Christianity and domestic violence

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The relationship between Christianity and domestic violence is disputed.

Christian groups and authorities condemn domestic violence as counter to the general Christian duty to love others and to the scriptural relationship between husband and wife.[1] In a statement typical of Christian church officials from many denominations, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said in 2002, "As pastors of the Catholic Church in the United States, we state as clearly and strongly as we can that violence against women, inside or outside the home, is never justified."[2] Many denominations have also worked to prevent violence in the home.

However, churches and pastors has often been criticized for not giving enough help to victims of domestic violence. Additionally, some feminists have pointed to traditional Christian conceptions of patriarchy (particularly the idea of men as divinely authorized to exert authority over wives and children) as one of the basic reasons for domestic violence, because some abusive men have justified their domestic violence as their right as head of the household.

Contents

[edit] Theological patriarchy and Christianity

Feminist Christian theologians such as the Rev. Marie Fortune, Mary Pellauer, and others have raised the question of a close connection between patriarchal Christianity and domestic violence and abuse.[3]

According to theologian Steven Tracy, "The concept of male headship first entered the church through the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23)." St. Paul also states that the husband is head of the wife as God the Father is head of Christ (1 Cor. 11:3). Tracy interprets New Testament teaching on the subject in a way similar to many other modern Christian theologians in a variety of traditions. He points to John 5:18-24 as repeatedly emphasizing that the relationship between God the Father and God the Son is one of intimate love. "Abusive men often cite male headship/female submissiveness to justify their abuse. Ultimately, this is based on a perverted assumption of male superiority. Based on John's description of the Father and the Son, human male headship, defined as harsh authoritarian domination of an inferior, is destructive heresy."[1]

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops" "Men who abuse often use Ephesians 5:22, taken out of context, to justify their behavior, but the passage (v. 21-33) refers to the mutual submission of husband and wife out of love for Christ. Husbands should love their wives as they love their own body, as Christ loves the Church."[2]

In Responding to Domestic Abuse, a report issued by the Church of England in 2006, suggests that patriarchy should be replaced rather than reinterpreted: "Following the pattern of Christ means that patterns of domination and submission are being transformed in the mutuality of love, faithful care and sharing of burdens. ‘Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ’(Ephesians 5.21). Although strong patriarchal tendencies have persisted in Christianity, the example of Christ carries the seeds of their displacement by a more symmetrical and respectful model of male–female relations."[4]

[edit] Christian theology and counseling abuse victims

Pastors and other Christians are sometimes criticized for counseling victims to passively accept abuse in the way that Jesus and the martyrs accepted suffering. The Church of England's report, Responding to Domestic Abuse states that the two circumstances are different. "First, there is the purpose of such suffering. Jesus and the martyrs accepted avocation to suffer as a consequence of bearing witness to the love, truth and justice of God. ... [I]t is not convincing to find redemptive value in passive acceptance of [domestic] abuse and violence." Second, domestic abuse victims often lack the freedom of Jesus and the martyrs.[4]

Christian pastors or counselors should not advise victims to make forgiving the perpetrator the top priority "when the welfare and safety of the person being abused are at stake", the report advises.[4]

One mid-1980s survey of 5,700 pastors found that 26 percent of pastors ordinarily would tell a woman being abused that she should continue to submit and to "trust that God would honor her action by either stopping the abuse or giving her the strength to endure it" and that 71 percent of pastors would never advise a battered wife to leave her husband or separate because of abuse.[5][6]

[edit] Incidence of domestic violence among Christians

Little empirical research has examined the relationship between religion and domestic violence.[7]

One 2004 study by William Bradford Wilcox examined the relationship between religious affiliation, church attendance, and domestic violence, using data on wives' reports of spousal violence from three national United States surveys conducted between 1992 and 1994.[7] The study found that the lowest reported rates of domestic violence occurred among active conservative Protestants (2.8% of husbands committed domestic violence), followed by those who were religiously unaffiliated (3.2%), nominal mainline Protestants (3.9%), active mainline Protestants (5.4%), and nominal conservative Protestants (7.2%).[7] Overall (including both nominal and active members), the rates among conservative Protestants and mainline Protestants were 4.8% and 4.3%, respectively.[7]

Another 2007 study by Christopher G. Ellison found that "religious involvement, specifically church attendance, protects against domestic violence, and this protective effect is stronger for African American men and women and for Hispanic men, groups that, for a variety of reasons, experience elevated risk for this type of violence."[8]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Tracy, Steven. "Headship with a Heart: How biblical patriarchy actually prevents abuse". Christianity Today (February 2003).
  2. ^ a b "When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (November 12, 2002). ISBN 157455509X.
  3. ^ Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore (2001). ""Let the Children Come" Revisited: Contemporary Feminist Theologians on Children", in Marcia J Bunge: The Child in Christian Thought. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 462. ISBN 0802846939. 
  4. ^ a b c The Archbishops' Council. "Responding to Domestic Abuse: Guidelines for those with pastoral responsibilities". Church House Publishing (2006), p19. ISBN 100715141082.
  5. ^ Alsdurf, James and Alsdurf, Phyllis, Battered into Submission, Wipf and Stock, 1998, as cited in Tracy, Steven, "Headship with a Heart: How biblical patriarchy actually prevents abuse", Christianity Today, February 2003, accessed January 24, 2007
  6. ^ Grady, J. Lee "Control Freaks, and the Women Who Love Them". New Man magazine (Jan/Feb 2001).
  7. ^ a b c d Wilcox, William Bradford. Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands. University of Chicago Press (2004), p181-82. ISBN 0226897095.
  8. ^ Ellison, Christopher G. "Race/Ethnicity, Religious Involvement, and Domestic Violence". Violence Against Women vol. 13 no. 11 (2007).

[edit] Further reading

  • (1989) in Joanne Carlson Brown and Carold R. Bohn: Christianity, Patriarchy, and Abuse: A Feminist Critique. New York: Pilgrim. ISBN 0829808086. 
  • Annie Imbens and Ineke Jonker (1992). Christianity and Incest. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN 0800625412. 
  • (1995) in Carol J. Adams and Marie M. Fortune: Violence against Women and Children: A Christian Theological Sourcebook. New York: Continuum. ISBN 0826408303. 
  • Marie M. Fortune (1991). Violence in the Family: a Workshop Curriculum for Clergy and Other Helpers. Cleveland: Pilgrim. ISBN 0829809082. 
  • Carolyn Holderread Heggen (1993). Sexual Abuse in Christian Homes and Churches. Scottsdale, Arizona: Herald Press. ISBN 0836136241. 
  • (1988) in Anne L. Horton and Judith A. Williamson: Abuse and Religion: When Praying Isn't Enough. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books. ISBN 0669153370. 
  • (1987) in Mary D. Pellauer, Barbara Chester, and Jane A. Boyajian: Sexual Assault and Abuse: A Handbook for Clergy and Religious Professionals. San Francisco: Harper & Row. ISBN 0062548107. 
  • Rita-Lou Clarke (1986). Pastoral Care of Battered Women. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. ISBN 0664240151. 
  • L.G. Livezey (1987-10-28). "Sexual and Family Violence: A Growing Issue for the Churches". The Christian Century 104 (31): 938–942. 
  • Patricia Clark (1998). "Women, slaves, and the hierarchies of domestic violence: The family of St Augustine", in Sandra Rae Joshel and Sheila Murnaghan: Women and Slaves in Greco-Roman Culture: Differential Equations. Routledge, 109–129. ISBN 0415162297.