Spiritual Abuse in Church & the Church of England Redress Scheme

Spiritual abuse in church can be difficult to recognise, even years later. If someone in a position of authority within the Church used faith, scripture, prayer or the fear of God's judgement to control, frighten or manipulate you, you may never have thought of it as abuse. It may have been presented as guidance, discipline or ministry. You may even have been led to believe that questioning what happened was wrong.

If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Many survivors spend years wondering whether what happened to them "counts". There is no need to read this page all at once. Take your time and come back whenever you feel ready.

This page explains how the Church of England Redress Scheme defines spiritual abuse in church, who may be able to apply, and how the scheme approaches these cases. It is written for survivors, as well as for family members, friends and anyone supporting someone who may have experienced this kind of abuse, whether it happened recently or many years ago.

We explain everything in straightforward language first. Where the legal wording matters, we have included the exact text from the Church of England Redress Scheme Rules, so you can see what the law says as well as our explanation of it.

If at any point you would rather talk to someone entirely independent of any claim, the support organisations near the foot of this page exist for exactly that. They are free, confidential, and separate from Winston Solicitors and from the Church of England.

Spiritual abuse is the misuse of faith, scripture, or spiritual authority to control, frighten, isolate, or silence someone in a religious setting. Under the Church of England Redress Scheme it covers two situations. The first is where that misuse harmed your spiritual well-being your relationship with God, your ability to pray or worship, your sense of yourself as a person of faith. The second is where spiritual power was used to make another form of abuse possible, or to keep it hidden.

Here is the exact wording that the scheme uses.

Where this comes from in the rules

“The ‘spiritual abuse’ by one person (A) of another (B) is a form of psychological or emotional abuse which is carried out by A in a religious context and which has the effect of: (a) harming B’s spiritual well-being, or (b) legitimising or facilitating the abuse of B that comes in another category in section 4(2) of the Measure.”

Rule 2(5), Abuse Redress Rules 2025.

Two things in that wording matter most. The first is “harming B’s spiritual well-being”. The rules treat harm to your spiritual life as enough, by itself, for the conduct to count as abuse. The second is the part about legitimising or facilitating other abuse. If spiritual authority was used to make sexual abuse seem sanctioned, deserved, or impossible to speak about, that use of spiritual power is itself abuse under the scheme.

The wider psychological and emotional category, and how the scheme defines it, is explained on our psychological and emotional abuse page. What makes spiritual abuse its own category is the religious setting and the spiritual character of the harm.

This category is also the one the law expects to need explaining. The Measure gives the Archbishops’ Council express power to publish guidance on the meaning of “spiritual abuse” Section 4(5), Abuse Redress Measure 2025), and it is the only category of abuse singled out that way. 

Spiritual abuse in church can take many different forms. There is no checklist that someone has to meet before what happened is recognised as abuse. Instead, the Church of England Redress Scheme looks at whether a person used their religious role or spiritual authority to control, manipulate or harm someone else.

Examples might include:

• Using scripture or religious teaching to control your behaviour, relationships or life choices.
• Telling you that questioning a church leader meant you were questioning God.
• Using threats of God's judgement, hell or punishment to frighten you into staying silent or doing what you were told.
• Publicly shaming or excluding you while presenting it as spiritual discipline or concern for your faith.
• Telling you that the abuse was God's will, a test of your faith, or something you deserved because of your own actions.

For many survivors, spiritual abuse was not the only abuse they experienced. It may have happened alongside sexual abuse, physical abuse or emotional abuse, making it even harder to recognise what was happening. In some cases, religious beliefs or spiritual authority were used to excuse abuse or stop someone from speaking out.

If that happened to you, the spiritual abuse is not simply part of the background. It is recognised as a form of abuse in its own right under the scheme. You can also read more about the other categories on our sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse pages.

For many people, the person who caused the harm was also someone they trusted to guide them spiritually. They may have baptised you, led services, taught your faith or supported your family. When someone in that position abuses their authority, it can leave deep emotional and spiritual wounds.

Everyone's experience is different. Some survivors remain active members of a church. Others still have their faith but no longer feel able to attend. Some have lost their faith altogether. Wherever you find yourself today, the Church of England Redress Scheme does not expect you to fit a particular path.

Recognising that you experienced abuse does not mean rejecting your faith. Applying to the Redress Scheme is not about challenging religion or belief. It is about the actions of a person who misused the trust and authority that came with their role in the Church.

Why Not Try Our Free Church of England Redress Scheme Calculator?

If you are curious about what a future award might look like, our compensation calculator will provide a private estimate based on the statutory tables. It asks for no contact details, stores no information and runs entirely in your browser.

Using the calculator does not affect any future application.

Try the calculator today

To apply to the Church of England Redress Scheme, two main conditions must be met.

First, the person responsible for the abuse must have held a role within the Church of England, or you must have reasonably believed that they did.

Second, there must have been a close connection between that role and the abuse.

With spiritual abuse, that connection is often clear because the person's position within the Church is what gave their words and actions such influence over you.

The person does not have to have been ordained clergy. Depending on the circumstances, the scheme may also cover people such as youth leaders, lay readers, choir leaders, teachers in Church of England schools, church volunteers or others whose Church role gave them spiritual authority.

You can find the full eligibility criteria, including the wording of Section 3 of the Abuse Redress Measure 2025, on our Who Can Apply? page.

You do not need to have reported the abuse at the time, and you do not need to have collected evidence before speaking to a solicitor. Our Evidence page explains what information the scheme can consider and how applications are supported.

Compensation under the Church of England Redress Scheme is calculated using the five-step process set out in Schedule 1 of the Abuse Redress Rules 2025. Awards currently range from £5,000 to £660,000, depending on the circumstances of each case.

Our Compensation Amounts page explains how awards are assessed, including the factors that can increase the amount awarded.

If your application is successful, your legal costs are paid separately through the scheme and are not deducted from your compensation. You can read more about this on our Legal Costs page.

If you would like an idea of what your own award could be, you can use our Church of England Redress Scheme compensation calculator. It follows the statutory assessment tables, runs entirely in your browser, does not ask for your contact details and does not store your information.

Before accepting an award through the Church of England Redress Scheme, it is important to understand all of your options.

If you accept a redress award, you will normally give up the right to bring a separate civil claim against the Church for the same abuse. That is why it is worth taking advice before making a final decision.

Winston Solicitors specialises in the Church of England Redress Scheme and does not advise on civil claims. If you would like to explore whether a civil claim may be appropriate in your circumstances, you should seek independent advice from a solicitor who specialises in abuse litigation.

Our Scheme vs Civil Claim guide explains the differences between the two routes, including how they compare in terms of evidence, timescales, compensation and process.

Stacey on naming spiritual abuse

“Spiritual abuse is the category people almost never call by its name,” says Stacey Flegg, Head of Church of England Redress Scheme at Winston Solicitors. “Survivors describe a vicar or a youth leader who controlled every part of their life, or who used God to keep them quiet, and then they ask me whether that even counts. It counts. Rule 2 names it as abuse in its own right, and it also recognises something many people have carried for decades: that the spiritual hold was what allowed other abuse to happen, or to stay hidden. And something else, just as important: the scheme takes no view on your faith. Some of the people I speak to are still worshipping every Sunday. Some cannot walk past a church. The application is the same for both, and neither has anything to prove about where they stand with God.”

Winston Solicitors focuses on supporting survivors through the Church of England Redress Scheme across England and Wales. Because this is a specialist area of our work, we understand how the legislation and Rules apply in practice and can explain the process clearly, answer your questions and help you prepare your application with confidence.

Reading this page may have stirred things that are hard to sit with. If you want to talk to someone now, separately from any decision about a claim, the organisations below exist for that. They are independent of Winston Solicitors, and their support does not depend on you ever taking a legal step.

• Safe Spaces. A free, confidential support service for anyone who has experienced abuse in a church context. It is commissioned by the Church of England and the Catholic Church of England and Wales, but run independently of both, by trained advocates who are separate from the Church’s own processes. Call 0300 303 1056 or visit safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.
• Samaritans. Free, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Call 116 123 from any phone in the UK or email jo@samaritans.org.
• NAPAC, the National Association for People Abused in Childhood. Free support line for adult survivors of any form of childhood abuse, including spiritual abuse. Call 0808 801 0331 or visit napac.org.uk.

If this page has helped you recognise something that happened to you, you do not have to decide what to do next today.

When you feel ready, Stacey Flegg, Head of Church of England Redress Scheme at Winston Solicitors, is available to talk through your situation. Your first conversation is free, confidential and comes with no obligation to continue.

Winston Solicitors supports survivors across England and Wales with Church of England Redress Scheme applications. We can explain how the scheme applies to your circumstances, answer your questions in plain English and help you understand your options, so you can decide what feels right for you.

Winston Solicitors works with survivors of Church-related abuse from across England and Wales, with over 4,000 five-star reviews across the firm’s wider work. Because the team focuses on the scheme itself, Stacey can give you an honest read on whether what happened to you fits Rule 2(5) and Section 3, in plain English, before you decide on anything.

The questions below are the ones survivors most often raise about spiritual abuse specifically. For broader questions on cost, time, evidence, and how the scheme compares to a civil claim, see our scheme FAQ hub.