Breaking their will : shedding light on religious child maltreatment / Janet Heimlich.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heimlich, Janet, 1962-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Religious life and customs.

United States.

Child abuse--Religious aspects.

Child abuse.

Child abuse--United States.

Physical Description:

397 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books, 2011.

Summary:

Heimlich, formerly a reporter for National Public Radio and now an independent journalist, describes four commonly accepted forms of religious child maltreatment in the US: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and medical neglect. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all examined, but most material is on Christianity, with examples from the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Followers of Christ, and the Remnant Fellowship Church. The author draws extensively on interviews with victims, perpetrators, and psychologists, as well as analysis of court cases and research. The book begins with four introductory chapters defining religious child maltreatment and surveying the church's denial of the problem, then discusses religious authoritarianism and explores Biblical passages related to child maltreatment. Subsequent chapters are grouped in sections on the four types of abuse. There is also a chapter devoted to child exorcism, and a chapter on male and female circumcision and the secret history of female genital cutting in America. Final chapters recommend repealing religious exemptions related to faith healing and eliminating abuse statutes of limitations. While the book contains detailed chapter notes and a list of books and websites, there is no subject index. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

Chapter 1 What Is Religious Child Maltreatment? 23

Religion as Harmful 24

Child Maltreatment 28

Religious Child Maltreatment 29

How Prevalent? 30

A Psychological and Spiritual Cost 31

My Story 32

Critics Speak Out 34

First Steps 34

Chapter 2 A Country in Denial 38

A Religious America 37

Not in My Place of Worship 40

Too Faithful to Faith 43

Chapter 3 When Religion Becomes Harmful 45

Authoritarianism and Religion 46

Religious Authoritarian Cultures 48

Religious Authoritarianism and Children 50

Right-Wing Authoritarians 53

Remembering Jonestown 54

Parents as "Middle Managers" 56

Big Demands 57

Unquestioned Obedience to Authority 58

Patriarchy and Weakened Mothers 59

Separatism 61

Parents' Regrets 63

Chapter 4 Child Maltreatment and the Bible 65

The Good News 66

Where Are the Children? 67

Children as Victims of Violence 68

Sacrificing Sons and Daughters 69

A Need for Scrutiny 71

Part 1 The Pain of Chastisement-Religious Child Physical Abuse

Introduction 75

Child Physical Abuse 76

The Corporal Punishment Controversy 77

Chapter 5 "The Rod of Correction" 80

Sometimes It Is about Corporal Punishment 82

The Rod and Physical Abuse 84

Chapter 6 An Obsession with Child Obedience 85

Jumping on the Bandwagon 87

Spanking Too Much and Too Hard 89

The Fear Factor 92

A Deadly Dictum 94

No Comfort for Abuse Victims 96

Chapter 7 Child Sinfulness-A Christian Problem 99

Behold the Child Sinner 100

Child Sinfulness and Abuse 102

Purifying Children 102

Saving Souls 105

Breaking Wills 106

Chapter 8 The Perils of Mixing Faith and Corporal Punishment 111

Poisonous Preaching 113

A Spanking Advocate's Dangerous Advice 114

No Greater Joy Ministries 116

The Remnant Fellowship Church 118

Conclusion 119

Part 2 Harm Without Hitting-Religious Child Emotional Abuse

Introduction 123

Child Emotional or Psychological Maltreatment 124

Harm to Victims 125

Chapter 9 Is Religion Good or Bad for a Child's Psyche? 128

Negative Effects 129

Religion and the Mental Health of Children 132

Chapter 10 Sinful, Disobedient, Evil, and Depraved-Religious Spurning 136

Chapter 11 Scaring Them into Faith-Religious Terrorizing 141

Child Targets of Fear 142

Terrorized Parents, Terrorized Children 143

A Scary God 145

The Next Life 145

Devils and Demons 148

Instiling Fear to Control and Dominate 149

Chapter 12 In the World, Not of the World-Religious Isolating and Exploiting 151

Living Two Lives 154

Spreading the Faith 156

Not Being Good Enough 158

Sabotaging Intellectual Autonomy 160

Conclusion 163

Part 3 Violating A Sacred Trust-Religious Child Sexual Abuse

Introduction 167

Child Sexual Abuse 169

Harm to Victims 171

Religion and Child Sexual Abuse 172

Chapter 13 Murdered Souls 173

Lesser-Known Cases 175

Religiously Sanctioned Child Sexual Abuse 176

The Family of Love 178

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 179

Chapter 14 Religious Power and Child Sexual Abuse 183

Using Religious Messages 185

Victims Keep Silent 186

The Enabling Parent 188

Chapter 15 Failing Victims 191

Faith Communities Turn Their Backs 193

Chapter 16 Secrecy and Silence at the Top 199

Failure to Report Abuse 201

Conducting Internal "Investigations" 204

Rebuffing Victims 206

The Catholic Church 207

Jehovah's Witnesses 209

Orthodox Jewish Communities 211

Conclusion 213

Part 4 Sin of Denial-Religious Child Medical Neglect

Introduction 217

Religion and Child Neglect 218

Chapter 17 Why No One Galls It Neglect 221

Religious Exemptions 223

The Role of Politics 225

Chapter 18 The Hazards of Blind Faith 228

"We Wanted to Believe" 231

Social Pressures 232

Illness Is Not a Biological Problem 235

Waiting on Divine Intervention 236

"God's Will" 238

Resurrecting Children 240

Untrustworthy Doctors 241

A Christian Issue? 243

Chapter 19 Fatal Prayers 246

The Christian Science Church 249

Jehovah's Witnesses 251

The Followers of Christ 253

Conclusion 256

Chapter 20 Sorting Out the Demons of Child Ritual Abuse 258

The Satanic Panic 259

Child Ritual Abuse in America 264

Exorcism: A Popular Rite 269

Harm to Victims 273

Conclusion 276

Chapter 21 Is Male or Female Circumcision Religious Child Maltreatment? 278

Male Circumcision and Religion 279

Female Circumcision and Religion 283

Is Female Circumcision Abusive? 285

Female Genital Cutting in America: A Secret History 287

Is Male Circumcision Abusive? 292

A Need to Know More 296

Are We Hypocritical? 299

Chapter 22 Train Up the Church and Everybody Else 301

Repeal Faith Healing-Related Religious Exemptions 301

Require Clergy to Report Child Abuse and Neglect 303

Extend or Eliminate Child Sexual Abuse Statutes of Limitations 304

Secular Agencies Should Reach Out to Religious Communities 307

What Parents Can Do 309

Faith Communities Making a Difference 311

Chapter 23 Acknowledging Children's Rights 316

Spreading the Faith 318

Fearing a Loss of Religious Freedom 318

Putting on a Good Face 320

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 321

Viewing Children in a Different Way 324.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781616144050

161614405X

9781616144067

1616144068

OCLC:

679931793