Awkward Saints YouTube Channel
Visualising the Invisible: Why Awkward Saints is Moving to Video
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Support and Reporting
This article discusses coercive and abusive behaviours in faith spaces, which some readers may find distressing. Take breaks if needed and seek support if you recognise these patterns.
- Action on Spiritual Abuse (UK)
Survivor-focused support offering structured, medium-term guidance and practical next steps.
- Thirtyone:eight (UK)
Independent safeguarding advice for concerns in church or Christian settings.
Helpline information 0303 003 1111
In an Emergency: If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, or if you believe a criminal offence has been committed, you should contact the police.
Outside the UK, contact a local survivor support service or national abuse helpline in your country.
The Move to Video
For a long time, this project has lived in text. Long-form articles are the bread and butter of Awkward Saints because the systems we investigate—coercive control, authority laundering, and spiritual abuse—are complex. They require patience to dismantle.
However, some mechanisms of control are structural. They are about shapes, networks, and flows of influence that are difficult to describe on a page but immediately obvious when you see them mapped out.
That is why I am launching the Awkward Saints YouTube channel.
Video opens up new ways of communicating these ideas. An animated diagram allows me to explain in ten seconds what might take hundreds of words to parse in text. It allows us to visualise the invisible machinery operating inside our churches.
The Disconnection Machine
The first video is now live: The Disconnection Machine.
This film examines the hidden social mechanics used to re-wire parish churches for “scale.” It visualises exactly how a congregation is sorted, how influence is mapped, and how natural human connection is often sacrificed for a replicable system.
If you have ever felt the temperature drop in a room because you didn’t fit a specific profile, or watched a warm community divide into “insiders” and “outsiders,” this video explains the mechanics behind that experience.
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About Daniel Caerwyn
Daniel Caerwyn is a pseudonym – an investigative writer exploring systemic causes of organisational dysfunction. He writes with commitment to the Church and compassion for those within it.
Expertise: