We know them as some of the holiest figures in society: pastors, church leaders, Christian authors —  “messengers” of the Gospel, who will lead us down the right path to salvation if only we trust them. But what happens when these well-known individuals use their power of faith and authority to abuse, control, and silence women?

For Our Daughters, a short nonprofit documentary by Kristin Kobez Du Mez, a historian and New York Times bestselling author of the book Jesus and John Wayne, explores this exact question. This documentary highlights “how a culture of submission and sexual abuse in the evangelical church is directly tied to the Christian nationalist quest to use the outcome of the 2024 election to deprive all American women of basic democratic rights.” Published for free on Du Mez’s YouTube channel, the documentary reached almost 500k views within just one month.

The documentary features the voices of both survivors of sexual abuse such as Cait West, Jules Woodson, Tiffany Thigpen, and Christa Brown, as well as experts on sexual abuse pastors and other church leaders. These voices expose how the evangelical community contradicts Jesus’ teachings about love and respect in its handling of sexual abuse.

In the documentary, Woodson shared her story on how she was sexually assaulted by her youth pastor. A few years later, she took a step in letting her story out, which led to the decision to write an email to the perpetrator asking if he still remembered the day that kept haunting her. He never replied, but the Sunday after that email, the perpetrator told the story in front of the congregation, admitting how he was sorry about it, and the church’s response was to forgive what he did. Almost immediately after his confession, people clapped their hands, celebrated, and even gave standing ovations to this man who didn’t even fully tell the whole story.

This is a severe abuse of faith, as these individuals attempt to undermine women. This behavior is neither godly nor reflective of Biblical justice, because we know that Christ calls us to love, not to dominate.

It is almost sickening how these people say they follow God and submit their lives to serve the church, claiming that they have been chosen by God to take this cup, as if they can guide us to the right path. It is also very revolting that the church responds to these individuals with standing ovations, as if they have done something right.

There’s no sense of subjective truth when it comes to this issue. Sexual assault is always wrong, regardless of the circumstances or who commits it. This documentary makes us aware that even in places that represent the Body of Christ, such things still occur.

Each of the survivors interviewed thought they were the only ones, but when they began to share their stories, they realized that many other women had experienced the same thing. This underscores the need for more voices from victims to strengthen the stories and effectively address these issues. This documentary serves as a powerful example of how we should expose the cruelty of some authorities and show how the system we once regarded as one of faith and worship is now at risk.

Sometimes, when we take steps to spread these messages, it feels like what Rachel Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse former MSU doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse, said in the documentary: “It costs to stand with the victim, but it costs you nothing to side with the empowerment.” Denhollander also discussed the culture we would create if we were to allow Christian nationalism to take root in our country and society — one where men are considered superior to women and where authority becomes unchecked and abusive.

Remaining silent and letting higher authorities handle the situation isn’t the solution to this problem. If we believe we shouldn’t care because we aren’t in the position of the victims, we are effectively siding with the abusers by allowing this culture to persist in our society. One important step we can take is to listen to and believe those who have experienced this abuse, recognizing that more than just these four women in the documentary have been affected.

What can we do, then?

In a discussion panel after the documentary screening at Calvin on Tuesday, Oct. 29, Du Mez emphasized the importance of being aware of situations like this because “there’s always this aspect of power and control, and your agency is taken away from you.” She also stressed the need to refrain from judgment toward the victims, advising against asking questions or trying to dig deeper, as “it is not our job to investigate; it is our job to listen and believe,” said Du Mez.

No matter what, we should be aware and take action to spread this awareness, as Du Mez added:“It’s not just your mission, but God’s mission.”

For Our Daughters is available online on Du Mez’s personal YouTube channel.