TW: DV, SA, R*pe

Tia Levings discusses her dark reality in Christian fundamentalism, with evangelical patriarchy and religious trauma. Having appeared in the Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People, and written a harrowing memoir, A Well-Trained Wife she reveals how she had to save herself and her family and details the ways that extreme views can manifest in a marriage.

Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles––a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, “keepers of the home.”

Tia knew that to their neighbors her family was strange, but she also couldn't risk exposing their secret lifestyle to police, doctors, teachers, or anyone outside of their church. Christians were called in scripture to be “in the world, not of it.” So, she hid in plain sight as years of abuse and pain followed. When Tia realized she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women, she began to resist and question how they lived. But in the patriarchy, a woman with opinions is in danger, and eventually, Tia faced an urgent and extreme choice: stay and face dire consequences, or flee with her children.

Pre order Tia’s book: A Well-Trained Wife
https://tialevings.com/

Find Tia on social media!
IG: @tialevingswriter
www.instagram.com/tialevingswriter

https://substack.com/@tialevings
The Anti-Fundamentalist

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CHAPTER MARKS

00:00:00 Intro
00:05:07 How Tia was raised that led to falling prey to her husband
00:09:32 Did Tia's parents read her book?
00:13:15 Nightmarish doctrine Tia learned in her youth
00:16:26 Tia's husband didn't believe in consent
00:21:12 All that's needed is a submissive and willing spirit
00:23:37 You will drown in a lake of fire if you are not pleasing to God
00:32:45 Selling the patriarchal movement to women- what that literally means
00:37:22 Not allowed to have anything for yourself as a woman
00:39:02 TW: Domestic ab*se- calling it a "correction"
00:44:37 How Tia emerged from the isolation through secret online communication with women
00:50:18 What it was like being a mother within this ab*sive reality
00:55:49 Tia decided to escape when she saw how it was hurting her chiIdren
00:57:11 Tia's escape story
01:01:41 How Tia's chiIdren handled it all
01:04:48 When did Tia feel safe enough to deconstruct and begin healing?
01:10:53 Advice for someone going through a similar situation
01:16:52 Linda, Listen

Theme Song Produced and Composed by Christian Guevara

*Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.*