NCJ Number
217470
Journal
Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 262-284
Date Published
March 2007
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This study explored Black women’s use of religious services and spirituality to deal with domestic abuse.
Abstract
Results indicated that although not all of the participants were religiously affiliated at the time of the interview, the majority of women reported relying on their spirituality to help them cope with abusive relationships. Most of the women, however, did not seek direct help from clergy or other people in their religious communities. Some of the women viewed their absence from formal religion as part of the reason for getting into or staying in abusive relationships. Several participants who did not seek help from their church reported that they became disheartened with their church and its members during their abusive relationships. This attitude was mainly a result of witnessing clergy members fail to help other abused women. Women from Christian traditions reported disappointment in the advice they received from clergy, who mainly suggested the women remain in the abusive relationships and work harder at making them a success. On the other hand, the Muslim women reported positive support from clergy, although the support was paternalistic and patriarchal in nature. The findings underscore the importance of spirituality and religion to battered Black women, even in the absence of formal religious participation. As such, places of religious worship that cater to the African-American community should focus on addressing intimate partner violence. Participants were 40 self-identified African-American women who were recruited using a newspaper advertisement in Denver, CO. Participants took part in in-depth, semistructured interviews that focused on their demographic characteristics, experiences with intimate partner violence, and their use of religion or spirituality to help in coping with and leaving abusive relationships. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for emerging themes. Basic statistical analyses were also completed. The author calls for continued research in the area of spirituality and domestic violence within the African-American community. Tables, notes, references