Editing Religious trauma syndrome (section)

=== Religious harm and trauma ===
The psychological harm that can be caused by authoritarian religion has been addressed by authors prior to the naming of the religious trauma syndrome. These writings have included work by psychologists and therapists (Tarico,<ref>{{Cite book|author= Tarico, Valerie|title= The dark side : how evangelical teachings corrupt love and truth| year = 2006|publisher= Dea Press|isbn= 1-4116-9125-3|location= Seattle, WA|oclc= 71783763}}</ref> Ray,<ref>{{Cite book|author= Ray, Darrel|title= The God virus : how religion infects our lives and culture|date= 2009|publisher= IPC Press|isbn= 978-0-9709505-1-2|location= Bonner Springs, Kan.|oclc= 282753096}}</ref> Winell, Kramer & Alstad,<ref>{{Cite book|author= Kramer, Joel|title= The guru papers : masks of authoritarian power| year = 1993|publisher= North Atlantic Books/Frog|others= Alstad, Diana, 1944-|isbn= 1-883319-00-5|location= Berkeley, Calif.|oclc= 27684736}}</ref> Hassan,<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|author= Hassan, Steven|title= Freedom of mind : helping loved ones leave controlling people, cults and beliefs| year = 2012|publisher= Freedom of Mind Press|isbn= 978-0-9670688-1-7|edition= 1st|location= Newton, MA|oclc= 809069037}}</ref> Cohen,<ref>{{Cite book|author= Cohen, Edmund D.|title= The mind of the Bible-believer| year = 1988|publisher= Prometheus Books |isbn= 0-87975-495-8|edition= New updated|location= Buffalo, NY|oclc= 19045001}}</ref> Watters,<ref>{{Cite book |author= Watters, Wendell W.|title= Deadly doctrine : health, illness, and Christian god-talk| year = 1992|publisher= Prometheus Books|isbn= 0-87975-782-5|location= Buffalo, N.Y.|oclc= 26541707}}</ref> Greven,<ref>{{Cite book|author= Greven, Philip J.|title= Spare the child : the religious roots of punishment and the psychological impact of physical abuse| year = 1992|publisher= Vintage Books|isbn= 0-679-73338-8|edition= 1st Vintage books|location= New York|oclc= 24373779}}</ref> Moyers), and many memoirs from former believers, including former pastors (Babinski,<ref>{{Cite book|title= Leaving the fold : testimonies of former fundamentalists| year = 1995|publisher= Prometheus Books|last=Babinski|first=Edward T.|isbn= 0-87975-907-0|location= Amherst, N.Y.|oclc= 30894317}}</ref> Loftus,<ref>{{Cite book|author= Loftus, John W.|title= Why I became an atheist : a former preacher rejects Christianity| year = 2012|publisher= Prometheus Books|isbn= 978-1-61614-577-4|edition= Rev. and expanded|location= Amherst, N.Y.|oclc=761482061}}</ref> [[Dan Barker|Barker]], DeWitt).<ref>{{Cite book|author=DeWitt, Jerry|title=Hope after faith : an ex-pastor's journey from belief to atheism| year = 2013|publisher= Da Capo Press|others= Brown, Ethan|isbn= 978-0-306-82224-7|location= Boston, MA|oclc= 849498288}}</ref> The work of cult specialist Steven Hassan applies to any authoritarian group that applies "undue influence".<ref name=":9" /> Journalist [[Janet Heimlich]],<ref>{{Cite book
|author= Heimlich, Janet
|title=Breaking their will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment
|year=2011
|publisher=Prometheus Books
|isbn=978-1-61614-405-0
|location=Amherst, N.Y.|oclc=679931793}}
</ref> in her research on child maltreatment in religious communities, identified the most damaging groups as having a Bible-belief system that creates an authoritarian, isolative, threat-based model of reality.

The specific semi-medical metaphors of religion as a [[memetic]] virus or of "God as a virus" have gained some attention.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = McGrath
 |first1               = Alister
 |author-link1         = Alister McGrath
 |date                 = 15 February 2011
 |title                = Why God Won't Go Away: Engaging With The New Atheism
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=tGypAwAAQBAJ
 |publication-place    = London
 |publisher            = Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
 |isbn                 = 9780281065769
 |access-date          = 20 April 2024
 |quote                = Religion is a 'brilliantly successful virus' that contaminates even the best of minds.[...] Though Dawkins' language about God as a 'virus of the mind' was, I think, clearly intended to be metaphorical, some of his less sophisticated followers seem to take it literally.
}} 
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Bowker
 |first1               = John
 |author-link1         = John Bowker (theologian)
 |year                 = 1995
 |title                = Is God a Virus?: Genes, Culture, and Religion
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=3iDXAAAAMAAJ
 |series               = Gresham lectures
 |publisher            = The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
 |page                 = 72
 |isbn                 = 9780281048120
 |access-date          = 20 April 2024
 |quote                = God as a virus [...] consider the basis on which Dawkins argues that God is a virus. His contention is that a God-meme can be identified [...].
}} 
</ref>