#389 - Spiritual Abuse and Coercive Control

Épisode de CoramDeo - Un regard chrétien sur le monde par Pascal Denault · 2 février 2026 · 1 h 14 min

➡️ DESCRIPTION: Spiritual abuse is a painful reality that is often misunderstood and sometimes minimized in Christian circles. Between the legitimate exercise of biblical authority and unhealthy control dynamics, the line can become blurred—to the point where sincere believers find themselves hurt, confused, or even crushed in the name of God.

In this episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Anna Kitko, a trained theologian and specialist in coercive control and religious trauma, and Caroline Collins, who holds a master's degree in counseling and psychology and studied theology (BTh) at SEMBEQ Seminary.

You can find a PDF of the written questions and answers of this interview here: https://prechelaparole.sermon.net/pdf/22487858

Retrouvez les autres articles et épisodes de cette série sur l'abus spirituel ici: https://toutpoursagloire.com/article/abus-spirituel

TABLE OF CONTENTS

00:00 - Start

02:31 - Caroline’s presentation

03:47 - Anna’s presentation

07:36 - What led you into this field?

12:45 - What is coercive control?

15:40 - The difference between submission and subordination

18:58 - Man’s headship

22:42 - Describe a victim of coercive control

25:35 - Describe coercive control in a mainstream evangelical church

29:07 - How can we impose truth on the church without crushing people?

31:56 - What about the victim mentality?

36:01 - 1 Tim 5:19-21 is to protect the church from abusive leaders

37:40 - Can abusive leaders be restored?

42:22 - Theological influences behind spiritual abuses

44:39 - The danger of spiritual therapies

47:49 - Integrationism and biblical counseling

51:16 - Spiritual abuses in the reformed and evangelical world

57:03 - When plurality of elders doesn’t help

01:00:26 - A local church is accountable to other churches

01:03:55 - How do you think the issue of spiritual abuse will evolve?

01:05:31 - Other resources on that subject

- https://internationalculticstudies.org/

- https://www.beemboldened.com/

- https://www.youtube.com/@annakitko

Conclusion

01:08:07 - 🎵 Music : Paper Halo (https://suno.com/song/f23b5b0d-9fb9-4827-a872-427759e52a72)

01:09:19 - 📖 Book recommendation: Leslie Vernick, Les relations destructrices (https://publicationschretiennes.com/products/les-relations-destructrices)

01:10:07 - Baptist Symbolic (James Renihan, PhD) https://www.zeffy.com/fr-CA/ticketing/baptist-symbolics-james-m-renihan-phd

01:10:57 - Next episode: Vincent Beaulac, Influence numérique et spiritualité

01:12:18 - Off record

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