Victoria Is Looking Into Religious Cults - Here's What It Should Examine

(MENAFN- The Conversation) The Victorian parliament has launched a long-overdue inquiry into abuse and coercive control within cults and religious fringe groups.

It is a welcome acknowledgement of the damage that can flourish under the guise of faith, and the unquestioning obedience to authoritarian leaders in religious groups.

The inquiry will hear victim-survivors can suffer a diverse range of harms, including sexual, financial and labour exploitation, spiritual manipulation, and institutional betrayal.

Abusive practices
Geelong state MP Christine Couzens says the Geelong Revival Centre has caused a great deal of hurt. Parliament of Victoria , CC BY

The inquiry is the first of its kind in Australia.

Prompted by recent events, including reports of coercive behaviour at the Geelong Revival Centre , the inquiry will examine“the methods used to recruit and control their members, and the impacts of coercive control”.

According to the committee's guidance note , the focus will be on techniques that can damage individuals emotionally, psychologically, financially and even physically.

Importantly, the inquiry will interrogate“abusive practices”, not the beliefs behind them:

Consideration will be given to whether the law adequately protects people when cults and fringe groups cause the types of harm that should be criminalised.

Sexual control

My research examined the sexual exploitation of congregation members perpetrated by pastors within evangelical, Pentecostal faith communities in Australia.

Respondents described feeling broken, shattered, and spiritually battered. The harms were similar to those experienced by survivors of incest, child sexual abuse and domestic violence.

For example:

• 72% of respondents were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder

• 52% suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• 48% were diagnosed with depression

• 48% experienced suicidal ideation.

As American sociologist and cult expert Janja Lalich explains:

Power imbalance

My research uncovered instances of sexual exploitation by pastors that constitutes a form of sexual violence and coercive control. The absence of a centralised reporting body means there is no accessible data on the extent of clergy sexual exploitation of adults in Australian faith communities.

However, international research found around 3% of churchgoing women had been subjected to sexual advances from a married religious leader.

Too often, institutions downplay the abuse as a“moral failing” or a mutual lapse into sin, ignoring the profound power imbalance that makes meaningful consent impossible.

Pastor-congregant relationships are not consensual; they are violations of trust and authority. Survivors are often left with no pathways to justice or support because coercive control is not recognised in non-intimate settings.

Search for belonging

Victim-survivors would benefit from legal reform that formally recognises and criminalises this form of abuse.

Coercive control legislation covering institutional and spiritual settings, would help protect congregation members targeted by predator pastors.

I was recruited into a Pentecostal church as a teenager through a Bible college that was allowed into my public high school to“preach the gospel”. I know firsthand how easily these environments can entrap teenagers at an age when many are seeking identity outside of family.

The parliamentary inquiry is not designed to question people's religion, but to protect them from harmful behaviour. SibRapid/Shutterstock

What began as a search for belonging led to years of grooming and coercion, and it took over two decades to name and report the abuse. The response from the church was just as harmful as the abuse itself.

Fear and shame

The harms often extend beyond sexual exploitation in many of these groups. Marginalised individuals are particularly vulnerable in these environments.

LGBTQIA+ people in some evangelical churches have historically been subjected to conversion practices masquerading as prayer, counselling, or pastoral care. In one recent example, an evangelical church in New South Wales preached from the pulpit:

This kind of messaging doesn't protect children – it instils fear, shame, and self-hatred. It reflects a deeper pattern of spiritual abuse that pathologises identity and uses fear to exert control. The consequences are devastating, especially for young people already struggling to reconcile faith, identity, and belonging.

Template for reform

Many people fail to grasp how intelligent adults can become trapped in such environments.

But coercive control is not about intelligence – it's about power, dependency, and the slow erosion of critical thinking by spiritual authority.

While coercive control in family violence is finally being addressed, spiritual and sexual coercive control within faith communities, cults, and fringe groups remains in a legal blind spot.

This is exactly why the Victorian probe and follow-up law reform are both necessary.

The inquiry should provide a framework for other states and territories to follow suit and scrutinise cults and organised fringe groups in their own jurisdictions.

Lead author Jaime Simpson is a survivor of sexual exploitation in an evangelical community. The research mentioned is this article was conducted by her.

MENAFN18062025000199003603ID1109688092