“A searing indictment of those who use religion to justify a variety of forms of child abuse. In story after heartbreaking story, Heimlich details the shocking behavior perpetrated on children by the very people they are taught to respect and trust. Supported by prodigious research, case studies, court records, and many interviews with victims as well as perpetrators, Breaking Their Will deserves to be widely read. Heimlich reveals an aspect of our society that many deny exists and offers positive suggestions for change.”
— Carol Delaney, Author of Abraham on Trial: The Social Legacy of Biblical Myth

 

“Breaking Their Will is a powerful and deeply disturbing book, wide ranging in its exploration of religiously based physical and mental abuse of children past and present, and richly informed by both personal and scholarly reflections and insights. This book will have a profound impact upon the consciences and actions of readers from a wide range of religious perspectives who surely will be convinced, after finishing this book, that children deserve to be free from all forms of physical violence in the guise of discipline and the other forms of physical and mental abuse explored in Heimlich’s book.”
— Philip Greven, Author of Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse