5 Ways Being Born into Fundamentalist Religion Hurts Your Development

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Being born into fundamentalist religion has potential to impact your development in damaging ways.

Here’s my disclaimer that this impact is different for different religions and different individuals, but in fundamentalism, the damage it creates is often life-altering and traumatizing.

Because of what I’ve experienced and seen in fundamentalist religion, I’ve compiled a list of 5 ways being born into fundamentalist religion hurts your development.

Let me know if any of them resonate with you.

1. LIMITED CRITICAL THINKING

In fundamentalism, you are not allowed to think for yourself.

You are indoctrinated into believing what you are told by the church, and researching, studying, or listening to media, music, or anybody outside of that cult — I mean group — is forbidden and a sin.

When institutions demand strict adherence to their religions doctrines, and don’t allow questioning or critical examination, children cannot develop independent, critical thinking skills.

As a result, these kids grow up thinking the way they have been taught is the only one right way, and their brain doesn’t realize that it’s allowed to think outside of that box.

They also struggle with troubleshooting and figuring out problems on their own, because their answers have always come from somebody set in place to have all the answers that is older and wiser.

Not to mention they teach you that your heart is deceitful and you can’t trust yourself.

2. MORAL GUILT AND FEAR

Sin and punishment are concepts that fundamentalist religions teach from birth. A baby is born sinful and it’s a parent’s job to punish it out of them and tame their “flesh.”

Because of this, kids are taught they are bad very early in life and that they deserve punishment, specifically in the form of hell. This instills fear in a child to obey. And guilt when they are not perfect.

Instilling guilt and fear in a child so early in life negatively affects emotional well-being and listening to your gut in decision making.