We need to take a long look at the theological and structural conditions that enable abuse — starting with purity teachings that shame survivors.



Sexual abuse was never just a Catholic problem. But unlike the Catholic structure, evangelical churches like the one I grew up in and have spent the past 13 years researching are largely self-governing. This means we’ve mostly lacked the kind of bureaucratic record that might prove systemic abuse the way it’s been documented in Catholic dioceses.

Now, a report on a major evangelical denomination is changing all that.

A joint investigation by two Texas papers, the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News, resulted in a three-part report revealing that over 200 Southern Baptist pastors, youth pastors and deacons were convicted or took plea deals for sex crimes over the past 20 years — leaving behind over 700 survivors. When the vast majority of rapes in the United States never lead to a felony conviction, these numbers suggest an astronomical level of violence.

Sexual violence extends well beyond the church, yet I have found that religious authoritarianism and purity culture can enable it.

In fact, it was a multi-church sexual misconduct cover-up that first challenged my own allegiance to evangelicalism. When I was in high school, my Midwestern non-denominational youth pastor was convicted of child enticement with intent to have sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl from our youth group. The ensuing investigation revealed that he had previously been quietly let go from two evangelical institutions for similar behavior.

As an adult, I went on to spend more than a decade researching sexuality and the evangelical church and heard story after story of minimized and unreported abuse. To be sure, sexual violence extends well beyond the church, yet I have found that religious authoritarianism and purity culture — hallmarks of both Catholicism and evangelicalism, among other groups — can enable it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/southern-baptist-convention-report-sex-abuse-shines-light-evangelical-culture-ncna970756?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_ma