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Commentary on Religious Issues in Family Violence

NCJ Number
111191
Author(s)
M M Fortune
Date Published
Unknown
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the importance of religious concepts in a person's dealing with the experience of family violence, the cooperative roles for secular counselors and ministers/rabbis, and scriptural and theological issues bearing upon abuse in marriage.
Abstract
Because a person's religious beliefs influence their perceptions of the meaning of their experiences and their options for coping with problems, secular counselors should recognize the importance of addressing a client's religious views, perhaps in cooperation with the client's minister or rabbi. Issues with religious implications are guilt, self-blame, suffering, and the religious rationalizations that may be used by abusers. Scriptural and theological issues pertinent to abusive marital relationships are the meaning of suffering, the concepts of the marriage relationship in Jewish and Christian theology, the marriage covenant and divorce, the parent-child relationship, and confession and forgiveness. Overall, Jewish and Christian theology promote a nurturing rather than an abusive interaction among marriage partners, the need to constantly examine one's attitudes and behaviors within the marriage to obtain forgiveness for wrongdoing, justification for divorce when one partner persists in the abusive treatment of the other, and nonabusive parent-child interactions. 7 footnotes.

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