Snarky Faith Gaslighting for God
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Feb 27, 2026 Becky Garrison, journalist and religious satirist, author of Gaslighting for God. She explores spiritual narcissism and how faith language is used to silence and shift blame. Conversations cover spotting manipulative leaders, why leaving institutions does not equal healing, trauma bonds, and seeking grassroots spiritual community.
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Becky's Personal Path To Spotting Narcissism
- Becky traced recognizing narcissism to researching her alcoholic priest father and later discovering narcissistic patterns in partners and family.
- She joined support groups and connected trauma, alcoholism, and narcissism research starting around 2008–2016.
How Religious Gaslighting Works
- Gaslighting convinces victims their reality is wrong and then scapegoats them for raising concerns.
- Becky Garrison gives examples: calling a drunk relative "sleeping" and defending an abusive pastor as "pastoral care" to dismiss witnesses.
Self Protecting Dynamics Of Narcissistic Systems
- Narcissistic systems protect themselves by convincing followers they're morally superior and must follow the leader.
- Becky connects this to sacred sexuality and political examples where people are persuaded to do things they'd normally refuse.
