RTN Podcast - Hunting Unicorns: Art, Identity, and Healing after Religious Trauma with Demian Shipley-Marshall

Can Religious Trauma develop from repeated harmful religious experiences—even if someone wasn’t raised in church? What does it mean to lose your sense of belonging—and grow beyond it?

In this episode of the Religious Trauma Network podcast, host Rebekah Drumsta sits down with multidisciplinary artist and designer Demian Shipley-Marshall, who shares his deeply personal journey from feeling like an outsider in a fundamentalist Christian community in the U.S. to finding healing and creative freedom in Australia.

Together, they explore:

• The lasting impact of religious fundamentalism on childhood identity

• How storytelling and the creative process shape Demian’s ongoing project, ‘Hunting Unicorns’ -The unexpected role of technology in building safe spaces for sharing and healing

• The complicated role of education in shaping (and sometimes wounding) young minds

• Why honoring individual stories matters—and how community support can transform recovery

Demian’s candid reflections remind listeners that healing from religious trauma rarely looks the same for any two people. Tune in for a conversation filled with honest questions, hard-earned wisdom, and hope for anyone searching for meaning beyond their past.