Spiritual
harassment includes but is not limited to religious harassment. Harassment
includes the terms emotional abuse or psychological abuse but is generally
considered a different category of offensive conduct than physical and sexual
abuse.
In general,
harassment refers to behavior considered offensive by the person who is the
target of the behavior. The behavior may be verbal or nonverbal. The harassing
actions leave the targeted person feeling disturbed, upset, demeaned, or
humiliated. Harassment includes discrimination.
Harassment By Spiritual Leaders is Not Necessarily Spiritual
What makes
harassment religious or spiritual is the use of religious or spiritual texts or
practices to produce the distress. Any kind of harassment may be spiritual
if the actions negatively impact a person's spirituality. A religious or spiritual
leader may harass a person in different ways. Following are examples of
harassment that are not necessarily religious or spiritual.
Words that
make people of a certain gender or ethnicity feel uncomfortable based on
insulting language.
Policies
that result in discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, ability, or
other category.
Unwanted
touching, hugging, kissing or pressure for dates.
Coercive
sexual advances.
However…
If a person’s
spirituality is negatively affected because a spiritual leader or a group of
peers then it’s reasonable to call the actions spiritual harassment in addition
to other types. For example, if a person avoids participating in meaningful
religious or spiritual activities because someone is sexually harassing them
then the negative effects can be additive.
Spiritual or Religious Harassment
Difficult
Doctrines
Examples of
spiritual or religious harassment are difficult to codify because many
teachings identify various acts as right and others as sinful or wrong. Religious people
are expected to give up their wrongdoing. In some religions, persistent sin or wrong doing can lead to personal
ruin or eternal damnation.
Christians are expected to give money and time. In
some sects, people are taught to give a minimum of 10% of their income and
encouraged to give more of their money and time. The failure to meet the
expectations of a religion can lead to feeling unworthy, unloved, rejected,
guilty, and ashamed.
In my view, a healthy spirituality always provides a way
of redemption. People can be forgiven, reconciled, restored—in short, no matter
how much they have sinned according to their faith’s definition of sin, they
may be restored to spiritual wellness. Perhaps the words of a Hebrew Psalm (46)
and Welsh hymn capture the restoration, “It is well with my soul.”
Consent
When it comes to doctrines or traditional religious practices that are offensive but normative for a specific faith tradition, adults in free societies can usually practice their spirituality somewhere else. By normative I mean there is no obvious effort to single out a particular person and cause that person to be the target of offensive actions. Thus, the idea of consent is a factor in choosing to remain in a setting that leaves one feeling distressed, guilty, shamed, and so forth.
Adults must realize that children do not grant consent but may be placed in a setting that may negatively affect their spirituality and other aspects of their wellbeing. Spiritual harassment of children happens.
Examples
of Spiritual or Religious Harassment
Discrimination
based on amount of time or money donated
Discrimination
in a secular workplace granting special privileges to one faith more than another
Defacing
sacred places like a cemetery or place of worship
Defacing houses
and personal spaces with symbols offensive to the person’s faith tradition
Promising
spiritual blessings in exchange for time, money, or other acts
Threats of
supernatural harm if a person does not perform certain acts
Pressuring victims
of abuse to reconcile with their offender
Pressuring
congregants to forgive and restore an abusive pastor or spiritual leader
Pressuring congregants
to keep quiet about sinful and/or unlawful conduct of a spiritual leader
Pressuring
people to give money or time—especially when they have little to give
Continually
asking people where they were when they missed a scheduled meeting
Pressuring
people in a group to support a decision because dissent is ungodly
Praying so loud that it interferes with other ongoing conversations such as in a restaurant
Persistent communication of spiritual or religious information or messages to people who do not wish to hear or receive such information
Coercing
people to perform some act they consider sinful or uncomfortable based on an
interpretation of a text or personal message from God
Shaming
people who struggle with doubt about their faith or experience spiritual
struggles
Shaming
people who have a mental illness
Shaming people of the same faith for doing less than expected such as attending fewer meetings than expected or giving less time or money
Knowingly posting
false information about a person’s spirituality or religion on social media in
an effort to embarrass or humiliate them
Summary
Spiritual
harassment includes religious harassment and is a subtype of harassment. Harassment
may be verbal or nonverbal. Spiritual harassment consists of actions by
spiritual leaders or other group members toward one or more people who
experience considerable distress because of the unwanted actions. Spiritual
harassment is usually discriminatory in that select people in a group are the
targets of the harassment. Any kind of harassment in a spiritual or religious
context may be considered spiritual harassment if the actions significantly negatively
affect the target person’s spirituality. At some point, severe spiritual
harassment may become spiritual or religious abuse. A key indicator of abuse is harm.
Related Posts
Spiritual and Religious Abuse
The Spiritual Abuse Questionnaire
Learn more about spiritual and general wellbeing in Living Well
Learn more about Christian sexuality and morality, including abuse, in A House Divided.
