Religious abuse

Legal

Religious abuse is abuse administered under the guise of religion, including harassment or humiliation, which may result in psychological trauma. Religious abuse may also include misuse of religion for selfish, secular, or ideological ends, such as the abuse of a clerical position.

Psychological abuse

One specific meaning of the term religious abuse refers to psychological manipulation and harm inflicted on a person by using the teachings of their religion. This is perpetrated by members of the same or similar faith and includes the use of a position of authority within the religion. It is most often directed at children and emotionally vulnerable adults, and motivations behind such abuse vary, but can be either well-intentioned or malicious.

Even well-intentioned religious abuse can have long-term psychological consequences, such as the victim developing phobias or long-term depression. They may have a sense of shame that persists even after they leave the religion. A person can also be manipulated into avoiding a beneficial action (such as a medical treatment) or to engage in a harmful behavior.

In his book Religious Abuse, pastor Keith Wright describes an example of such abuse. When he was a child, his Christian Scientist mother became very ill and eventually was convinced to seek medical treatment at an inpatient facility. Members of her church went to the treatment center to convince her to trust prayer rather than treatment, and to leave. She died shortly thereafter. While the church members may not have had any malicious intent, their use of their religion's teachings to manipulate Wright's mother ultimately resulted in her death.

A more recent study among 200 university students has shown that 12.5% of students reported being victimized by at least one form of Religious/Ritual Abuse (RA). The study which was published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, showed that religious/ritual abuse may result in mental health issues such as dissociative disorders.

Physical abuse

Physical abuse in a religious context can take the form of beatings, illegal confinement, neglect, near drowning or even murder in the belief that the child is possessed by evil spirits, practicing sorcery or witchcraft, or has committed some kind of sin that warrants punishment. Such extreme cases are, though, rare.

In 2012, the United Kingdom's Department for Children, Schools and Families instituted a new action plan to investigate the issue of faith-based abuse after several high-profile murders, such as that Kristy Bamu. Over a term of 10 years, Scotland Yard conducted 83 investigations into allegations of abuse with faith-based elements and feared there were even more that were unreported.

Spiritual abuse

Spiritual abuse includes:

• Psychological abuse and emotional abuse
• Physical abuse including physical injury (e.g., tatbir) and deprivation of sustenance.
• Sexual abuse
• Any act by deeds or words that shame or diminish the dignity of a person.
• Intimidation and the requirement to submit to a spiritual authority without any right to dissent.
• Unreasonable control of a person's basic right to exercise freewill in spiritual or natural matters.
• False accusations and repeated criticism by labeling a person as, for example, disobedient, rebellious, lacking faith, demonized, apostate, an enemy of the church or of a deity.
• Isolationism, separation, disenfranchisement or estrangement from family and friends outside the group due to cult-religious or spiritual or indigenous beliefs.
• Esotericism, hidden agendas and requirements revealed to members only as they successfully advance through various stages of a faith.
• Enforced practice of spiritualism, mysticism, or other ideologies peculiar to members of that religion.
• Financial exploitation or enslavement of adherents

Characteristics

Ronald Enroth in Churches That Abuse identifies five categories:

1. Authority and power: abuse arises when leaders of a group arrogate to themselves power and authority that lacks the dynamics of open accountability and the capacity to question or challenge decisions made by leaders. The shift entails moving from general respect for an office bearer to one where members loyally submit without any right to dissent.
2. Manipulation and control: abusive groups are characterized by social dynamics where fear, guilt or threats are routinely used to produce unquestioning obedience, group conformity or stringent tests of loyalty. The leader-disciple relationship may become one in which the leader's decisions control and usurp the disciple's right or capacity to make choices.
3. Elitism and persecution: abusive groups depict themselves as unique and have a strong organizational tendency to be separate from other bodies and institutions. The social dynamism of the group involves being independent or separate, with diminishing possibilities for internal correction or reflection, whilst outside criticism.
4. Life-style and experience: abusive groups foster rigidity in behavior and belief that requires conformity to the group's ideals.
5. Dissent and discipline: abusive groups tend to suppress any kind of internal challenge to decisions made by leaders.

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