Other
Broader religious-exit online communities (umbrella)
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Umbrella for broader religious-exit online support communities (r/exjw, r/exmuslim, r/exchristian, r/exscientology, etc.).
CLCI radar
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Low Control
BITE breakdown
Behavior Control1/10
Information Control2/10
Thought Control2/10
Emotional Control2/10
Modifiers (+0)
0 — umbrella for broader religious-exit online support communities.
Profile facts
Founded
2000s+
Members
Collectively millions across communities
Active in
Global
In context
Per-group ex-member subreddits and online support communities exist for almost every major high-control group covered on this site. Mainstream voluntary peer-support resources.
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 2000s+Per-group ex-member online communities crystallise
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
Sources
- Various subreddit communities search ↗
- Hudud Crimes — https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=87487 open ↗
- University of Minnesota Human Rights Library — http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/gencomm/hrcom22.htm open ↗
- Maldives LAW NO 6/2014 — https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/4203-maldives-penal-code-2014 open ↗
- Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law (2019) — https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780190910648.001.0001 open ↗
- The Islamisation of Laws in the UAE: The Case of the Penal Code — https://www.jstor.org/stable/3381546?seq=1 open ↗
- In Kabul, a Test for Shariah — https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/weekinreview/26elliott.html open ↗
- Marginality and apostasy in the Baha'i community — Religion (2007) — https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.religion.2007.06.008 open ↗
- War of words breaks out among Jehovah's Witnesses — https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/war-of-words-breaks-out-among-jehovahs-witnesses-2361448.html open ↗
- More young Muslims back sharia, says poll — https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jan/29/thinktanks.religion open ↗
- Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam (2017) — https://doi.org/10.4324%2F9781315255002 open ↗
- Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory — http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm open ↗
- Cognitive Impairment in Thought Reform Environments — http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~rb267689/ open ↗
- Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's potential execution rallies U.S. Christians — https://www.washingtonpost.com/on-faith/us-christians-rally-around-iranian-pastor/2011/09/28/gIQA11YJ5K_story.html open ↗
- Wife: Saudi blogger sentenced to death for apostasy — http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/25/world/meast/saudi-blogger-death-sentence/ open ↗
- Sudanese woman convicted — https://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/15/world/africa/sudan-christian-woman-apostasy open ↗
- Sudan woman faces death for apostasy — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27424064 open ↗
- Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State — https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-islamic-state-christians/christianity-grows-in-syrian-town-once-besieged-by-islamic-state-idUKKCN1RS19F?rpc=401& open ↗
- Defectors, Ordinary Leavetakers and Apostates: A Quantitative Study of Former Members of New Acropolis in France — http://www.cesnur.org/testi/Acropolis.htm open ↗
- Pignotti, Monica (1989), _My nine lives in Scientology — http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/pignotti/ open ↗
- Wakefield, Margery (1996), _Testimony — http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/Web/People/dst/Library/Shelf/wakefield/testimony.html open ↗
- riddah – Islamic history — https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/503033/riddah open ↗
- Dear Colleagues: Integrity and Suspicion in NRM Research — https://www.apologeticsindex.org/c59.html open ↗
- Ángel, el apóstata — https://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Angel/apostata/elpporsoc/20060528elpepisoc_1/Tes open ↗
- El Supremo exime a la Iglesia de incluir las apostasías en los libros de bautismo — https://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Supremo/exime/Iglesia/incluir/apostasias/libros/bautismo/elpepisoc/20080930elpepusoc_2/Tes open ↗
- Atheists face death in 13 countries, global discrimination: study — http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/10/us-religion-atheists-idUSBRE9B900G20131210 open ↗
- Irã enforca homem condenado por apostasia — http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/internacional,ira-enforca-homem-condenado-por-apostasia,673392,0.htm open ↗
- Leis criminalizadoras da Apostasia (em inglês) — http://www.loc.gov/law/help/apostasy/#_ftn67 open ↗
- Losing their religion: the hidden crisis of faith among Britain's young Muslims (Deixando a religião: a crise de fé escondida entre os jovens muçulmanos - em inglês) — https://www.theguardian.com/global/2015/may/17/losing-their-religion-british-ex-muslims-non-believers-hidden-crisis-faith open ↗
- Religion : un « débaptisé » débouté en justice_ sur le site du Figaro — http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2013/09/10/01016-20130910ARTFIG00523-religion-il-se-bat-pour-etre-debaptise.php open ↗
- Une décision le jour où le pape a refusé la démission du cardinal Barbarin" : comment l'onde de choc conduit des croyants à vouloir effacer leur baptême — https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/vatican/pape-francois/une-decision-le-jour-ou-le-pape-a-refuse-la-demission-du-cardinal-barbarin-comment-l-onde-de-choc-conduit-des-croyants-a-vouloir-effacer-leur-bapteme_3253871.html open ↗
- La hausse des « débaptisations » n’inquiète pas l’Église — https://www.la-croix.com/Religion/Catholicisme/France/hausse-debaptisations-ninquiete-pas-lEglise-2019-06-16-1201029181 open ↗
- Plus de 2000 Français se sont fait débaptiser en 2018 — https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/2019/04/30/plus-de-2000-francais-se-sont-fait-debaptiser-en-2018_1721727 open ↗
- Christenverfolgung: CDU-Generalsekretär protestiert bei Irans Botschafter. — https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article112399146/CDU-Generalsekretaer-protestiert-bei-Irans-Botschafter.html open ↗
- The 13 countries where being an atheist is punishable by death — https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/the-13-countries-where-being-an-atheist-is-punishable-by-death-a6960561.html open ↗
- Britannica (онлайн) — https://www.britannica.com/topic/apostasy open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
You may also want to explore
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.
Disclaimer. This profile is an educational summary based on publicly available reports. Many members of this group do not experience the patterns described. Individual congregations and chapters vary widely. If you or someone you know needs support, contact a licensed therapist or the International Cultic Studies Association.