How the Church Rebrands Spiritual Abuse

No church will admit it is spiritually abusing its people. It's because it doesn't believe it is! ( Here are 10 questions the church can ask to see if it's fostering a culture of spiritual abuse) 

It does believe in using whatever means necessary to make you the kind of Christian they think you should be though. 

Here are some ways it renames, or rebrands, what it's doing to make it look acceptable and even necessary:

Shaming = Convicting
Controlling = Mentoring
Brainwashing = Instruction
Guilt = Repentance
Coercion = Persuasion
Abuse = Discipline

How Spiritual Abuse Gets Repackaged

Rebranding and repackaging is part of a pattern of behavior that shifts responsibility away from the abuser and onto the victim.  This isn't isolated to a few churches. The church’s culture often creates an ideal breeding ground for spiritual abuse. Read more here: 10 Reasons Why the Church Is the Perfect Culture For Abuse. 

Spiritual abuse thrives in environments where authority figures wield unchecked power. When the church rebrands harmful behaviors with euphemisms, it makes it harder for individuals to recognize and resist them. The language becomes a tool of control, camouflaging toxic dynamics as acceptable practices.

Hate Can Sound Eloquent

It's important to recognize that hate can often be disguised in eloquent language. You can read more about this in my post, Hate Can Sound Eloquent, where I discuss how hate speech is often dressed up in persuasive and emotional words. 

If you'd like to read more on spiritual abuse I've written this blog post What is Spiritual Abuse? And how to recognize when it is happening to you.