A series of studies was conducted. One study was a stratified random sample survey of clinical members of the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and National Association of Social Workers. In a second study, a similar survey was sent to county-level district attorneys' offices, social service agencies, and law enforcement offices. These studies were conducted primarily to determine the number and nature of cases that involved alleged ritualistic child abuse reported to clinicians and agencies nationwide; however, for comparison purposes, researchers also included questions about allegations of religion-related abuse more generally. Results show that the purported evidence for claims of ritualistic abuse, especially in cases the involved alleged adult survivors of satanic cult activity, is questionable. In contrast, there was convincing evidence of a variety of types of religion- related abuse (for example, withholding of medical care and abuse by religious officials, such as priests). A third study focuses on the subset of cases from study 1 that included claims of "repressed memory" of ritual and religion-related abuse. A fourth study examined children's knowledge of satanic abuse. Study 5 examined three types of religion-related child abuse: "beating the devil" out of a child, abuse by clergy, and medical neglect. Overall, there is more convincing evidence of religion-related abuse than satanic ritualistic abuse. Implications of the findings are drawn for forensic interviewing, clinical practice, and future research.