Janice Selbie
Name: Janice Selbie
Birthplace: New Westminster, BC
What type of work have you done?
I am a Registered Professional Counsellor and religious trauma recovery coach. I work with clients 1:1 as they work through religious trauma syndrome (RTS) and see how their religious indoctrination may still be impacting their choices and actions even though they are no longer religious.
I also designed and facilitate the Divorcing Religion Workshop, which is an online interactive small-group workshop designed to help participants recognize their indoctrination, how to avoid falling prey to Magical Thinking and high-demand groups again, and how to build a safe and supportive secular community for themselves. I also run a free, online support group for people recovering from RTS.
My website is www.divorcing-religion.com .
In addition to working 1:1 and with small groups, I am the founder and host of CORT – the Conference on Religious Trauma, and the Shameless Sexuality: Life After Purity Culture conference.
In my spare time, I host the Divorcing Religion Podcast interviewing survivors of religious trauma syndrome; as well as atheists, secular humanists, and mental health clinicians working with the RTS demographic. My most famous guest so far has been author Margaret Atwood.
You can find my YouTube channel HERE, there are episodes of the Divorcing Religion Podcast and previous CORT sessions.
How would you identify yourself in terms of religion/spirituality?
I Divorced Religion about 14 years ago, and now identify as atheist and secular humanist. I also subscribe to naturalism, which means I don’t believe in anything “supernatural.” I grew up in a Pentecostal home and was later significantly influenced by Holdeman/COGIC (Church of God in Christ) Mennonites. During that time, I was living on Prairie Bible College campus and homeschooling my children. A lot has changed in my life since then!
What are some of your reasons for joining?
Losing my religious faith was very isolating. I lost my entire world view, my community, and my identity all at once. I was very excited to learn that we have a local group for atheists, skeptics, and humanists in Kelowna! Joining KASHA has been part of me building my supportive secular community.
What were some of the defining moments that led you to the point where you are now, in a religious/spiritual sense?
I was a devout Christian for about 40 years, until a series of calamities broke through my cognitive dissonance, and I could no longer believe the Bible as the literal and inerrant word of God. Losing my faith was both terrifying and liberating. For the first time in my life, I had permission to explore anything that piqued my interest – so I did. I dove into the New Age movement and Eastern religions/philosophies for a few years, until eventually I realized I didn’t believe or need those, either.
Connecting with Dr. Marlene Winell, author of Leaving the Fold, was pivotal for me as she connected me with others who had experienced the significant losses equated with loss of religious faith and who were now living healthy and meaningful secular lives. Once I gave myself full permission to explore and enjoy life without deities or any kind of spirituality, I was off to the races!
I am fortunate to know healthy, happy atheists like Dr. Winell, Dr. Darrel Ray (Recovering from Religion), Seth Andrews (The Thinking Atheist), and Dan Barker & Annie Laurie Gaylor (Freedom from Religion Foundation). I hope to likewise encourage others on their own post religious, or never religious, journeys.
