#MEtoo, religion (Christianity), and deeper though into how it relates to abuse.

[Uniquemind]

This topic is multi-relatable to many sections of this forum.

But because I do not intend for it to be a debate but rather a discussion, and the heavy influence and citation of Christianity and criticism of it, i post it here.

A few months ago, we had members join VT from conservative southern baptist denominations, who expressed angst with their development and their faith family dynamic.

With the metoo movement now highlighting how certain religious cultures propagate abuse and magnified the ability of predators victim pool, or utilized religious framed shame to keep victims from approaching authorities to report crimes, I think this link from NBC news is relevant.



https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sexual-misconduct/metoo-goes-church-southern-baptists-face-reckoning-over-treatment-women-n880216


This movement is huge, and I want to see who agrees or disagrees with what this article says.

What can we learn from this and what should the faith do in making itself better and more resistant and more support of women.

This will be a deep discussion. I welcome discussion and criticism of other faiths who also create a similar culture in repressing women in their dogma, that contribute to the same problems the baptist community is now dealing with in face of #Metoo.

[PlasmaHam]

I just read through the article. I didn't see anything really that indicated the SBC's problem was doctrinally sourced. Sure, there are some who claim that active misogyny perpetrated a feeling of exclusion, but in our day and age people always claim misogyny whenever there is any separation of the sexes. Looks to me like just a few bad apples out of the tens of thousands of SBC churches throughout the world. This issue would be better addressed then at the individual church level, not through some vast statement condemning the whole SBC. After all, when Paul wrote to the churches, he addressed each separately, he didn't make vast statements condemning the whole of the early church.

Just to note, I am not a member nor a huge fan of the Southern Baptist Convention. However I still don't want to see the largest Protestant organization start veering back to the Left.

[ShineintheDark]

The innumerable cases of religious leaders abusing women and children with little to no reckoning is hard to ignore and it's caused by many interlinking factors: firstly, women in particular have had a relatively lower status in their faiths than those of their male relatives, being denied roles leading prayer, roles of authority, leading households etc. This allows them to then be viewed as subordinates to be commanded and used, especially by the most conservative religious leaders whose job it is to promote and spread the dogma that has created this environment. If you then add this on to the culture of deep reverence and respect for preachers and religious leaders of all faiths, whether Islam, Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism etc, you result in an environment where they can do whatever the hell they want to whoever the hell they want and never be questioned or face consequences because their community is ingrained with the belief that these holy men cannot be questioned or insulted by suspicion.
I'll use the example of my mother. As a child, she was privately religiously tutored by an old man who used to come to her house every day and tutor her. As she entered puberty, this old man began to get very inappropriate with her, giving her brushes, shuffling close, caressing her etc but every time she tried to tell her parents, they told her to stop disrespecting this very pious holy man. It was only when her grandmother sat in with them and noticed him being inappropriate and attempting to touch my mother did the family realise what he was doing. When a community is taught all their lives to never question or suspect their religious leaders, they create an atmosphere where abuse and harassment can thrive.

[Uniquemind]

The innumerable cases of religious leaders abusing women and children with little to no reckoning is hard to ignore and it's caused by many interlinking factors: firstly, women in particular have had a relatively lower status in their faiths than those of their male relatives, being denied roles leading prayer, roles of authority, leading households etc. This allows them to then be viewed as subordinates to be commanded and used, especially by the most conservative religious leaders whose job it is to promote and spread the dogma that has created this environment. If you then add this on to the culture of deep reverence and respect for preachers and religious leaders of all faiths, whether Islam, Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism etc, you result in an environment where they can do whatever the hell they want to whoever the hell they want and never be questioned or face consequences because their community is ingrained with the belief that these holy men cannot be questioned or insulted by suspicion.
I'll use the example of my mother. As a child, she was privately religiously tutored by an old man who used to come to her house every day and tutor her. As she entered puberty, this old man began to get very inappropriate with her, giving her brushes, shuffling close, caressing her etc but every time she tried to tell her parents, they told her to stop disrespecting this very pious holy man. It was only when her grandmother sat in with them and noticed him being inappropriate and attempting to touch my mother did the family realise what he was doing. When a community is taught all their lives to never question or suspect their religious leaders, they create an atmosphere where abuse and harassment can thrive.


It’s like in some ways, the SBC philosophy, has made its followers forget the Christian faith or reputation, does not grant one the ability to mindread via the Holy Spirit and to discern who is a wolf in sheeps clothing and who is genuinely good in the faith.

It’s almost like they’re even more blind because of the faith-communty’s Culture being so insular in the ingroup.

I’m not criticizing the SBC directly, there is one degree of separation, but that’s why in the OP I backed off a bit to acknowledge meta-levels if analysis here about religious and human psychological though-structure; that produces a ripe field for abuse, denial, shame, hiding, not believing those who have tried to tell truth or their story of abuse. One can fix this and also not betrayed the entire faith, but tweaking the part of the faith-culture that causes this social-group flaw, might be warranted. Flaws such as these certainly aren’t scripturally supported.