Thursday, March 13, 2014

No, the Jezebel Demon Is Not the Root Cause of Clergy Abuse

Charisma, an online Christian magazine, has left me shaking my head countless times over the years. Commentaries on smelly poltergeists and the dangers of demon sex were good for a chuckle, while other commentaries raging against the Supreme Court's decisions on DOMA and Proposition 8 brimmed with the usual Religious Right rhetoric about "persecution". However, one recent column left me so angry that I had no choice but to draw attention to it.

In a March 7th commentary piece at Charisma, Jennifer LeClaire expressed outrage at sexual abuse scandals in both Catholic and Protestant churches. After citing several heartbreaking examples of sexual abuse in churches, LeClaire chided Christians for failing to rally against abuse and the media for failing to devote adequate attention to the issue.
"Evangelicals put so much effort into battling issues like gay marriage and abortion, which is all well and good, but where is the crusade against sexual abuse in the church? The secular media is reporting these instances, but it seems unless it’s a megachurch pastor or a celebrity preacher involved, cases of kids being molested in Protestant churches continue arising without much attention."
LeClaire begged clergy abuse victims to speak out, notify police, and reach out to God for solace and justice. At first, I was relieved to see Charisma take abuse seriously. This is fantastic, I thought. They get it. They're talking about a serious issue like adults.

My relief was short-lived, unfortunately. Further down in the commentary, LeClaire speculated on the roots of sexual abuse in churches. Did she blame authoritarian church structures? No. Poor screening procedures for clergy, church staff, and volunteers? No. A lack of organizational accountability? No.

She blamed the Jezebel demon.
"In my book The Spiritual Warrior’s Guide to Defeating Jezebel, I point to one root of this sort of immorality. In charismatic circles, we call it the spirit of Jezebel, which is essentially a spirit of seduction that woos people into immorality and idolatry. (See Revelation 2:20.) Sexual predators carrying the Christian banner have been seduced and deceived by this spirit, which has somehow justified sexual abuse in their darkened minds. The spirit of Jezebel has formed a stronghold over our nation ... I am convinced that many of these sexual abusers had broken, wounded hearts of their own—perhaps they were molested as children—and have given over to the lusts of the flesh through the temptations of seducing spirits that justify the behavior."
I was livid. Charisma columnists have an annoying habit of blaming demons for problems, but this time, the magazine went too far. This kind of superstitious thinking reduces a serious, complex problem to the mischief of an invisible boogeyman. To end sexual abuse in churches, congregations must tackle authoritarian power structures, patriarchy, lack of oversight, and barriers to institutional accountability, not imaginary spirits.

Furthermore, the Charisma article absolves perpetrators of their actions. When perpetrators commit abusive acts, they make a calculated, deliberate choice to abuse, and thus are morally culpable for their actions. By blaming clergy abuse on the Jezebel demon, LeClaire deflects culpability away from abusers onto an imaginary demon.

LeClair was right when she called for readers to take abuse seriously, but wrong when she reduced the problem to evil spirits. Now is not the time for superstition. We need mature strategies for ending abuse in our communities.

10 comments:

  1. But "this kind of superstitious thinking" is inseparable from the religious mind-set. If you honestly believe that the universe contains invisible but powerful supernatural entities which seek to intervene in human affairs for good or ill, it's logically inevitable that you will tend to attribute some observed real-world phenomena to the intervention of those entities. If they exist, how can they not be affecting the world around us in important ways? I've seen fundamentalists who are shocked at the rapid gains of the gay-rights movement claiming that its success must be due to the direct personal intervention of Satan. In the context of what they believe, this would actually be a rational explanation.

    There's no real difference between religion and superstition. As long as some people are deeply religious, superstitious thinking will continue -- along with the evasion of human responsibility for human action which it sometimes facilitates, as here.

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    1. Infidel -- I worry about just how many people think along these superstitious lines. How many of Charisma's leaders will read this and believe, without reservation, that some demon's machinations are fueling the abuse crisis? People will expend time and energy driving off evil spirits, when that time and energy could be used toward more constructive anti-abuse efforts.

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  2. There truly is no logic to their arguments, and arguing is pointless. It's like Barney Frank said once to a crazy at a town hall. "Arguing with you would be like arguing with a kitchen table." -- I'm paraphrasing.

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    1. Donna -- Invincible ignorance is difficult to penetrate with logical arguments. Still, I hope these people recognize how silly their superstitions are someday.

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  3. Jezebel demon?!? Can't they just call down some good spooks to chase bad spooks away? Wouldn't their all knowing (powerful, vengeful, mighty, etc.) and always-looking-after-their-interests god take care of that for them? Maybe the Leprechauns can help this week when they sober up.

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    1. Jono -- Heh heh! You do bring up a good question -- if their cosmic benefactor and prayers are so powerful, why are these demons even running around in the first place?

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  4. One really dangerous aspect of this belief is the "cure." If the problem is a demon, what is the solution? "Deliverance" from that demon. I guarantee that there are churches that would hold a service where they would pray and cast the demon out of a sexual predator of children. Then, no worries. The demon is gone and to question that is to question their deity's power. Toxic and dangerous.

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    1. Michelle -- Amidst all the silliness of this superstition, you bring up a very serious point. Believing that a demon is responsible for abuse deflects responsibility away from the abuser, thwarts justice and accountability, and leaves congregants vulnerable.

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  5. Amazing what belief in a story book can do to your mindset. If the Bible was Harry Potter they would be blaming the sexual deviancy on a curse by Voldemort. Illogical thinking is a key element of theism.

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    1. Christian -- Superstitious, illogical thinking is dangerous. Clergy abuse is serious, and demon talk is one of many obstacles to addressing it.

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