A buse is use of power by the strong to control and oppress the weak. For many people, this step is the hardest one. Religious abuse begins early in life and often is caused by parents, pastors, and teachers. We accept abuse as OK or deserved. Abuse is not OK and is not deserved.
Many people see rejecting their childhood religion as being like rejecting their own grandmother.
Our deep emotional ties with our childhood make it very difficult for us to be objective about the way in which religion was used to control and sometimes abuse us. Sick and abusive religion is the judgmental legalism that Jesus came to destroy and replace with himself. People can become addicted to abusive religion. Recent studies have shown how addictive religion can develop. See the Resources section for books on religious abuse and addiction.