Men and women who experience domestic violence have not always found compassion and help in their houses of worship. Some religious leaders, referring to scripture, say women should submit to their husbands. Others liken women’s suffering to that of Jesus’ on the cross. Some counsel forgiveness or suggest that a marriage must be saved at any cost.
Domestic violence cuts across economic, ethnic, racial, gender and faith lines. Advocates are creating organizations that offer training for clergy, resources for victims and campaigns to increase awareness of the problem.
Background
Now a growing number of faith leaders from a wide variety of traditions are trying to prevent domestic violence across the nation. Clergy are joining longtime advocates in saying that religious institutions have a moral and religious responsibility to answer and eliminate domestic violence. The increasing number of statements by denominations and organizations reflects that. One of those statements, the National Declaration by Religious and Spiritual Leaders to Address Violence Against Women, was signed by more than 2,000 clergy and religious leaders from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Baha’i traditions, among others.
What’s behind this push to address domestic violence within the framework of faith? Nancy Nason-Clark, a professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick who has written widely about religion and domestic violence, says the change is a result of a number of factors – the increased boldness of victims who are part of faith communities, more training opportunities for faith leaders and greater understanding among the public that religious leaders should be a part of a community’s response. The shift in attitude is important because Scripture and religious teachings have sometimes been used to justify, excuse or ignore the physical and emotional abuse of women.
Why it matters
Religious teachings have sometimes been used to justify the abuse of women and others. Now more leaders are stepping up to insist that religious groups must address domestic violence by offering victims safe haven, support and counseling and assuring them that religious teachings never justify abuse.
Religious groups' statements on domestic violence
Many faith groups have made statements about domestic violence. Among them:
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“When I Call for Help: A Pastoral Response to Domestic Violence Against Women”
The Catholic Church’s National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the statement against domestic violence towards women in 2002.
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“Resolution on domestic violence”
The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution against domestic violence in 1979.
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“United Methodist Church: Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse”
The United Methodist Church passed a resolution on domestic violence in 1992.
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“Encourage Ministries That Respond to Violence Against Women”
The Episcopal Church passed a resolution in 1994 at its 71st General Convention condemning violence against women. In 2000, delegates at the 73rd General Convention called the church to address domestic violence within its own community.
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“Turn Mourning Into Dancing! A Policy Statement on Healing Domestic Violence”
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) crafted a policy statement on domestic violence at its 2001 General Assembly.
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“Clergy Responses to Domestic Violence”
Read an April 5, 2012 clerical response to domestic violence by Dr. Steven R. Tracy on the Mending the Soul website.
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“The Role of Churches in Preventing Domestic Violence: Can Churches Really Do Anything about Domestic Violence? “
Read a March 2006 essay by Julia L. Perilla about how religious teachings and communities can help prevent domestic violence.
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“Ending Domestic Abuse: A Pack for Churches”
Read a guide on preventing domestic violence for houses of worship.
Federal legislation
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“Violence Against Women Act”
The federal Violence Against Women Act of 2005 was first signed into law in January 2006.
Articles
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“Catholic School Teacher Loses Her Job Because She’s a Victim of Domestic Abuse”
Read a June 15, 2013 Patheos article by Terry Firma about a school teacher’s domestic violence encounter and how it effected her livelihood and job.
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“The Silent Epidemic”
Read a Sept. 2004 Christianity Today article about one victim’s account of domestic violence and her turn to Christianity for support. The article provides a list of the different types of domestic violence that exist.
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“Churches and Domestic Violence”
Read an April 12, 2013 PBS transcript of an interview with Father Charles Dahm on domestic violence and religion.
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“Time to Practice What We Preach: Using Human Rights in Domestic Violence Policy”
Read a June 26, 2013 Huffington Post article about domestic violence in the U.S. and steps that can be taken in eliminating it’s presence.
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“The Faith Community and Domestic Violence”
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Council on Family Violence jointly produced a brochure for clergy about domestic abuse.
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“A Commentary on Religion and Domestic Violence”
Read a 2010 essay by Marie Fortune about the duty of religious organizations to support victims of domestic violence.
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“Ending Domestic Violence in Muslim Families”
Read a paper by the late Sharifa Alkhateeb about domestic violence in the Islamic community.
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“Breaking the ‘Holy Hush'”
Read a January 2007 Sojourners article on evangelical resources on domestic violence.
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“Women arrested for domestic violence against men”
Read an Aug. 4, 2010 article about domestic abuses cases against men that states “Law enforcement officials say women abusing men happens more than you might think.”
Studies
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“Domestic Violence Statistics”
Domestic Violence Statistics is an online organization that works to prevent domestic violence by providing resources and educating the general public on what it is and how to stop it.
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“Domestic Violence Resource Center: Domestic Violence Statistics”
The Domestic Violence Research Center provides a list of national statistics on domestic violence.
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“Getting The Facts: Research About Domestic Violence Against Men”
Read a report about domestic violence against men and how prevalent it is in society.
Religious organizations
Christian
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Task Force to Stop Abuse Against Women
The Task Force to Stop Abuse Against Women was formed in 1997 by members of the international World Evangelical Fellowship to educate evangelical clergy and to reduce domestic violence.
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Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse
The Christian Coalition Against Domestic Abuse is dedicated to providing leadership programs in communities to prevent domestic violence and to support those who have encountered the abuse.
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YWCA
YWCA is a nonprofit, global membership association run by and for women and their families that advocates peace, justice, human rights, environmental awareness and the rights of women.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
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“Church Program Helps Victims of Domestic Violence”
See a Feb. 23, 2007, article about a program from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to help victims of domestic violence. Contact Eric Hawkins.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a presence in numerous countries.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains a website with resources and administration guidelines for houses of worship. It has a section labeled “Abuse and Cruelty” that states that domestic violence towards any family member is not tolerated.
Jewish
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Jewish Women International
Jewish Women International advocates for the rights of women and children, including victims of abuse, in the Jewish community. It has offices and chapters around the United States and convenes the National Center on Domestic & Sexual Violence in the Jewish Community. The media contact is Deborah Rosenbloom, JWI chief program officer.
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Awareness Center
The Awareness Center was the Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault, an international organization that addresses sexual violence in Jewish communities. It had a certification program for rabbis interested in working with victims of sexual violence. It closed in 2014, but the site is still provided for educational and historical purposes.
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Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse
The Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse provides resources and support to victims of domestic violence in the community.
Muslim
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Peaceful Families Project
The Peaceful Families Project produces workshops nationwide on domestic violence from a Muslim perspective. The organization is based in Great Falls, Virginia. Lina Hashem is president.
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Muslim Women’s League
The Muslim Women’s League is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the status of women in the American Muslim community. Part of its mission is to create awareness about domestic violence within the American Muslim Community. It is based in Los Angeles.
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Project Sakinah
Project Sakinah is a Muslim organization dedicated to stopping domestic abuse of all kinds in the family unit.
Multifaith
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Sakhi for South Asian Women
Sakhi for South Asian Women is a community-based organization in the New York metropolitan area committed to ending violence against women of South Asian origin. Contact executive director Kavita Mehra.
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Faith Trust Institute
Faith Trust Institute works to educate different types of faith communities about domestic and sexual violence. Contact board President Amy Gopp.
National sources
Government
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Allison Randall
Allison Randall is acting director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. It offers funding for faith-based initiatives.
Christian
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Marie M. Fortune
The Rev. Marie M. Fortune is founder and senior analyst at the Faith Trust Institute in Seattle, which works to end sexual and domestic violence, particularly in faith communities. She co-edited Forgiveness and Abuse: Jewish and Christian Reflections and is a United Church of Christ minister.
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Sharon Ellis Davis
The Rev. Sharon Ellis Davis is a United Church of Christ pastor who teaches seminary classes on sexual and domestic violence. She is co-founder and pastor emeritus of God Can Ministries as well as a retired Chicago police officer and police chaplain.
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Al Miles
Al Miles is the author of Domestic Violence: What Every Pastor Needs to Know and Violence in Families: What Every Christian Needs to Know. He lives in Honolulu and is a chaplain at The Queen’s Medical Center.
Jewish
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Rachel Lev
Rachel Lev is the author of Shine the Light: Sexual Abuse and Healing in the Jewish Community (Northeastern University Press, 2002).
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Carol Goodman Kaufman
Carol Goodman Kaufman is a psychologist and author of Sins of Omission: The Jewish Community’s Reaction to Domestic Violence. She was the founding chair of the Domestic Violence Task Force for the Jewish Community of Central Mass. She is based at the Haddassah Institute at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
Muslim
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Dr. Laila Al-Marayati
Dr. Laila Al-Marayati is a physician and past president of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Muslim Women’s League, which represents Muslim women and supports the status of women as equal members of society. The league has a speakers bureau and position papers on topic issues such as divorce, honor killing, female genital mutilation, gender equality, inheritance and women’s dress. Members often speak at interfaith public events and at their children’s schools to increase awareness, particularly during Ramadan.
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Salma Abugideiri
Salma Abugideiri is advisory board member and director of training of the Peaceful Families Project and a licensed professional counselor in private practice in Sterling, Virginia. She is the co-author of What Islam Says About Domestic Violence: A Guide for Helping Muslim Families.
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Summer Hathout
Summer Hathout is a prosecutor in the Los Angeles district attorney’s office and co-founder of the Muslim Women’s League. She has written about misperceptions of domestic violence within the American Muslim community. Contact via the Muslim Women’s League.
Other
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Adelita Medina
Adelita Medina is executive director of Alianza, the National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence. She has said that advocates for women who have experienced domestic violence should take a woman’s faith into consideration when trying to help her.
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Leila R. Milani
Leila R. Milani is senior international policy advocate at Futures Without Violence. She was co-chairwoman of the Working Group on Ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and NGO liaison for women’s issues for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is in the U.S.
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Kavita Mehra
Kavita Mehra is executive director of Sakhi for South Asian Women, a community-based organization in the New York metropolitan area committed to ending violence against women of South Asian origin.
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Nancy Nason-Clark
Nancy Nason-Clark is professor emerita of sociology at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada. She has written about the interface between religion and domestic violence for the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and is co-author of Refuge From Abuse: Healing and Hope for Abused Christian Women. She worked on a four-year project funded by the Lilly Endowment called RAVE, Religion and Violence e-Learning, a web-based system for assisting religious leaders in responding to domestic violence.
Regional sources
In the Northeast
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Jewish Domestic Violence Coalition
The Jewish Domestic Violence Coalition was created in 1994 to unite concerned organizations and individuals in an effective response to domestic abuse in the Jewish community.
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Joint Urban Ministry Project
The Joint Urban Ministry Project is a collaborative ministry between religious organizations in Burlington, Vermont. Among its clients are victims of domestic violence. Email through the website.
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Mary McGee
Mary McGee is the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Albright College in Reading, Penn. She is a former professor of religion and dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. She has written about Hinduism and the environment and Hindu architecture.
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Margaret Abraham
Margaret Abraham is a sociology professor at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. She is the author of Speaking the Unspeakable: Marital Violence Among South Asian Immigrants in the United States.
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Peaceful Families Project
The Peaceful Families Project produces workshops nationwide on domestic violence from a Muslim perspective. The organization is based in Great Falls, Virginia. Lina Hashem is president.
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Traci West
The Rev. Traci West is professor of ethics and African-American studies at Drew University in Madison, N.J. Among her specialties are welfare policy and justice issues in church and society. She wrote the entry “Agenda for the Churches: Uprooting a National Policy of Morally Stigmatizing Poor Single Black Moms” for the book Welfare Policy: (Feminist Critiques).
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Pamela Cooper-White
Pamela Cooper-White is the Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology & Religion at Union Theological Seminary at New York City. She is the author of The Cry of Tamar: Violence Against Women and the Church’s Response and Gender, Violence and Justice: Collected Essays on Violence Against Women.
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Ted Bunch
Ted Bunch is co-founder with Tony Porter of A Call to Men, an association committed to ending domestic violence against women. It is located in Valley Stream, New York.
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Tonya Lovelace
Tonya Lovelace of the Women of Color Network in Harrisburg, Pa., spoke at a February 2007 This Far by Faith seminar of the Black Church and Domestic Violence Institute. The network works to eliminate violence against women and families.
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Project Stop Abusive Relationships at Home
Project Stop Abusive Relationships at Home (Project SARAH) is a program of the Jewish Family Services of Clifton-Passaic, New Jersey, that targets domestic violence in Jewish and Russian-speaking homes.
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Yitzchok Breitowitz
Yitzchok Breitowitz is the rabbi of the Woodside Synagogue in Silver Spring, Md. He speaks on issues of family law and ethics and has delivered talks on men’s anger and the Torah.
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Mohammad Qatanani
Imam Mohammad Qatanani of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, New Jersey, counsels men on domestic violence.
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Manavi
Manavi is a domestic abuse center for South Asian women in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Many of the women who come through the center are Muslim, and coordinators recognize religion as a major factor in battling domestic abuse. Navneet is the executive director.
In the South
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Renita J. Weems
The Rev. Renita J. Weems was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in Old Testament studies. She taught at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Spielman College. She is one of the founding pastors and chief servants at the Ray of Hope Community Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Contact through website.
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Robin Griffeth
The Rev. Robin Griffeth is a United Methodist pastor in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and has participated in conferences on the religious response to domestic violence. She has volunteered for Sistercare, a battered women’s shelter, and was a training coordinator for the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse.
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Amanda Hendler-Voss
The Rev. Amanda Hendler-Voss is senior pastor at First Congregational UCC in Washington, D.C., and a member of the Wellspring Clergywomen’s Alliance of the Black Church and Domestic Violence Institute.
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Melody Johnson
The Rev. Melody Johnson is director of outreach, team care, caring and sharing at Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta. She spoke at a February 2007 This Far by Faith seminar of the Black Church and Domestic Violence Institute.
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Beverly Horsburgh
Beverly Horsburgh is a law professor at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla. One of her specialties is Jewish law and Jewish battered women
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Ellen T. Armour
Ellen T. Armour is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair in Religion, Gender and Sexuality at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a professor in the Divinity School. Her research interests include feminist theology; theories of sexuality, race, gender, disability and embodiment; and contemporary continental philosophy.
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Sara Lisherness
Sara Lisherness co-edited Striking Terror No More: The Church Responds to Domestic Violence (Bridge Resources, 1997). She is the coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program in Louisville, Ky.
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Manavi
Manavi is a domestic abuse center for South Asian women in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Many of the women who come through the center are Muslim, and coordinators recognize religion as a major factor in battling domestic abuse. Navneet is the executive director.
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Sheryl Cates
Sheryl Cates is executive director of the Texas Council on Family Violence, an organization that works to educate the community about domestic violence. It has formed partnerships with different faith groups across Texas and publishes a brochure for clergy about responding to domestic violence. It is based in Austin, Texas.
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Patricia Castillo
Patricia Castillo is executive director of PEACE Initiative, a San Antonio coalition of organizations committed to ending domestic violence. The group has held workshops for local faith leaders about responding to domestic violence.
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Christie Cozad Neuger
Christie Cozad Neuger is a professor of pastoral theology and pastoral counseling at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
In the Midwest
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Linda Mercadante
The Rev. Linda Mercadante is a professor of theology at Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio. She is the author of Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (2014). Her focuses are spirituality, victimization, gender, addiction, sin and evil, imagery of God, and the Shakers.
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James Newton Poling
James Newton Poling is a professor of pastoral care, counseling and theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill. He has written about domestic violence as a pastoral care issue.
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Rachel VerWys
Rachel VerWys is executive director of Safe Haven Ministries, a Christian-based ministry for victims of domestic abuse in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The ministry has an informational outreach program for congregations called “Raise Hope.” Contact individual team members through the website.
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David J. Holden
The Rev. David J. Holden was the minister for adult education and men’s ministries with the United Church of Christ’s Worship and Education Ministry Team of Local Church Ministries in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2003, he wrote an essay describing domestic violence as a men’s problem that should be addressed within a Christian framework.
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Chuck Dahm
The Rev. Chuck Dahm is a Dominican priest and directs the Domestic Violence Outreach program for the Archdiocese of Chicago. He is the author of Parish Ministry in a Hispanic Community, which includes a section on violence and machismo.
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Brenda Branson
Brenda Branson founded Focus Ministries after experiencing domestic abuse. Read a September/October 2004 Q&A from Christianity Today. Contact her in Elmhurst, Ill.
In the West
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P. Aneesah Nadir
P. Aneesah Nadir is founder of Dr. Aneesah Nadir and Associates and a retired professor of social work at Arizona State University in Tempe.
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Adriana Caldara
Adriana Caldara is executive director of the Support Network for Battered Women in Sunnyvale, Calif. Since 1998, the network has been working with local faith leaders to improve their response to domestic violence.
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Carolyn Rexius
Carolyn Rexius is director of Christians Addressing Family Abuse in Eugene, Oregon.
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Lydia Sarandan
The Rev. Lydia Sarandan is associate pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, Calif.; a member of Presbytery Committee on Domestic Abuse; and a member of the board of directors of Peace and Safety in the Christian home.
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Shalom Bayit
Shalom Bayit is a nonprofit organization that works to prevent domestic violence in the Northern California Jewish community. It is based in Oakland.
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Debbie Levenstein
Debbie Levenstein is development officer for Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest, N.J. and worked for a time as the advocacy director of the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network in Tukwila, Wash. Among her specialties is dealing with Jewish women and domestic violence.
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Dena Hassouneh-Phillips
Dena Hassouneh-Phillips is an assistant professor at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. She has studied spousal abuse within the American Muslim community.
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Reshma Yunus
Reshma Yunus is one of the co-founding directors of SEMAH, a Muslim-oriented organization that works to end domestic violence. It has held workshops with local faith leaders about their response to domestic violence. It is based in Newark, California.
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Shailaja Dixit
Shailaja Dixit is executive director of Narika, an organization that offers aid to South Asian victims of domestic violence and conducts outreach to local clergy in Sikh and Muslim worship centers.