Unhealthy Boundaries Religion Said Were Godly

One of the tricky things about leaving religion is navigating boundaries. We find the majority of our clients (not to mention us when we left too) have difficulty with understanding what healthy boundaries look like, and for good reason! How would you know any differently when the following were things that you were taught to be "godly" were actually unhealthy:

1. I should confess my sins to strangers.
2. My inner authority is not to be trusted.
3. My needs are selfish, I should just serve others.
4. The salvation of others was on me to share the gospel with.
5. I need to dress modestly so that men wouldn't lust/sin after me.

Everything taught in fundamentalism goes against what healthy boundaries look like. So part of the recovery process from leaving religion will be to learn what it means to be an autonomous adult who gets to choose for herself now. This WILL feel strange at first. You are completely normal is if feels like you are doing something wrong. That is just your religious programming running behind the scenes. And if you want a little more direction on how to set better boundaries for yourself and around your new beliefs, you should read this.