What is Religious Abuse?

Religious abuse is directly related to the abuse of power and often the use of fear tactics.

The most common forms of religious abuse are sexual abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse, and/or verbal abuse.

DID Being Treated as Possession 

DID has historically been treated as possession, often by deeply religious people. People with DID have shockingly often (and not just historically – to this day) been subjected to extremely traumatic events and rituals such as forced exorcisms. They have been treated as if they have the devil or a demon inside them that needs to be exorcised, when in fact they are often traumatized and are actively re-traumatized by this.

Many people have also been abused by the church, so this traumatization can be even worse if they were abused in the church in childhood, leading to the formation of DID, and now they are being abused in the church for having DID and being told it is demonic possession.

Resources for Survivors of Religious Abuse

• SNAP: Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests