Sexual Misconduct in the Church: What Is it about?

Abstract

This article discusses how European, North American, and Australian churches understand and define the terms sexual misconduct and sexual abuse. The methodical approach is an analysis of denomination-level church policies or guidelines from approximately 20 different denominations. The analysis explores the influence of different definitions of these key terms on church leaders’ perceptions of stories of inappropriate behavior by one of their own leaders or trusted congregation members. My aim is to demonstrate that the power analytical approach is superior to other forms of analysis for interpreting the interactions between those involved. For this study, I systematized the descriptions of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct in the selected church guidelines into five categories: (1) acts, (2) subjective experiences, (3) breaking ethical or cultural standards, (4) sexuality, and (4) misuse of power. A majority of the policies use descriptions of acts. A theoretical framework that includes choices of interpretive perspectives is required. Therefore, the discussion primarily focuses on sexuality versus power for interpreting the term sexual misconduct. A concluding remark is that understanding sexual misconduct as sexuality means acknowledging reciprocal activity, which is desirable for the abuser and often for the leadership of the church. The power analytical approach helps to make visible the objective criteria of being in a position of “power over” another person and is key to connecting responsibility to relational and structural factors. This approach also makes it possible to question who in a context ought to have the power of defining what abusive behavior is.