Spiritual abuse is a serious form of abuse, which occurs when a person in a cult-religious authority or a person with a unique spiritual practice misleads and maltreats another person in the name of a deity (god) or church or in the mystery of any spiritual concept. Spiritual abuse often refers to an abuser using spiritual or cult-religious rank in taking advantage of the victim’s spirituality (mentality and passion on spiritual matters) by putting the victim in a state of unquestioning obedience to an abusive authority. Spiritual abuse refers to the use of spiritual knowledge to deprive, torture, degrade, isolate, control, or (in rare and extreme cases) even kill others. It is used by evil-minded spiritualists, sometimes, including cult-religious leaders, to gain advantage, dominate, or exercise control over others. Being an “action of man,” in worst-case scenarios, spiritual abuse can otherwise be considered a form of “spiritual terrorism.”
Spiritual abuse is the maltreatment of a person ostensibly in the name of a god, deity, faith, cult-religion, or church, whether habitual or not, and includes any of the following:
Psychological and emotional abuse with the objective of unnatural domination and control of the victim for self-aggrandizing purposes by the perpetrator;
Physical abuse that includes physical injury, deprivation of sustenance;
Sexual abuse;
Any act by deeds or words that demean, humiliate or shame the natural worth and dignity of a person as a human being;
Submission to spiritual authority without any right to disagree; intimidation;
Unreasonable control of a person’s basic right (personal autonomy) to make their own decisions (freewill, volition) on spiritual or natural matters;
False accusation and repeated criticism by negatively labelling a person as disobedient, rebellious, lacking faith, demonized, apostate, enemy of the church or a deity (a god);
Actions aimed at prevention from or interference with a person’s practice or system faith or spirituality;
Isolationism, separation, disenfranchisement, or estrangement from family and friends outside the group due to cult-religious or spiritual affiliation and indigenous beliefs;
Exclusivity and elitism: dismissal of outsiders’ criticism on the purported basis that the assessment, opinions, and criticism of the critic is invalid because he/she does not understand or rejects the unorthodox nuances of the belief system of the group or group guru; it is not uncommon for outside critics to be accused of being or being influenced by a demon;
Esotericism: withholding information and giving of information only to a selected few; hidden agendas and requirements revealed to members only as they successfully advance through various stages of “spiritual enlightenment,” which in reality is unorthodox, unproven, indigenous doctrines, beliefs, and/or practices;[1]
Conformity to an unorthodox, unproven, or unnatural, and often spiritually or even naturally dangerous unconventional cult-religious view or worldview and practice;
Practice of spiritualism, mysticism, and/or unproven or unorthodox doctrines and theology;[2]
Hostility and disenfranchisement that includes shunning, relational aggression, parental alienation) or persecution;
Apotheosis or de facto deification of the leadership: exaltation of the primary leader(s) to a God-like status in and over the group;[3]
Financial exploitation and enslavement of adherents with inordinate and burdensome required financial support (“donations”) to the financial needs of the group, which often includes a self-aggrandizing personal financial lifestyle of the leadership that far exceeds the median lifestyle of the group adherents.