I wish there was because I sure could use it. I wont even go back to church but I will e-mail you or journal it sometime and tell you why. It is a long story but I am sure you would understand. I grew up in the Church of Christ and I know some around me who grew up Southern Baptist and now they want nothing to do with church. Anyway it was rough and it is said alot of Church of Christ suffer Borderline Personality Disorder. I can see why too. There is alot of legalism, politics, and everything is either black or white. I have had to retrain my brain and remember those people with rigid beliefs are wrong and misguided.

I would be interested in that if I thought I wouldn't use it as a "pulpit", lol, to scream about how much I can't stand religion.

I understand the word "bitterness". Just know that every day the percentage of people resistant to dogma grows and their numbers shrink.

there may be a member group I guess but they can be hard to find unless you already know the name of it. You could look at the Physical and Emotional Abuse board and see if there are any associated member groups that fit the bill. Or you might ask on that board.

Got my vote. Maybe we should start a group. "Dogma Abuse Survivors?"

I didn't get much church experience as a kid. Still haven't. Joining ANYTHING terrifies me to this day. Atheist and pagan dogma and general faith bashing were the abusively delivered of my own developing years. My abusers could and did hate faith to the extent of attacking a child's faith in ice cream. My career in science and engineering heightened the confusion. Card carrying atheists have been the single largest lecture-giving group of my life.

The effect remains the same: trauma induced obstacles to ideological development.

When does the group start?

do atheists have a dogma?

anyway, you are right, with people like Richard Dawkins around, the bashing is coming from all sides - but I supposed (hope) it's just a minority of atheists, christians, jews, muslims that try and put down anyone else who doesn't share their views. Unfortuanately it comes down to some people are assholes, just as they are about gender, sexual identity, ethnicity, politics and so on.

I asked on the physical and emotional abuse board. I will let you know if I get a response. I would not want such a board to become a place of hate or anything like that. I agree...every religious or social group have "bad appples". Not every leader in such groups are in a place where they can effectively nurture someone in their walk of life. Some have been abused themselves and that's how they've learned to deal with people. Then within the group itself are all types of people...some hypocrites and some just like you'd aspire to be. It's a complex and very fiery subject for many...always has been and always will. Personally I want a spiritual life, I'm just not sure how to break all this awwy from me and rebuild my self esteem, worth and other things that were broken in me.