Deconversion Therapy

deconversiontherapy

Church scandals, conmen, cults and charlatans. Deconversion "Therapy" Podcast is your place to laugh about shady televangelists to Christian rock concerts where no one is allowed to dance.

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Top 10 Deconversion Therapy Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Deconversion Therapy episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Deconversion Therapy for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Deconversion Therapy episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Jesus 2.0

Deconversion Therapy

07/01/20 • 60 min

A brief summary of this episode

Mo' Members, Mo' Scandals: Willow Creek

Deconversion Therapy

08/28/19 • 48 min

Once you build a 73 million dollar sanctuary, what could go wrong? Willow Creek church in Chicago was the first mainstream mega-church.From keytars and dry ice machines in the 80s to megatrons and coffee shops now, Willow Creek has been rocked by a...wait for it...sex scandal.

Bill Hybels founded the church in 1975. The church has 7 locations and averages 24,000 attendees. Yes, we get most of this from Wikipedia. So do people like to go to large churches to hide and blend in?

In 2018 the whole leadership resigned because they mishandles allegations against Hybels for sexual misconduct. Hybels was big in with James Dobson and they were anti-porn. So Hybels said it was his job to "research" porn by watching it WITH his hand-picked secretary while he wore only a robe. More things happened through the years, but...gross.

Karen and Bonnie then reminisce about their big church and it's biggest time of the year--The Singing Christmas tree. Weeks upon weeks of strict rehearsals, a huge scaffolded tree you stood in, and most recently livestock that comes in for authenticity and then falls on the ticket-holders.

Send in your funny, true stories for us to read on the podcast. Also, please subscribe, rate, and review.

Sign up for your free Audible Trial HERE for a free 30 days and free book. Our recommendations for the week are Educated by Tara Westover and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.

Lettersode: Life is But a Vapor

Deconversion Therapy

08/12/20 • 34 min

You all never disappoint. Thanks for sending us (Karen and Bonnie) your embarrassing stories about growing up in church and church schools.

We have an all-female episode this week--Amy, Sara, and Jess.

The Annual Ask Us Anything Episode

Deconversion Therapy

04/05/24 • 80 min

Ok, maybe it'll be bi-annual, we're not sure yet. We've taken your questions, both goofy and cerebral and done our doggone best. We love to connect to you all, so hope you enjoy it.

Go check out the newly released exvangelical books!

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We have a P.O. Box!

Deconversion Therapy

188 Front St. STE 116-79

Franklin, TN 37064

Find us on Instagram, TikTok, and our secret den on Facebook.

And, finally, send us your true, funny stories for us to read on the podcast.

Is the Church a Cult?

Deconversion Therapy

02/11/21 • 57 min

Not only did Bonnie accidentally invent alt-leisurewear, but perhaps our church was a cult. Maybe all churches are. Or, at least, cult-like.

We go over Rick Ross' 10 traits of cult leaders.

We also introduced our new newsletter. You can take a peek for free.

PRIDE with April Ajoy and Beecher

Deconversion Therapy

06/14/24 • 77 min

It's the second week of PRIDE and we've got your 2nd favorite redhead--April Ajoy--and her non-binary spouse Beecher.

We hear their story from Christian fundamentalists to Beecher coming to terms with being non-binary--all while April realizes she is bi-sexual. And their marriage works!

Caution little ears (why are you here anyway?), we discuss sex, toys, and other adventures.

PLEASE preorder April's book: Star Spangled Jesus! Let's beat Joel Osteen's book numbers.

You can find Beecher's feature film, shorts, and other works on their website.

Keep in Touch or support us with our free and paid versions of our newsletter.

Episode tithes and offerings can be dropped here. ❤️

Please Rate and Review. It means so much! Thank you.

We have a P.O. Box!

Deconversion Therapy

188 Front St. STE 116-79

Franklin, TN 37064

Find us on Instagram, TikTok, and our secret den on Facebook.

And, finally, send us your true, funny stories for us to read on the podcast.

Faith Healers Benny Hinn and Katherine Kuhlman

Deconversion Therapy

07/24/19 • 55 min

Karen and Bonnie go through the lives and miracle healing powers of Kathrine Kuhlman and Benny Hill, no, Hinn. Are people really getting cured of cancer and broken backs and whatnot and various sundries? Why are all the people falling backwards when they get healed? And how in the world are these wheeler healers getting their own television shows when we don't have one?

Karen starts out with one of the best-known faith healers, Katherine Kuhlman. You might have never heard of her, but she birthed a whole litter of these guys. She was elegant and magnetic and also talked in a creepy voice.

She had her share of scandals, but we must say, being a divorced woman evangelist in the 60s with your own show isn't bad.

Bonnie gets in to someone who followed Kuhlman, idolized her, studied her--Benny Hinn. You've seen him on television. He's the one people roll their eyes at when he makes a swath of people fall out on stage.

Hinn got caught with televangelist Paula White a few years ago while in Italy. They

denied it. Then they didn't. Then they downplayed it. We don't care. At least the Kardashians admit their vice.

Hinn's nephew, Costi Hinn, has come out with a book. It's mainly for Christians, but it says all the things most people know. This is about money and power.

Mentioned on podcast: Josiah Hesse's Vice article about Jim Bakker.

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Insurrection

Deconversion Therapy

01/13/21 • 51 min

We don't take the attack on The Capitol lightly, but we will be snarky about it.

We recorded on Sunday and a lot has happened since. Hopefully, by the time this gets to your ears, all the fuckers--including the one who incited this--will be in jail.

Christian nationalists are to blame.

Q and A Part 1: The Good Years

Deconversion Therapy

04/15/20 • 44 min

We sent out a call for listeners to ask Bonnie and Karen questions. On this episode, Bonnie goes into her deconversion, plus they both discuss how and when they "came out" to people about their beliefs, as well as if religion is needed in the world.

Jerry Falwell Jr., Michael Cohen, Tom Arnold and Some Pictures

Deconversion Therapy

06/26/19 • 51 min

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Bonnie fills Karen in on Jerry Falwell Jr., and the news that something is afoot in his world. The players are a pool boy, Jerry, Jerry’s wife, Michael Cohen and his plaid jacket, and Tom Arnold. Of course, Trump always shows up in anything we discuss when it comes to sketchy “Christians.” Falwell has the sanpaku, an eyeball thing Bonnie is obsessed with. Supposedly, he’s either an addict or crazzzzy.

The story’s still coming out, but there are some revealing pictures of Jerry Falwell Jr.’s wife, and also a friendship with the pool boy, who went on vacations with them. But it doesn’t stop there! Falwell invested 1.8 Million dollars in the SoBE hostel in Miami Beach that the pool boy started. Could this be why Falwell went from not supporting Trump for president to being all-in and making sure the evangelicals did, too?

Enjoy a romp through this den of vice that is the Falwell hostel.

We also read a letter from Sara, who found herself in a cult when she attended a Pentecostal Bible college in Minnesota. It includes pie.

Various shout outs:

Southern Fried Crime Podcast

Twitter of Ghostwriter Tony Schwartz for Trump’s Art of the Deal

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