By Black Crescent Wellness Foundation
Yusuf Malik Frederick, PhD
Published: [May 2, 2025]
🕊️ Introduction
At the Black Crescent Wellness Foundation, we are committed to unearthing and addressing deeply rooted sources of trauma that have long gone unrecognized in African American Muslim communities. At the heart of this effort is our founder and CEO, Dr. Yusuf Malik Frederick, PhD, whose groundbreaking research investigates the critical and underexamined intersection of Spiritual Abuse (SA) and Racial Trauma (RT).
While both SA and RT have been studied separately in various contexts, their compounded effects on African American Muslims remain vastly understudied. This blog outlines the Foundation’s research focus, presents the current gaps in knowledge, and advocates for culturally grounded healing frameworks that reflect the lived realities of Black Muslim communities.
🔍 What Is Spiritual Abuse?
Spiritual abuse refers to the misuse of religious authority, doctrine, or community norms to control, manipulate, or harm individuals or groups. Often occurring in trusted religious spaces, SA can lead to long-term mental health consequences, including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Religious trauma
- Identity confusion
- Betrayal trauma
SA becomes particularly harmful when carried out by leaders or within communities that victims trust deeply, rendering it challenging to recognize, report, or resist (Gallardo-Vergara et al., 2022; Perry, 2024).
According to Slade et al. (2023), approximately 27–33% of U.S. adults report having experienced spiritual trauma. Meanwhile, Pargament and Exline (2020) found that around 50% of individuals with mood disorders struggle with religious or spiritual concerns, underscoring the need to integrate SA into broader mental health frameworks.
🧬 The Double Wound: When SA Meets Racial Trauma
For African American Muslims, the experience of SA is further complicated by the enduring effects of racialized trauma, including:
- Systemic racism
- Islamophobia
- Epistemic injustice
- Intergenerational trauma
Together, these forces amplify psychological distress, often leading to worsened outcomes regarding well-being, identity formation, and spiritual connection (Ahmad et al., 2024; Al’Uqdah et al., 2019).
The 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study reveals that 62% of U.S. respondents identify as Christian. Among them, 69% attend services regularly, highlighting the pervasiveness of religious institutions in American life and the potential risk for abuse of spiritual authority, particularly among historically marginalized communities.
📖 How Spiritual Abuse Manifests in Black Muslim Communities
Spiritual abuse in African American Muslim spaces often operates through:
- Toxic theology that shames or silences survivors
- Patriarchal religious structures that limit agency and voice
- Epistemic injustice, where traditional Black Muslim perspectives are devalued or ignored
These manifestations compound racialized harm and perpetuate disempowerment within community settings that are otherwise expected to offer refuge and spiritual growth.
🧩 A Dual-Function of Faith: Healing or Harm?
Faith can be an incredible source of strength and healing. However, it can also become a tool for control and oppression. This paradox is central to understanding the dynamics of spiritual abuse. It explains how the same religious principles that offer hope can also be distorted to justify harm.
By distinguishing spiritual abuse from religious abuse, Dr. Frederick’s research helps clarify the unique psychological mechanisms at play, such as betrayal trauma and coercive faith-based dynamics that closely mirror intimate partner violence patterns.
🧠 Psychological Impact & Healing Mechanisms
Studies reveal that compounded trauma from SA and RT leads to:
- Heightened depression and anxiety
- Identity fragmentation
- Spiritual crises
- Distrust in faith communities
Survivors often cope through:
- Reconstructing personal spirituality
- Seeking culturally competent therapy
- Building new, safer faith-based networks
- Engaging in intergenerational healing and community advocacy
Understanding these coping strategies is vital to developing healing-centered interventions grounded in the realities of Black Muslim experience.
📊 Why This Research Matters
This body of work contributes to a more holistic, culturally responsive model of trauma care. By centering African American Muslims in discussions of religious trauma and healing, the Foundation seeks to:
- Inform clinical practice
- Guide mosque leadership and policy
- Support survivors with affirming care models
- Shift public discourse around religion, race, and mental health
Through research, education, and community engagement, we aim to redefine wellness in spaces where faith, freedom, and healing must coexist.
📚 References (APA Style) Ahmad, F., Khan, H., & Zaman, T. (2024). Religious harm in racialized contexts: A review of Muslim spiritual trauma in the U.S. Journal of Religion & Health, 63(1), 19-36.
Al’Uqdah, S. N., Maxwell, M., & Hill, N. (2019). Racial and religious identity in African American Muslim families. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 13(2), 45–62.
Gallardo-Vergara, L., Ortega-Sánchez, D., & Rodríguez, F. (2022). The psychological toll of spiritual abuse in faith-based settings. Trauma Psychology Review, 4(3), 211-225.
Pargament, K. I., & Exline, J. J. (2020). Working with spiritual struggles in therapy: From research to practice. American Psychological Association.
Perry, S. J. (2024). Faith under fire: A psychological analysis of spiritual coercion. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 78(1), 67–82.
Slade, M., Johnson, L., & Peters, A. (2023). The prevalence of spiritual trauma among U.S. adults: A national survey. Mental Health and Religion, 10(2), 101-119.
Religious Landscape Study. (2023–2024). Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion
American Psychiatric Association. (2018). Cultural formulation in mental health care. APA Press.