Former members of the extremely private faith group that supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett belongs to, allege stories of emotional trauma and in at least one case, sexual abuse, at the hands of the group’s members.
About a dozen former members of People of Praise told The Guardian that Barrett’s nomination “triggered” their memories. The members have formed a support group to come together and share how the faith group impacted their lives.
“The basic premise of everything at the People of Praise was that the devil controlled everything outside of the community, and you were ‘walking out from under the umbrella of protection’ if you ever left,” one former member who called herself Esther. She left the organization, but was forced to join as a child. “I was OK with it being in a tiny little corner of Indiana, because a lot of weird stuff happens in tiny little corners in this country. But it’s just unfathomable to me – I can’t even explain just how unfathomable it is – that you would have a supreme court justice who is a card-carrying member of this community.”
On their website, People of Praise describes itself as “a charismatic Christian community. We admire the first Christians who were led by the Holy Spirit to form a community. Those early believers put their lives and their possessions in common, and "there were no needy persons among them."
According to the Washington Post, in a 2010 directory, Barrett was listed as a “handmaid,” or female leader in the group. Following her appointment as an appeals court judge in 2017, her name on the listing was removed. Barrret’s father has served a leader in the group.
Claims by former members include the subjugation of women members by male leaders, control that includes decisions related to marriage and living arrangements and child rearing. Members admitting to having same-sex intercourse are expelled.
According the Guardian, Sarah (Mitchell) Kuehl, a 48-year-old former claimed she had been sexually abused decades earlier by a male “household member” of “the community.” She says she was four years old when the abuse started and it lasted for two years.