Can Purity Culture Cause Trauma?

The connection between purity culture and trauma.

Can purity culture cause trauma?

I’ve written about this before and let me tell you, it is controversial to claim that purity culture is trauma or can cause trauma.

I believe that unequivocally purity culture can cause trauma for some people.

I believe this so strongly that one of my proposed book title ideas was Purity Culture Survivor. I ended up using a version of this in Chapter 1, which is titled “Surviving Purity Culture.”

Because trauma is controversial and misunderstood, I want to explain today what I mean when I say purity culture can cause trauma, the subjective nature of trauma, and why I use the language of “survivor”.

Enjoy this excerpt from the introduction of my book, Recovering from Purity Culture.

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Although we share many similarities, everyone who grew up in purity culture will have unique experiences. From my own clinical work, research, and listening to others’ stories, I believe that purity culture can cause trauma for some people.

Here’s what I mean: trauma is not the event itself but our nervous system’s reaction to the event.¹ It is the feeling of helplessness, powerlessness, and fear—a complete loss of control—that characterizes trauma. We typically think that trauma is caused by single incidents (sometimes called “big T” traumas), such as sexual assault, natural disasters, combat trauma, and witnessing violence. To be sure, these events are traumatic and can lead to a diagnosis of PTSD.

But trauma can also be caused by a series of smaller events (or “little t” traumas)—for example, bullying, social exclusion, loss of community or significant relationships, and emotional abuse. There may not be a single incident but multiple smaller events that cumulate and lead to a traumatic response in the body.² In fact, Dr. Francine Shapiro, the creator of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, one of the most evidenced-based treatments for PTSD, defines trauma as any event that has a lasting negative effect on the self.³

Many who grew up in purity culture may experience it as a series of “little t” traumas. Trauma is largely dependent on our early childhood experiences and the negative core beliefs that developed from them. For many, the origins of purity culture started in early childhood, meaning these beliefs are deeply entrenched. Research has found that multiple “little t” traumas lead to increased distress that causes significant damage, even if they don’t officially meet the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.

This is the body’s response to trauma. And these effects continue to live on in our bodies long after we no longer believe purity culture in our minds. The myths of purity culture cannot simply be “turned off” in the mind because the trauma of those teachings is stored in the body. The body keeps the score.⁴ Trauma is embodied, meaning that we cannot resolve the effects of it by simply changing our beliefs.

In the case of purity culture, even long after my clients leave high school sex ed and the purity books of their teens, their bodies and hearts still react to these messages. […]

Some of my clients… have even identified as a “survivor of purity culture.” Using this language of “survivor” may seem extreme to you, as it’s often a term used for “big T” traumas. And by no means do I invalidate the impact from these forms of trauma. But…sometimes the effects of multiple events—like from a whole culture—are more insidious or take longer to resolve than the effects of a single incident. So, for some, the term “purity culture survivor” validates the long-lasting and far-reaching effects of purity culture on their bodies, minds, hearts, and souls. It is not a single incident they can leave in the past. It still feels very real and present today.

Does everyone who grew up in purity culture have trauma from it? No; trauma is subjective⁵, so not everyone will identify purity culture as a traumatic event or have a traumatic response in their bodies. If you had a positive experience of purity culture, I am happy for you. There are parts of it that I acknowledge were good too. But “the neutral-to-positive experiences of some do not invalidate the negative experience”⁶—even trauma—of others.

Even if it does not result in trauma, there is a high correlation between purity culture and later mental health problems⁷. Misunderstandings about the heart—the metaphorical source of our emotions—lead to not only a divorce of mind and body but also a divorce from the heart. If all we learn about our emotions is “the heart is deceitful” and “desperately wicked,” then how are we to pay compassionate attention⁸ to them? How are we to befriend our emotions and see what message they might be trying to send us? This denial and suppression of the heart—of our emotions—can lead to them becoming more overwhelming and distressing, thus turning into stored trauma in the body. And that trauma tends to create problems in three areas: faith, sexuality, and relationships.⁹

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What do you think? Do you think purity culture can cause trauma? How did it cause (or not cause) trauma for you? Do you identify as a “purity culture survivor” or other similar term?

If you want to learn more about the link between purity culture and trauma, especially how to heal the trauma of purity culture, I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering Recovering from Purity Culture. When you pre-order, you get the first two chapters of the book now, plus a ton of other bonuses!

Whether you identify as a purity culture survivor or not, I wrote this book for you, to help you find the path forward from shame and brokenness to healing and freedom in your faith, sexuality, and relationships. And please hear it from me: you are worth doing this work. You can heal from the trauma.

I hope you'll preorder so we can find the path forward together.

Warmly, Dr. Camden

Learn more about the book | Get Pre-Order Bonuses

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1. See the works of Dr. Laura Anderson, Aundi Kolber, LPC, Dr. Hillary McBride, and Dr. Arielle Schwartz.

2. This is also sometimes called “complex trauma.” See the work of Aundi Kolber and Dr. Arielle Schwartz to learn more.

3. Francine Shapiro, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy, 3rd ed. (New York: Guilford Press, 2018), 39.

4. Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (London: Penguin Books, 2014).

5. Anderson, When Religion Hurts You.

6. Zachary Wagner, Non-Toxic Masculinity: Recovering Healthy Male Sexuality (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2023), 24.

7. Ashley Pikel, “Framed by Sexuality: An Examination of Identity-Messages in ‘Purity Culture’ Reflections” (master’s thesis, South Dakota State University, 2018).

8. Aundi Kolber, Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode—and into a Life of Connection and Joy (Wheaton: Tyndale Refresh, 2020).

9. Excerpt from Camden Morgante, Recovering from Purity Culture: Dismantle the Myths, Reject Shame-Based Sexuality, and Move Forward in Your Faith (Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 2024).