From CBE’s 2024 Conference “Tell Her Story: Women in Scripture and History” in Denver, Colorado. ‘
Religious abuse: how are victims seduced, who is vulnerable, and what breaks the hold? While some churches start out healthy and slowly develop abusive patterns, other groups have authoritarian DNA set in their foundation. We will look at characteristics of cults and abusive churches and examine what factors make people vulnerable to joining them. How these groups maintain their hold and what finally loosens the chains for members will be explored, as well as how women are typically viewed in such congregations and why.