Dr Kristin Aune, Coventry University ab8574@coventry.ac.uk

1. The Church and Domestic Violence : preliminary findings from a survey of churchgoers’ experiences of domestic abuse and perceptions of their church’s response in one English region Dr Kristin Aune, Coventry University ab8574@coventry.ac.uk Co-author: Dr Rebecca Barnes, University of Leicester rb358@le.ac.uk

2. Outline • Why study churchgoers’ experiences of, and church responses to, domestic violence and abuse (DVA)? • The knowledge base so far – and the knowledge gap in the UK • Our pilot study findings • Reflections on our ongoing research in Cumbria

3. Why study churchgoers’ experiences of, and church responses to, DVA? (1) • Church attendance/Christianity in decline..? • Predominance of discourses of secularisation • In the 2011 Census, 59.3% of adults in England & Wales identified as Christian – down from 71.7% in 2001 (ONS, 2012) • Church membership has reduced from 10.6 million (30%) in 1930 to 5.4 million (11.2%) in 2013 (Brierley, 2014) • The 2011/12 British Social Attitudes Survey found that 56% of those brought up in or affiliated to a religion never attend religious services – and only 14% attend at least weekly (Lee, 2012) • Yet, some areas of the UK Church are growing (CofE, 2016; Brierley, 2014) University of Leicester

4. Why study churchgoers’ experiences of, and church responses to, DVA? (2) • Centrality of churches to most communities • Research conducted by Church Urban Fund and Theos (Bickley, 2014) found that a quarter of adults in deprived communities had accessed church-based community services • Potential role of churches as part of a coordinated community response to DVA - especially against the backdrop of austerity • Some churches are already providing DVA interventions, hence there is a need to better understand how effective/appropriate these are • Recognising differences in theologies of gender, marriage, sin, forgiveness • Value of examining the relationship between faith and DVA – for perpetrators as well as victims/survivors University of Leicester

5. The knowledge base so far (1) • Predominantly a US and Canadian body of work • ‘there is ample evidence that religious faith and domestic violence are co-mingled’ (Nason-Clark 2009 p.389)

6. The knowledge base so far (2) • Extent of DVA: do churchgoers experience DVA more or less than non-churchgoers? • Contradictory evidence (predominantly from North America) regarding whether church-going can be protective against DVA or increases risk • Do the nature, dynamics and/or impacts of abuse differ for churchgoers? What role does faith play for victims/survivors? • Faith-related/spiritual forms of abuse • Positive effects of faith in coping and recovering from abuse • Conservative theology – barrier to women leaving abusive marriages – ‘cross to bear’ (Nason-Clark, 2004) • How are churches currently responding to DVA? • Issues of training and awareness • Some examples of good practice e.g. the work of Restored • Potential for well-intended but risky/harmful responses University of Leicester

7. The UK knowledge gap • 2 surveys that have been conducted in the UK are: • An academic survey of the Methodist Church (n=557) (Radford and Cappel, 2002): • 17% of Methodist leaders and lay workers had been victims of domestic violence from a partner; this included 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men • A 2012 non-academic survey of Evangelical Alliance members (n=1219): • 10% of married people had experienced physical violence or abuse from a spouse • However, these surveys use restricted samples focused only on specific denominations or expressions of Christianity; hence, the need for a wider, ecumenical study. University of Leicester

8. Our study • Collaboration between two universities, Restored, Churches Together in Cumbria • Funders: Allen Lane Trust, Matthew 25:35 Trust, Andrews Trust and an anonymous trust • Case study of Cumbria - precursor to a national mixed-methods study • Online and paper survey - piloted in a London church • Surveying across denominations (ecumenical study) • Two phases of recruitment: • comparing churches which have and have not taken part in DVA awareness training • opening the net more widely to all churches and Christian groups/organisations in Cumbria University of Leicester

9. The rates of DVA victimisation amongst churchgoers; • The nature, dynamics and impacts of DVA for churchgoers; • The levels of awareness of, and attitudes held by, lay church members and church leaders, relating to the occurrence of DVA in their congregations; • How churches currently respond to DVA (e.g. address it through sermons); • Churchgoers’ experiences of help-seeking for DVA, both within and outside of church. Key areas of inquiry

10. Pilot study: sample • 61 responses from one London-based church • 73% female and 27% male • Aged 18-80+, with 73% aged 50+ • 48% were White, 42% were Black and the remainder were of mixed heritage, Asian or Chinese • 52% married, 30% single, 12% were divorced • Three-quarters were involved in an aspect of ministry and 23% held a leadership role

11. Pilot study: perceptions/attitudes “The key is openness, making domestic abuse less of a taboo subject and making it clear what abuse is.” “It should be talked about more in church. People have the wrong idea that people in church do not experience abuse.” • The majority thought that DVA was a problem… • In their church – 70% • In their local community – 90% • Most participants positively rated their church’s effort to respond to DVA (62% agreed the church has taken steps to raise awareness) but 67% said more could be done • Regarding whether their church was equipped to respond to a disclosure of DVA, participants were fairly evenly split across agree/disagree/unsure • Over 90% disagreed that ‘Domestic abuse should not be discussed at church’ University of Leicester

12. Pilot study: experiences of DVA • 55% said they had experienced at least one abusive act from a list of items • Unsurprisingly, more disclosures for previous relationships • Asked if they considered what had happened to them to be domestic abuse, 58% said yes • 42.8% reported that their partner had belittled them to the extent that they felt worthless’ (CURRENT = 16.7%) • 38.3% said that their partner withheld affection from them as a form of punishment’ (CURRENT = 23.8%) • 31.5% reported being slapped, pushed or shoved by their partner (CURRENT = 7.3%) • 30.2% said that their partner verbally abused or mocked their beliefs or faith (CURRENT = 7.2%) • 22.9% reported that their partner made them do things sexually that they did not want to do, without physical force (CURRENT = 5%) University of Leicester

13. Pilot study: spiritual abuse items

14. The main study – challenges and reflections • Still in progress – over 100 churches have agreed to help and approximately 300 responses have been received • An initial review of responses to date shows: • The majority of participants are female, white British and aged 50+. Most live in rural areas. • Over half of participants have participated via postal questionnaire rather than via the online survey • The majority of participants attend Anglican (Church of England) churches • Very few responses from independent evangelical and new churches; few successful contacts with church leaders from these churches University of Leicester

15. Concluding comments • Churches remain key institutions in many communities, reaching more people than many other community organisations • Considerable potential for churches to either help or hinder – and the need to better understand all possible outcomes • Churchgoers may experience different forms of DVA related to their faith and religious practices – these need to be understood both by church leaders and mainstream agencies • Many barriers to securing a ‘representative’, multi-denominational sample - but also the opportunity to access those who are often omitted from research: older people in rural communities University of Leicester

16. References References • Bickley, P. (2014) Good Neighbours: How Churches Help Communities Flourish, London: Church Urban Fund/Theos. • Brierley, P. (2014) UK Church Statistics 2: 2010-2020, Tonbridge: ADBC. • Church of England (2016) Cathedral Statistics 2015, London: Church of England Research and Statistics. • Evangelical Alliance (2012) 21st Century Evangelicals: How’s the Family? London: Evangelical Alliance. • Lee, L. (2012) ‘Religion: Losing faith’ in Park, A. et al. (eds) British Social Attitudes 28, London: NatCen Social Research. • Office for National Statistics (2012) Religion in England and Wales 2011, London: ONS. Available online at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/religioninenglandandwales2011/2012-12-11 • Nason-Clark, Nancy (2004) ‘When Terror Strikes at Home: The Interface Between Religion and Domestic Violence’, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 43(3): 303-310 • Nason-Clark, N. (2009) ‘Christianity and the Experience of Domestic Violence: What Does Faith Have to Do with It?’ Social Work & Christianity 36(4): 379-393 • Radford, L. & Cappel, C. (2002) Domestic Violence and the Methodist Church: The Way Forward, Roehampton: University of Surrey, Roehampton.