What Is STRONGWILLED?

STRONGWILLED is a multimedia project focusing on the personal and political impacts of Religious Authoritarian Parenting.

Since the 1970s, the religious authoritarian movement has been gaining momentum in the American context, and parenting ideologies play a large role in the spread of Christian nationalism and authoritarian leanings, while leaving significant psychological impacts on the children who were raised with them.

The STRONGWILLED project gives clarity to understanding our current political landscape and helps people recover from the personal impacts of religious authoritarian parenting. We aim to validate the lived experiences of children who were taught, often from infancy on, that obedience to authority was their primary goal in life – obedience to god, to their parents, their church, the police, and more. Religion was used in these authoritarian frameworks to further control children, and to ensure these children would carry on the religious, political, and racialized identities of their parents for the rest of their lives.

We’re STRONGWILLED

Krispin and DL are both products of the modern religious authoritarian parenting movement that has shaped millions and millions of evangelical Christians.

  • D.L. is the author of three books and a former freelance writer. They are a late-diagnosed autistic who currently has a special interest in exposing Christian authoritarianism and healing from high-control religion.

  • Krispin is a therapist who specializes in working in religious trauma recovery and supporting neurodivergent clients. He wrote a book on attachment theory and Christianity in 2022 (and has since left the faith). He loves photography, music, and most anything creative.

Chapters & Podcasts Episodes