Religion and Men's Violence Against Women

Andy Johnson teaches at Bethel University in the graduate program in counseling psychology as well as the undergraduate programs in psychology and religious studies. His research interests are in the areas of gender violence prevention, religious predictors of domestic violence and rape myth acceptance, and trauma and resiliency. He earned an MA and Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Notre Dame.

• I. Background.- Violence Against Women in Religious Communities: An Introduction.- Men’s Violence against Women: An Overview.- Ecclesiastical Policies vs Lived Social Relationships: Gender Parity, Attitudes, and Ethics.- Exploring Women’s Spiritual Struggles and Resources to Cope with Intimate Partner Aggression.- II. Working with Individuals within Religious Cultural Communities in the US.- “Sexual Savages:” Christian Stereotypes and Violence Against North America’s Native Women.- Violence against Women in the Orthodox Jewish Community.- A Conservative Jewish Approach to Family Violence.- Intimate Partner Violence within Church Communities of African Ancestry.- Latino Protestants: Religion, Culture, and Violence Against Women.- Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Men’s Violence Against Women.- Is There Peace within Our Walls? Intimate Partner Violence and White Mainline Protestant Churches in North America.- Addressing IPV in White Evangelical and Fundamentalist Churches.- An Anabaptist-Mennonite Perspective of Intimate Partner Violence.- The Amish Gemeinschaft Community: Pro-woman?- Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Church Communities.- Religion and Violence Against Women: The LDS Church.- Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches.- Violence Against Women in a Multiethnic Church.- Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities.- Violence Against Women through a Buddhist Lens.- Religious Syncretism and Intimate Partner Violence in the Chinese American Community.- (Un)Holy Connections? Understanding Woman Abuse in Hinduism.- Violence Against Women and Hmong Religious Beliefs.- Violence Against Women in the Sikh Community.- III. Best Practices in Working with Clergy and Religious Communities.- Consultation and Educational Programming.- Models of Collaboration between Community Service Agencies and Faith-Based Institutions.- Providing Hope in Faith Communities: Creating a Domestic Violence Policy for Families.- Conclusion.>

"This book explores violence against women across different religious traditions such as Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh. ... The book provides ways for mental health professionals to deal with spirituality and violence. ... This book discusses men's violence against women within a number of religious traditions, describing the problem and possible solutions. The authors demonstrate how the community can work with religious organizations to decrease incidents of domestic violence." (Gary B. Kaniuk, Doody's Book Reviews, October, 2015)