Longing for Humanity: The Process of Leaving a Context of Perceived Spiritual Abuse

Abstract

This study provides an account of leaving a context of perceived spiritual abuse within some Pentecostal fellowships in Norway. We discuss how our 16 informants discovered the need for change and sought support to navigate challenging departure processes characterized by emotional strain. Three empirical themes emerged: (1) God’s will, as conveyed by leaders, evoked shame, (2) there were various sources of help in leaving a context of perceived spiritual abuse, and (3) the acknowledgment of vulnerability provided space for new images of God. Throughout the leaving process, many informants underwent a profound shift in their perceptions of God, marked by a heightened awareness of their vulnerability. This transformation encompassed a deep-seated desire to embrace their humanity and to accept the relevance of their thoughts and feelings. Acknowledging their own vulnerability allowed them to have more humanized images of God. Our analysis employs Kenneth Pargament’s notion of orienting systems and his theory of religious coping to elucidate how their images of God changed. The process led to a perceived sense of freedom from spiritual abuse. We understand the informants’ experiences of leaving the church and affiliated organizations as instances of deconversion through what empirically emerged as “deprogramming” processes in our material. Deprogramming involves disentangling individuals from what they perceived was conveyed and thus “programmed” by spiritual leaders. Deprogramming processes emerged as a new exploration of images of God, shame, power, and human vulnerability.