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Introduction
This paper reports the findings of a recent survey into people's experiences in church, in a context of issues of safeguarding and policy. The survey developed out of the authors' earlier qualitative work, which explored Spiritual Abuse (SA) in the Christian faith in the UK. It is important to note that SA does not occur solely within the context of the Christian faith. There is evidence of practises which could be deemed spiritually abusive in other faiths. However, this paper focuses on the Christian faith and it is anticipated that further work will expand this into other religious faiths.
This qualitative research into SA ([5] Oakley, 2009; [7] Oakley and Kinmond, 2013a) includes the narratives of survivors of SA and practitioners who work with them and it has been carried out in conjunction with the authors' continuing practice in counselling and training in the area ([8], [9] Oakley and Kinmond, 2013b, c).
At the outset it is relevant to note that a major challenge to this work has been the limited understanding and awareness of SA which has been compounded by the lack of an agreed and accepted definition ([10] Parish-West, 2009; [11] Ward, 2011). Consequently it was felt vital to develop a working definition of SA that might begin to provide a reference point for both practitioners and those experiencing this form of abuse. Whilst we recognise that the terms "spirituality" and "spiritual" are contentious and contestable, nonetheless, this is the chosen language of previously published grey literature on this form of abuse. Thus, it seemed appropriate to utilise and develop this term. This definition of SA is given here:
Spiritual abuse is coercion and control of one individual by another in a spiritual context. The target experiences spiritual abuse as a deeply emotional personal attack. This abuse may include: -manipulation and exploitation, enforced accountability, censorship of decision making, requirements for secrecy and silence, pressure to conform, misuse of scripture or the pulpit to control behaviour, requirement of obedience to the abuser, the suggestion that the abuser has a "divine" position, isolation from others, especially those external to the abusive context ([7] Oakley and Kinmond, 2013a, p. 25).
Interestingly, in the context of the lack of an agreed and accepted definition, it is...