In a 2013 JAMA article, David Finkelhor, a leading researcher on . Advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse agreed. This snapshot from the tumultuous childhood of the Rev. In many cases, spiritual abuse is rooted in a misunderstanding of God as vengeful, angry or judgmental. Spiritual abuse can also come from authoritarian churches in which the emphasis is on sin and depravity, which produces the feeling of not being able to love oneself or ones neighbor. Some other statistics from a US Gov source https://www.nsopw.gov/en-US/Education/FactsStatistics?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1#prepetrators62,939 cases of child sexual abuse were reported in 2012 (this is 9% of all child maltreatment). It said . scriptTimeout: 3000,
Not all perpetrators are adultsan estimated 23% of reported cases of child sexual abuse are perpetrated by individuals under the age of 18. In that 2007 report, the three largest insurers of churches and Christian nonprofits said they received about 260 claims of sexual abuse against a minor each year. how difficult it is to find accurate statistics. A person can still find solace in God and the teachings of Jesus even when the church causes pain. Among those named was Johnny Hunt, a Georgia-based pastor and former SBC president, who has been accused of sexually assaulting another pastors wife during a beach vacation in 2010.