Pastoral Care Regarding Sexual Addictions within the Context of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in South Africa
Mmamajoro Phalatsi-Shilubana 
Issue: Vol.5 No.8 Issue Article 14 pp.1611-1626
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245814 | Published online 30th August, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The practice of pastoral care is concerned with humanity’s total welfare encompassing the emotional, spiritual, psychological, and personal spheres as they pertain to, but are not limited to, sexuality-related matters. Pastoral care professionals are typically trained to deal with various personal challenges, including depressing sexuality-related issues and addictions. Although the topic of sexual addictions has received reasonable attention within the pastoral care framework, it continues to be considered taboo by most Christian believers and some pastors equally. As a result, pastoral care providers in countries like South Africa do not have solidified guidelines providing practical direction around the question of sexual addictions. Through the combination of the literature reviews and observations, the paper investigated possibilities of developing guidelines that pastoral carers can employ in addressing the challenges faced by those dealing with sexual addictions. These guidelines included an intervention referred to as “Promise Keepers” which focuses on married men, and Twelve Steps which is more popular as an intervention employed with substance abuse. Additionally, the paper presented the Falling Forward Manual, an intervention that focuses on Christian men facing challenges with sexual addictions. Beyond the scope of pastoral care and notwithstanding its focus on Pentecostal charismatic churches in South Africa, these guidelines will be beneficial to all churches in South Africa and beyond.
Keywords: Pastoral Care, Sexual Addictions, Sexuality, Interventions, Religion, Pentecostal-Charismatic Church
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Dr. Mmamajoro Phalatsi-Shilubana is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UNISA’s Research Institute for Theology and Religion. She holds a D.Phil (Theology) from UNISA, Masters’ Degree in Education (UJ), a BA in Social Sciences (UL), and a Tertiary Education Diploma (UFS). She holds a certificate in Monitoring & Evaluation from the University of Stellenbosch. She has extensive experience in Research and Policy development and implementation. She is involved in community development projects, focusing on advocacy and interventions (Girls and young women empowerment, Addictions and HIV related issues) both as a volunteer and a Researcher. Her field of focus is Practical theology. Pursuit of new knowledge and its impact in improving lives is what drives her. She believes that improving communities and organisations is what births great leaders.
Phalatsi-Shilubana, Mmamajoro. “Pastoral Care Regarding Sexual Addictions within the Context of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches in South Africa,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.8 (2024): 1611-1626. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245814
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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