{"id":100601,"date":"2023-06-21T17:31:45","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T23:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=100601"},"modified":"2023-06-21T17:31:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T23:31:45","slug":"is-the-church-a-hotbed-of-child-abuse-compared-to-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2023\/06\/is-the-church-a-hotbed-of-child-abuse-compared-to-what.html","title":{"rendered":"Is the Church a hotbed of child abuse? Compared to what?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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A view across the River Thames to Westminster Bridge and, behind it, the Houses of Parliament
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Some new items have gone up on the website of the Interpreter Foundation:<\/p>\n

Conference Talks: Dualism is Dead! Long Live Dualism!<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>presented at the 2016 Second Interpreter Science & Mormonism<\/a> Symposium: \u201cBody, Brain, Mind, and Spirit\u201d on Saturday, 12 March 2016, by James E. Faulconer<\/a><\/p>\n

The New Testament in Context Lesson 27:\u00a0 \u201cHe Is Risen,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20\u201321<\/a><\/p>\n

In the 4 June 2023 Come, Follow Me<\/em> segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, the panel of Martin Tanner, Spencer Kraus, Hales Swift, and Brent Schmidt discussed New Testament lesson 27, \u201cHe Is Risen,\u201d covering Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20\u201321.\u00a0 Their discussion has now been archived and made available to you at your convenience but at no charge.\u00a0The other segments of the May 28 radio show can be accessed at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreter-radio-show-june-4-2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at\u00a0ktalkmedia.com<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Come, Follow Me<\/em> \u2014 New Testament Study and Teaching Helps: Lesson 27, June 26 \u2014 July 2: Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21 \u2014\u00a0\u201cHe Is Risen\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Once again, Jonn Claybaugh generously contributes concise notes to help students and teachers of the \u201cCome, Follow Me\u201d curriculum.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Westminster Bridge and Big Ben, in London\u00a0 \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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It is a cherished article of faith among certain critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> that the chapels and youth programs of the Church are exceptionally dangerous places for young people, and that the leaders of the Church are callously and self-servingly indifferent to such matters.\u00a0 An article by Jennifer Roach suggests that those critics might be . . . well, mistaken<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cLatter-day Saint Enigma: Their Unexpected Troop Abuse Rates: Are Latter-day Saints more likely to abuse kids? Through statistical analysis of the BSA abuse case, we have our first data-supported answer to the question.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

See also her article \u201cI Know How to Lower Church Abuse Rates by 75%: What causes lower abuse rates among Latter-day Saints? Geographic organization, focus on family, and female involvement create a safer environment.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 And the article that she published with Lynn Chapman in the Deseret News<\/em> back on 22 August 2022 is also very much worth a reading:\u00a0 \u201cPerspective: The vandals who desecrated Latter-day Saint chapels are wrong \u2014 abuse is not welcome here: The faith\u2019s doctrine, policies and culture work together to provide layers of protection for children in ways that often go unseen\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

A little bit of comparison and comparative data, and a little bit of caution, might be helpful.\u00a0 Certainly, William John Meegan\u2019s 2010 article \u201cA Forgotten Study: Abuse in School 100 Times Worse than by Priests\u201d<\/a> suggests that that might be true in the case of Catholic clergy, and I expect the same to be true for Latter-day Saints:<\/p>\n

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In the last several weeks such a quantity of ink has been spilled in newspapers across the globe about the priestly sex abuse scandals, that a casual reader might be forgiven for thinking that Catholic priests are the worst and most common perpetrators of child sex abuse. But according to Charol Shakeshaft, the researcher of a little-remembered 2004 study prepared for the U.S. Department of Education, \u201cthe physical sexual abuse of students in schools is likely more than 100 times the abuse by priests.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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Westminster Abbey, in London. (Wikimedia CC photo by Paul Farmer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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And now, suddenly, I\u2019m in the mood for a little rummaging around in the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122, which never fails to horrify:<\/p>\n