What Is Moral Injury? Understanding the Hidden Pain of Leaving Religion
- Ashley Beaty-Perry
- Oct 2, 2025
- 2 min read
Leaving religion can stir up all kinds of feelings. Some are easy to name — grief, loss, even relief. But there’s another layer many of us experience that doesn’t always have a name until we stumble across it: moral injury.
👉 If you’d rather watch the video version, you can find it here: What Is Moral Injury? Understanding the Hidden Pain of Leaving Religion
Why This Matters After Leaving Religion
For those of us who have stepped away from religion, moral injury can be especially present. We may now carry a different value system from the one we once inherited in our faith community.
That shift means we might encounter situations where our current ethics clash with the old frameworks we left behind. Naming this as moral injury can help us understand why certain experiences sting so deeply and why they may feel harder to process than we expect.
Recognizing the difference between our past and present frameworks gives us language for the dissonance we feel, and it helps us move forward with greater awareness.
You're Not Alone
If you’ve felt this kind of hidden pain, please know you’re not alone. Many of us who’ve left religion have felt the very same thing. Naming it as moral injury doesn’t erase the hurt, but it gives us a way to understand it — and that makes healing possible.
💬 I’d love to hear from you. How are you feeling these days? Have you noticed moral injury showing up in your life? Share in the comments. Your story may help someone else feel less alone.
💛 Ashley
Your secular chaplain
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