Spiritual abuse arises when a religious authority or spouse misguides you in the name of God, and then tries to take control over you, again in the name of God or any other supernatural power.

Perpetuators of spiritual abuse are very cunning fellows. Some promise to guide you to the deepest levels of spiritual maturity. Thereafter they will try to exploit your good and simple faith in God. These types of persons are experts at reading your mind fast, and provide you with all sorts of concocted facts about God and the holy text.

Some people use their spiritual authority position to control, manipulate, or dominate you by means of controlling your mind and faith.

Spiritual abuse is a common phenomenon in today's world. Everyday you come across headlines of newspapers reporting how common, innocent people are being victimized in the name of religion and God. The perpetrators of spiritual abuse take advantage of the religious feelings of hapless people and coax them to do doing unwanted things. Other spiritual abusers come in a form of a spouse who demands that their wife serves them claiming that it is the will of God.

Spiritual abuse makes you dependent upon the will of the perpetuator. The perpetuator may succeed in making you feel that you have no potential to do anything of your own without their help and intervention. He brings you to such a state of mind that you lose confidence in yourself and instead always go to him for help making even the smallest decisions. In this process, you become dependent and subjugated to that person.

The long-term effect of spiritual abuse can lead you to question your faith in God and in religion in general. However, for this spiritual abuse we cannot justifiably blame any religion or God. You must understand that the people who are in a position of spiritual authority are responsible for your spiritual abuse, not God.

If you are subject to spiritual abuse, first you must build confidence within yourself and stop listening to the abuser. Try to make decisions regarding what is good and what is bad for you by yourself. You must understand that God is all-embracing, and it is not essential to take guidance from others to realize Him. Through your devotion, you can realize Him by yourself.

Read the basic and original texts of your religion and attempt to understand the nature of God in your own way. You must perform this duty because YOU are the maker of your own destiny, and no one else has the power to change or manipulate your fate for good or bad.