Gaslighting for God with Becky Garrison

Some people leave the church quietly. Becky Garrison stayed and took notes.

A satirist, journalist, and Yale Divinity School-trained religious critic, Becky spent over a decade as Senior Contributing Editor at The Wittenburg Door — the nation's oldest, most irreverent Christian satire magazine — before the institution gave her more material than she bargained for. Her latest book, Gaslighting for God, is part exposé, part survival manual, and somehow genuinely funny. Because when the narcissist is behind the pulpit, sometimes the only sane response is satire.

Becky joins Behk & LAH to talk about what happens when the tactics we recognize in toxic relationships — the love bombing, the narrative rewriting, the coercive control, the manufactured reality — get wrapped in a scripture verse and called sacred. She traces her own journey from preacher's kid to what she now calls an "epiphytic agnostic Anglican," explains why progressive spiritual spaces can be just as dangerous as conservative ones, and makes the case that your gut instinct is one of the most underrated tools you have.

The conversation goes deep — from the NXIVM case and the prosecution of Keith Raniere, to the OneTaste orgasmic meditation case and why charging Nicole Daedone with human trafficking rather than prostitution was a critical distinction for survivors, to the Archbishop of Canterbury's resignation following a pattern of sexual abuse among clergy in the Church of England. Becky also breaks down why narcissistic collapse looks exactly like a three-year-old's temper tantrum, why you cannot rationalize with someone in the middle of one, and why learning to recognize the pattern is genuinely liberating.

Her parting advice: trust your gut. We are taught not to. But your intuition — nurtured, cared for, and freed from the trigger responses of unhealed trauma — is the most powerful narcissist detector you have. 🎭

Narcissists, Gaslighters, & Cheaters, Oh My! — real folks, real stories, survival & healing.

Resources & Links: 📖 Get the book: Gaslighting for God — Lake Drive Books 📖 🌐 Website: beckygarrison.com ✍️ Substack: beckygarrison.substack.com

Cases mentioned in this episode: 🔗 NXIVM / Keith Raniere — women's empowerment organization prosecuted for sex trafficking and racketeering 🔗 OneTaste / Nicole Daedone — orgasmic meditation organization prosecuted for human trafficking 🔗 Archbishop of Canterbury resignation — following reports of sexual abuse patterns among Church of England clergy

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of spiritual abuse, religious trauma, coercive control, sexual coercion, human trafficking, narcissistic abuse, and references to political and institutional abuse of power. Listener discretion is advised.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence of any kind, you are not alone. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 for free, confidential support — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Behk and LAH are not doctors or therapists. Nothing shared on this podcast should be taken as medical or professional advice.

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Hosts: Behk & LAH

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Music: No Reason Why by Anchor

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