Why are there so many stories about children being abused and molested in the context of religious institutions? There can be no simple or easy answer to this, but a major factor which doesn't exist so much with secular institutions is the extraordinary power and authority which religious leaders can have over both children and their families. This makes everything more difficult.

As bad as the sexual abuse of children in various churches has been, an even worse situation may be developing in the Ozarks: several people, fleeing on foot and with nothing but the clothing on their backs, are telling police about long-term sexual abuse of children in a closed religious commune.

The five defendants are accused of molesting five girls in all. More alleged victims have come forward since charges were filed in mid-August, and prosecutors said more people will probably be charged. ...

One of those arrested, pastor George Otis Johnston, 63, called it "angel kisses" when he touched one girl sexually before and after church services, the girl told investigators. Johnston also allegedly told the girl that "he was ordained by God to fulfill her needs as a woman." The abuse against that girl, prosecutors say, started when she was 8 and lasted until she was 16.

The youngest of the alleged victims was 4 when the abuse started, according to court papers. The molestation occurred as far back as the late 1970s and as recently as last April, authorities said.

Source: The Sierra Vista Herald

Authorities don't know much about the church community generally or the people who belonged to it — they kept to themselves and avoided too much contact with outsiders. Such isolation is often an important factor in the abusing power for the sake of abusing weaker members in a community.

Sheriff's investigators say the members pooled their paychecks and property. Some worked on the farm, raising livestock or breeding puppies for sale, while others worked outside the communes.

Ah, so they were really communists. That explains it, right?

"You don't find this in New York City, but you do find it in rural areas - tight communities, very close communities. You do not tell outsiders what's going on," said Gary Brock, professor of sociology at Missouri State University in Springfield.

"When you are given a message by a religious leader, that sacred component makes the message that much more severe. You should not go against that wish because it's God's wish."

As I stated above, the extreme power and authority which religious leaders wield is an important factor in all this. Children can have enough difficulty saying "no" to anyone who has power over them, but what they are taught about the authority of religious figures will make even hard — especially if they are told that what's happening is the Will of God. Parents and other families will themselves be reluctant to question and challenge religious figures where they wouldn't hesitate if the same person were a secular figure. This is partly because they are assumed to be more moral than everyone else and partly because they are intimidated by someone who speaks for God.

All of this is exacerbated even further when we have a closed religious community that has little input from the outside world. It's much more difficult for anyone to intervene or for members to stand up for themselves. When you cause problems in such a community, you risk losing everything you have and everything you have ever had. Imagine the courage necessary for someone to leave such a situation when they have grown up there and lived there all their lives. If you don't know much about the outside world, it can't be easy to step out with nothing to rely upon.

 

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