Member-only story
Why is pedophilia and sexual abuse so rampant in houses of worship?
As more and more stories flood the media with accounts of sexual abuse associated with churches and synagogues, many religious people are asking why. Why would men — and it’s almost always men — who are dedicated to a religious life engage in an act that’s so immoral? How can this evil have gone on under their noses in their own religious institutions?
The answer is simple: Because conservative religions facilitate the abuse.
How? By preaching men are in charge and not to be questioned. This worldview is particularly enticing for male pedophiles, abusers, narcissists and authoritarian types. How can they not join an organization that not only preaches their superiority in the home and the church, but also gives them unquestioned, easy access to kids with no accountability?
Because the truth is, conservative religious institutions have failed at accountability. For years they’ve looked the other way when religious men in their ranks took advantage of their power over women and children. Time and again, religious institutions covered sexual abuse, fought it in the courts, denied they had a pedophile problem, and moved abusers around in a shell game instead of removing them from the institution itself and reporting them to the authorities.
