Why I Left an Evangelical Cult | Dawn Smith | TEDxNatick

Wow, “the hardest day of freedom is better than the best day in a cult.” Powerful line.

As Mike Render put it, "If you want to know if a group is a religion or a cult, look at what they do to people who try to leave."

As a mental health counselor, I have supported a few people coming out of a cult. Its heart wrenching to see the psychological damage caused by these groups. Thank you for sharing.

i escaped a christian cult last year. i had no idea it was a cult until i tried to leave. they stalked me. they threatened me. i was told the only way out is death. i feared for my life. i went into hiding across the country pretending to be homeless. i was on the run for 6 months. i am finally writing a book about my experiences and the cult that tried to sacrifice me. leaving a cult is scary. but your bravery will always be rewarded.

I grew up in a small, abusive family cult. I ran away when I was 17. That was 13 years ago, and I haven't spoken to any of my family since. I am in therapy still trying to recover, I changed my name and will never give a TED talk because I don't want to be found. Dawn Smith is bright, brave and brilliant for getting out and building a life where she can talk about this without fear.

" one day you will grow up and you will realize you can leave all of this." ......a year later i finally found the courage to leave it all behind too.

"One day, you will grow up and you can realise that you can leave all of this." Powerful statement 🙌

I love how she ends her speech the way it began, about a child.

I grew up a nondenominational evangelical Pentecostal pastor’s daughter. I was not allowed to wear pants, wear make up, have piercings, cut my hair, watch television, listen to secular music, date, participate in sports, or make any decisions for my own life without writing to the “witness room” so a room full of strangers could pray over my life and write back what god wanted me to do. I left when I was eighteen. I lost all my friends and a few family members. It’s been 3 years since I have left and it remains a struggle emotionally and psychologically. The worst day of freedom, is better than the best day in a cult”. That statement keeps me going.

"Staunch loyalty to any group is wrong if it means supporting an abusive, narcissistic, pathological liar." Girl, you said a MOUTHFUL.

Many years ago, I was sucked into an evangelical cult for 9 months. I was married with two children. We left the cult but not The Church or God. His mercy endures forever.

I was born and raised in an evangelical church and this is so true it took me years and years of narcissistic abuse to leave and finally live a happy and healthy life

I just realized a cult is like having an abusive parent in a societal setting

"My mother was his wife" This is what my experience growing up in church was.... My identity was, "wife".

I love this lady. Her courage is commendable!! I had to do the same thing she did. I've had to cut off 95 percent of my family and friends from the cult. I'm living my best life!!!

It's really inspiring to see this woman who has experienced a ton of trauma and yet she has not let it destroy her. She is really funny and that gives me hope

"One day you will grow up and you will realize you can leave all of this." A perfectly timed life saving sentence. Thank you DS

I love her bubbly personality. Despite her hard past, she still manages to smile and make jokes about this dark subject. She’s so strong and such a great role model

I'm a christian and I regularly attend Sunday services and I'm also involved in the music ministry as well. But NONE of what she describes as "not allowed" in their group is even prohibited in our church. We got to live like how normal people do. Its just sad the some people use religion and even the name of Jesus to control people.

"one day you'll grow up and realize, you can leave all of this" wow. I felt seen. That's what happened to me. And it was and is incredibly painful.