Groundbreaking survey and ‘Spiritual Safety Scale’ for faith communities

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An article recently published in the Journal of Religion and Health details the development of a practical tool to help individuals and religious communities identify, address, and prevent spiritual abuse.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — An extensive study involving more than 800 individual survey participants has made possible a Spiritual Safety Scale (S-SAFE) and corresponding survey to help individuals and religious communities measure the spiritual safety of their environments.

Coauthored by Lianna Chong and Leanne Tortez and published recently in the Journal of Religion and Health (July 2026), this research will inform a forthcoming book titled Building a Safer Church: How to Spot Spiritual Abuse, Assess Your Community’s Health, and Create a Culture Where People Flourish (NavPress, April 2027), written by Chong with Abram Kielsmeier-Jones .

The original paper, “Development and Psychometric Validation of the Spiritual Safety Scale (S-SAFE): A Measure for Psychological Safety and Spiritual Abuse in North American Christian Communities,” details the methodology and peer-review process…