Distorting Concepts, Obscured Experiences: Hermeneutical Injustice in Religious Trauma and Spiritual Violence

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between hermeneutical injustice in religious settings and religious trauma (RT) and spiritual violence (SV). In it I characterize a form of hermeneutical injustice (HI) that arises when experiences are obscured from collective understanding by normatively laden concepts, and I argue that this form of HI often plays a central role in cases of religious trauma and spiritual violence, even those involving children. In section I, I introduce the reader to the phenomena of religious trauma and spiritual violence. In section II, I describe the role normatively laden concepts play in shaping our social experience. I then elucidate how they can contribute to HI. In section III, I provide a brief overview of the history of some significant identity prejudices in the history of Christianity and argue that children can properly be understood as victims of HI within some religious communities. I then return in section IV to the examples of religious trauma and spiritual violence offered throughout the article and demonstrate that HI plays an important causal role in each of them. HIs sometimes constitute spiritual and religious harms; at other times they create an epistemic environment conducive to spiritual abuse.

Refugee oppression in media and politics: Vicarious trauma, burnout, and opportunities to thrive in refugee advocates.

“…Faith was such a strong personal identity; however, the hierarchical and patriarchal structure of Christianity became impossible to reconcile. Intersectional feminist perspectives on theology can be found in academic literature (e.g., Fiorenza, 2005; Hunt, 2009; Marchal, 2014), as can the notions of religious trauma due to misaligned beliefs (Jones et al, 2022; Panchuk, 2020). However, despite showing signs of religious trauma, this participant harnessed incredible strength to leave an institution in which she had been long entrenched, while maintaining a solid spiritual faith.…”

Christian Shame and Religious Trauma

“…Finally, philosopher of religion Michelle Panchuk (2018Panchuk ( , 2020 argues that the concept of hermeneutical injustice is significant for many experiences of religious trauma. Simply put, hermeneutical injustice occurs when oppressive social structures prevent knowledge and thereby diminish agency.…”

“…In the first case, a woman is unable to know her own lived experience of abuse as abuse because of the religious context in which her knowledge was formed; in the second case, a religious authority taught a woman that she ought to accept domestic abuse for religious growth. According to Panchuk (2020), in both instances, "The victim is harmed as a knower because they are deprived of knowledge that they would otherwise have. They are harmed as an agent because this lack of knowledge prevents them from acting in accordance with their interests, goals, or values.…”

“…Testimonies of such childhood experience abound in many formats, though mostly outside scholarly literature. Panchuk (2020) brings some online sources into her work, citing a sermon which states "a baby is a 'viper in [a] diaper, a 'depraved', 'diseased' beast" (p. 617). The effect of being raised in this type of environment is evident in my own experience.…”

Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account

“…Moreover, the few who have discussed religion and epistemic injustice have tended to focus on the epistemic injustice that occurs to marginalized people within particular religious communities. That is, they have tended to focus on women and people of color, among others, who have their credibility diminished on account of their marginalization within their churches, theological traditions, or even religious studies or philosophy departments (Anderson 2010; 2012; Kidd 2017; Griffioen 2018; De Cruz 2019; Panchuk 2019; Hübel 2020; Panchuk 2020).…”