Anabaptists, Homestead's Professed "Spiritual Roots," Admit A Sexual Abuse Problem

My article on sexual abuse in Anabaptist communities remains one of the top viewed  posts on this blog. Since Homestead Heritage claims to find their spiritual roots in this faith community, I wrote about this topic to disprove their suggestion that Anabaptists have lower rates of sexual abuse. Since then, a few more items have come to my attention that further corroborate the sexual abuse problems among these faith traditions.

"Peace-Loving Anabaptist Tradition"

Sexual Abuse Among Anabaptists

Photo Source

In a statement to WFAA Homestead Heritage defends their position by making an appeal to Anabaptist beliefs by writing "We find our spiritual roots in the 500-year-old peace-loving Anabaptist tradition, which stresses simplicity and an absolute commitment to nonviolence." On their website Homestead sarcastically says to "[j]ust look at those who have kept these moral boundaries the most intact, such as the Amish and Mennonites, and we should expect to see vast numbers of pedophiles compared to the population at large." Putting aside the fact that their "spiritual roots" lie in the United Pentecostal Church International, of which there are some who do not think very highly of them, let's take a closer look at the "tradition" that Homestead chooses to identify with.