An Organization For Former Fundamentalists Has Met A Groundswell of Support
Originally published in The American Humanist by Jim Luce, writing under his full name, James J. D. Luce, Jan.-Feb. 1986
Something is happening in the Fundamentalist landscape.
In the past six months, without real money or big names behind it, a support group for ex-Fundamentalists has emerged from nowhere to become what Newsweek has called a “movement.”
At long last, the best-kept secret in America is being revealed to the, public: the fundamentalist experience can be a serious mental health hazard to perhaps millions of people.
Now there is a national support organization for those people who have been “burned” by fundamentalism–Fundamentalists Anonymous (FA). (We use Fundamentalism to include the Charismatic-Pentecostal movement which stresses “speaking in tongues” and other “gifts of the spirit”).
FA works with ex-Fundamentalists as well as concerned parents, spouses, relatives, and close friends of those caught up in Fundamentalism.
At this time, more than ten thousand people, hardly a significant number compared to the population from which it claims to come, have called or written us.
Even though they come from all fifty states and constitute a cross-section of American society, there is a common list of complaints that we hear again and again: years of overwhelming guilt, fear, and anxiety after leaving the fundamentalist fold, loneliness, chronic depression, low self-esteem, years in therapy, and sometimes even attempts at suicide.
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The Fundamentalists Anonymous Movement (1986)
Originally published in The Humanist by James J. D. Luce, Jan-Feb. 1986
Republished in The Stewardship Report (Aug. 22, 2025)
Summary
In this archival piece, discover the unexpected rise of Fundamentalists Anonymous. Originally published in 1986, the article reveals how this support group swiftly grew into a national movement, offering a lifeline to thousands struggling with the profound mental health aftermath of leaving fundamentalist faiths. It explores the common trauma of guilt, anxiety, and depression experienced by former members, shedding light on a critical issue that remains deeply relevant today.
