Spiritual Abuse

Spiritual abuse is coercion and control of a person by another in a spiritual context.

It’s a type of psychological abuse that happens in religious settings. It often includes using power — sometimes in the name of God or religion — to control, confuse, or pressure someone. This can involve making a person think, say, or do things without letting them make their own choices.

Like other forms of psychological abuse, it can harm someone emotionally, change their sense of self, and change how they think or act in everyday life. It can also affect their sense of identity and wellbeing, especially when their faith or beliefs are involved. 

Spiritual abuse can happen in any religion, denomination, or leadership style. It’s not limited to one group or belief system. What makes it harmful is that it twists what healthy spirituality is meant to be — something that helps people grow, feel supported, and become more resilient. Instead, spiritual abuse turns faith into something that causes fear, confusion, or harm. Victim-survivors of spiritual abuse often report losing trust, not only in the perpetrator of abuse, but also in spirituality and wider spiritual communities.  

For an experience to be considered spiritual abuse, it must include both elements of coercion and control as well as spiritual or religious factors. This means the person is being pressured or manipulated in ways that affect their choices, while also being influenced or harmed through religious beliefs, practices, or authority.

The coercion and control aspect of spiritual abuse can include: 

• manipulating or exploiting someone — for example, pressuring them to give money or volunteer more than they feel able to. 
• enforced accountability — such as requiring people to confess personal sins. 
• demanding secrecy or silence. 
• pressuring people to conform. 
• isolating individuals from others.  

The spiritual or religious aspects can include: 

• justifying harmful actions using religious texts. 
• misusing theology or religious teachings. 
• threatening ‘divine consequences’ to control behaviour. 
• abusing spiritual authority or leadership roles.

Together, these behaviours can deeply affect a person’s emotional wellbeing, sense of identity, and relationship with their faith.

Spiritual abuse can include elements that some safeguarding professionals may not be familiar with. However, using standard safeguarding processes can help reduce both how often it happens and how much harm it causes. When faith communities have clear ways to report concerns, trustees who take their responsibilities seriously, and strong systems for safer recruitment and supervision, harmful behaviours can often be spotted and addressed early — before they become more serious. This helps protect people and makes our faith communities safer for everyone.