological and emotional effects of toxic religion. This issue has affected me personally and countless others. Many people have suffered in silence afraid to speak out against religious institutions. Marlene Winell a psychologist coined the term Religious Trauma Syndrome in 2011, but the topic is finally becoming more popular recently.

            In this series, I am communicating how emotional trauma from religion manifests itself in life. I am bringing awareness to this issue and educating people through a visual language. Specifically, I want viewers to understand and feel on a deep level how religious trauma changes a person internally. Art is powerful because it causes people to empathize and reflect, which can lead to change in behavior.

            I communicate this message by using various techniques. I use a combination of location, camera settings, editing, and colors. I use double exposures and motion blur to add a chaotic energy to the series. The series starts as a calm environment and becomes increasingly chaotic. Compositionally, I use diagonal lines to add to the energy. For location, an abstract environment is created to express the internal state of the subject.

            At the end of the series, the subject escapes their situation, but this is not the end of their struggle with religious trauma. Many individuals who leave toxic religious settings carry the trauma with them and must heal on their own.

~Andrew Pledger