Support us on Patreon! patreon.com/themodestyfiles Follow us on Instagram @themodestyfiles for updates and bonus content. We're taking a brief break this week so that we can continue working on amazing episodes for you all. But we have some extra bonus content. We've received so many requests for more content from our season two opener, Bernie. Enjoy our "Back Pocket" Minisodes with extra content from Episode #14: Thirty, UnFlirty, but Trying: Bernie's Quick Explosion Out of Purity...

Support us on Patreon! patreon.com/themodestyfiles Follow us on Instagram @themodestyfiles for updates and bonus content. Today we are speaking Lyndall, a woman who entered into the world of fundamentalism by her own choice as a teenager. After experiencing mental health challenges at 13, she discovered that Christian media offered her an escape from her emotional struggles. Books written by the fundamentalist Botkins sister conveyed idyllic images of courtship, stay-at-home-daughterhood,...

Support us on Patreon! patreon.com/themodestyfiles Follow us on Instagram @themodestyfiles for updates and bonus content. In today’s episode, we have not one, BUT TWO guests, Kristin and Tripp! This awesome couple met at Abilene Christian University, a private Christian university in Texas affiliated with the Church of Christ. Growing up within the Church of Christ community, Kristin was accustomed to the church's practices, such as Acappella only worship songs and plain interior design...

Today we are talking to Victoria. a former member of the Institute in Basic life Principles or IBLP. This organization was founded by Bill Gothard and is most known as the system of beliefs that TLC’s Dugger family subscribes to. As a kid. Victoria was homeschooled using the Advanced Training Institute curriculum, a “biblically-based” homeschool program also developed by Bill Gothard. She also attended IBLP's Journey to the Heart, a retreat for teenage girls and Victoria will go into all the...

Julie joins us today, ready to share experience growing up in a fundamentalist Pentecostal church in the south. Julie’s story is quite unique, as her congregation was run by a female pastor who we will refer to as Jane. Younger members of the community were asked to call her “Granny.” She preached the Armageddon and practiced speaking in tongues. But Jane went farther than your typical pentecostal preacher. She encouraged adult men to get vasectomies, forced teenagers to clean offices at...

Our first guest of the season is Bernie, who is a former member of both the baptist church community and the non-denominational charismatic church in the midwest. She is going to share with us her experience with Christian Purity Culture. To give some context “Purity culture” is a Christian movement that promotes a biblical view of sexual purity by discouraging dating and promoting virginity before marriage. The toxicity that these teachings can impress on a young teen likely lasts even long...

Our 2nd season is officially launching today and we are beyond excited for all of our listeners to hear our guest’s incredible stories. To kick off season 2, I’m excited to announce we have a Patreon for The Modesty Files. If you subscribe, you’ll have early access to our new episodes completely ad-free! If you’re interested in supporting our podcast, click the link below: patreon.com/themodestyfiles All of our new episodes will debut to patrons first on Mondays and our first episode of...

Season 2 of The Modesty Files drops the first week of March 2021! Participate in our survey through the link below: https://forms.gle/dApdJxHj67xLs9tLA If you are interested in being a guest on our show, please email us at [email protected] We’d love to hear your story! Feel free to leave us a rating or review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @themodestyfiles for updates and bonus content.

Today we’re continuing our conversation with Emily Elizabeth Anderson, a Christian blogger, and activist for people who have experienced abuse within a Christian environment. If you haven’t listened to Part One, we highly recommend going back to hear Emily’s story from the beginning. Emily shared with us her experience growing up as a member of the non-denominational organization, the Institute in Basic Life Principles. She shared with us her challenges with her home abuse, diagnosis with...

This week on The Modesty Files, please help us give a warm welcome to our special guest, Christian blogger, and rising activist, Emily Elizabeth Anderson. Growing up in the Insitute in Basic Life Principles, in Part One, Emily reveals life as a teenager in the church and how the church handled her chronic illness. She then details her first-hand experience with the notorious church leader, Bill Gothard, and how his grooming behavior led her to eventually becoming a plaintiff in a lawsuit...

We are diving into new territory this week on The Modesty Files as Melanie walks us through her family's transition into the world of Jehovah's Witnesses. Melanie remembers celebrating her birthday in the 5th grade, but as her family fell deeper into the church, all celebrations of any kind had to cease. Her life became focused on biding her time as she waited and prepared for Armageddon and the end of the world as they knew it. This episode involves mature adult themes. Listener discretion...

The Modesty Files team wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving! We hope you all can spend time with your loved ones in a safe and connected way. If you are interested in being a guest on our show, please email us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your story! Feel free to leave us a rating or review wherever you listen to your podcasts. And if you have any suggestions for future content, let us know! Follow us on Instagram @themodestyfiles for updates and bonus content.

Grab your sleeping bag and oversized tye-dyed t-shirts! We are going back in time to summer camp in this episode of The Modesty Files. We interview Judith, who spent her childhood summers at a Canadian Christian summer camp. While this camp provides good teachings as a child, the teachings grew toxic as the campers grew into young adults. When Judith was promoted to a camp counselor, she began to see the "man behind the curtain" as she realized how significant a negative influence this camp...

As requested, we are diving into Pentecostalism in today's episode. We speak to Angela, a former member who explains the church's belief system rooted in spiritual healing and speaking in tongues. Raised as a Pentecostal, Angela describes the hurtful ramifications of these beliefs as the church claimed her scoliosis was healed despite any medical evidence of such. She also details her involvement in Bound4Life, an anti-abortion agency, that encouraged protests in front of Planned...

In today's episode, we are so thrilled to be speaking with Lydia, who was raised as a member of the Sovereign Grace Church. This church denomination is a new one for us here at The Modesty Files, so Lydia outlines the church's practices and expectations. She describes life as a homeschooler and a full time stay at home daughter for her younger siblings. She also expresses the pain she felt as any of her own aspirations were halted while being a lifeline for her siblings. After leaving her...

In this episode, we interview Beth, a former member of the Church of Christ. If you haven't heard of CoC, Beth will walk us through the ins and out of this religious community. Most outside communication was strictly forbidden, so when Beth discovered Tumblr, she began developing a life outside of her family bubble. Beth shares how the blog site helped her escape the church, and in the end...finding true love. This episode involves mature adult themes. Listener discretion is...

In this episode, we are thrilled to speak with Marie, who comes from a fundamentalist southern baptist background. After being homeschooled her entire K-12 years, Marie eventually attended one of the most well-known and highly controversial Christian Evangelical colleges, Liberty University. Marie has major insight into what it was like to attend this conservative school and will spill the tea on how most students achieved their “Ring by Spring.” Follow us on Instagram @themodestyfiles for...

In this episode, Zoe interviews a former member of Servants of the Light, which was a religious group in 1970s that folded into the currently controversial group People of Praise. The group's belief system is rooted in the Catholic Pentecostal movement, and members are required to sign a lifetime covenant vow. Their practices include praying in tongues, receiving divine prophecies, healing the sick, and casting out evil spirits. And while the group’s name was different during our guest’s...

In this episode, we are thrilled to speak with Kayla who comes from a fundamentalist Baptist background, specifically The General Association of Regular Baptist Churches or for short, GARB-C. Kayla’s experience with fundamentalism is slightly different though from the other women we have interviewed so far. She attended public school, hung out with friends, and even had a boyfriend...that she kissed. She discusses the church's views on marriage, divorce, and how she finally found happiness...

In the second part of our interview with Liz, a former member of the Institute in Basic Life Principals, she shares how she began working at the IBLP headquarters as a teenager. She also walks us through her experiences with the church's infamous leader Bill Gothard. If you haven't listened to part one of Liz's interview, we highly recommend going back before listening to this episode, as it will provide a deeper foundation into IBLP church's beliefs and practices. This episode does include...

In Part One of this two-part series, we speak to Liz, a former member of the Institute In Basic Life Principles, where TLC’s reality TV family the Duggars are active members. They hold strict modesty standards for women, limit outside worldly influences, and follow intense dating and relationship rules. As a teenager, Liz worked at the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) which is IBLP’s biblically-based home education program. In Part One, she will share her first-hand account of the church's...

In this podcast, we speak with Shelly, who grew up in an Independent Fundamental Baptist church. Growing up, Shelly dreamed of pursuing missionary work, becoming a pastor's wife, and having numerous children. She attended a private school in the IFB community. However, during her years as a student, she became very wary of their questionable teachings, specifically in American history. We get into the details of what she was taught inside and outside of school and her journey to discovering...

Welcome to the Modesty Files! Join us for a sneak peek of what is to come on the first season of the podcast launching every Modesty Files Monday beginning on September 14, 2020!

In this first episode of The Modesty Files, we speak with Laura, who was not born into the cult, but joined The Institute in Basic Life Principles on her own free will as a teenager. Laura talks about what drew her to their religion, her experience at IBLP’s conference "Journey to the Heart" and of course how many jean skirts she owned.