#21 Does Complementarian Theology Cause Trauma to Women?

An article has been making the rounds in which Shannon Harris, ex-wife of 90’s purity culture icon Josh Harris, claims that complementarian theology caused her harm and trauma. In the late 1990s, purity culture emphasized abstaining from sex until marriage while often employing a lot of unfortunate fear and shaming tactics along the way. Fast forward to 2018. Josh Harris disavowed the book and apologized for the harm he says he caused with his writings. A year later, he announced he was leaving Christianity completely and ending his marriage to his wife, Shannon. That’s where our episode today picks up. Shannon is now speaking out about her own deconstruction and about the harm she says she suffered while living as a Christian wife in a complementarian church environment. In today’s episode, Alisa and Natasha talk about some of her claims and her understanding of complementarian theology that she believes is so harmful.