Domestic abuse in UK Pentecostal churches: Current ministerial engagement and moving towards a Pentecostal theological response

1 in 4 women in the UK will directly experience domestic abuse (DA) in their lifetime, and there is evidence that a similar proportion of women in churches also experience DA making this an issue which needs to be clearly understood by the pastorate. Although there is a small body of research into DA and the UK church, the number of Pentecostals included in this is minimal and, prior to this study, no work has been done specifically within the Pentecostal denominations founded in the UK in the early years of the twentieth century. This thesis explores the pastoral responses to DA in UK Pentecostal churches by bringing together the voices of Pentecostal ministers and Pentecostal women victim-survivors, thus addressing the current gap in the literature. The responses to a qualitative survey and focus groups with Pentecostal ministers together with semi-structured interviews with Pentecostal women victim-survivors identify that DA, in all its forms, is present in Pentecostal congregations in the UK. While ministers displayed a theoretical knowledge of DA and saw it as a matter of concern for the church, they were less able to recognise it in practice other than physical violence. While concern for victim-survivor safety and wellbeing was visible, some suggested courses of action were problematic, highlighting a disconnect between theoretical knowledge and pastoral praxis and emphasising the need for training in this area. Despite recognising that DA is not part of God’s plan for marriage, ministers were reticent to speak publicly about it, resulting in a dissonance between the ‘egalitarian’ theologies of marriage expressed by the ministers in this study and the traditional ‘ordinary theologies’ of the victim-survivors I interviewed, which kept them too long in abusive relationships. I argue that this ‘holy hush’ renders DA largely invisible, is fuelled by the ‘orthodox’ status of traditional male headship theology and is a so far unrecognised iteration of the Pentecostal gender paradox. I propose a specifically Pentecostal response to DA, informed by critical reflection on ministerial praxis and the lived experiences of victim-survivors. Foregrounding the principle of mutuality in marriage and naming DA as sin, this theological response reimagines forgiveness and suggests the need for safe spaces for victim-survivors within the Pentecostal community, to witness to their trauma, explore relevant scriptures and grapple with abuse in the light of their faith. Addressing the current lack of theological reflection on marriage and DA in UK Pentecostalism, would offer ministers the liberty to speak out against DA from the pulpit and help mitigate the possibility that scripture could be used to condone abuse.

Citation

Bennett, D. M. (2025). Domestic abuse in UK Pentecostal churches: Current ministerial engagement and moving towards a Pentecostal theological response [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. University of Chester.

Publisher

University of Chester

URI

https://chesterrep.openrepository.com/handle/10034/629955

Type

Thesis or dissertation