Religious Espectrocide and Maternal Resistance: Ethical Reflections from a Testimony
Michelle is a Brazilian mother of David, a neurodivergent child diagnosed with autism. In her public testimony, she recounts a painful journey marked by experiences of exclusion and lack of understanding within her evangelical community in Brazil. In many religious contexts, autistic existence is not interpreted as part of human diversity but as a spiritual deviation to be corrected. This article proposes the concept of espectrocide, a term that designates the symbolic, epistemic, and affective erasure of autistic identities, as a tool for analyzing the specific effects of religious discourse and practices on autistic people (Freitas & Franco, in press).
More specifically, religious espectrocide refers to the symbolic and structural silencing of autistic people within religious environments. It manifests not only in attempts to “heal” or normalize autistic individuals but also in the refusal to adapt communal practices to their needs. In Michelle’s story, this violence is not explicitly stated but imposed through the inaccessibility of sacred spaces and the emotional isolation experienced by caregivers. As she describes, the difficulty begins with sensory overload:
“The biggest challenge for my son is being in enclosed spaces with many people… because of the noise, right? He feels exposed. He feels cornered, and when it’s too loud, he screams, he has a meltdown.” [1]
These spaces, instead of offering refuge, become settings of psychological distress. Her son’s body reacts, protests, but his pain is read as disruption. The community’s response is not empathy, but silence and judgment:
“Why doesn’t so-and-so respect me? Respect my son? Respect my family? Why do they see my son screaming and not lower the sound?”
Michelle’s question is rhetorical—it exposes the systemic absence of inclusion within the church. Her testimony reflects what Bader Sawaia (2012) would call ethical-political suffering: the experience of pain that arises when social structures deny recognition and belonging.
In the face of such denial, Michelle makes a painful yet firm decision:
“I decided to stop going to Sunday services because I saw his suffering… I used to leave church feeling sad.”
This gesture—leaving the temple and the religious community to protect her son—is not a resignation, but an ethical act of resistance. It challenges the notion that faith must be practiced at the cost of bodily suffering. Her strength does not come from institutional support, but from her own lived experience and faith:
“We learn to deal with these situations… I believe that God gives us strength and wisdom to face it all.”
Michelle’s spirituality is not dogmatic, but relational. It is not based on abstract doctrines but on the radical act of seeing and protecting the other. As she says:
“Many times I had to take my son’s little hand and leave the room, with tears in my eyes, but holding them back.”
This silent exit embodies the silencing faced by many families. However, by choosing to leave—not as an escape but as an act of care—Michelle disrupts the cycle of religious espectrocide. Her reflection is also a call to faith communities: to move from spiritual neglect to radical welcome. Her decision to prioritize her son is not a lack of devotion, but its deepest expression. As she affirms:
“I realized I can’t keep letting my son suffer… I learned to have this perspective, to prioritize my son.”
Michelle’s story urges us to re-signify the sacred—not as a temple to be attended at all costs, but as a space built through love, justice, and neurodiversity. Her testimony is theology in practice. It is a refusal of ableist liturgies and an affirmation of a new religious ethic—one that listens, embraces, and transforms.
References
[1] Escola Metodista de Educação Especial O Semeador. (2021, August 16). Michelle, mãe de David, compartilha sua experiência no projeto “Lugar de Fala” [Video]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16Wnnw6f6/
Freitas, R. V. de, & Franco, C. D. (in press). Espectrocídio religioso: o autismo diante da violência da cura e da pureza. Estudos de Religião. São Bernardo do Campo: Universidade Metodista de São Paulo.
Sawaia, B. B. (2012). As artimanhas da exclusão (12th ed.). Petrópolis, RJ: Vozes.
© Rodrigo Vieira de Freitas, 2025.
This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Cover Image: Provided by the author.
Rodrigo Vieira de Freitas
Rodrigo Vieira de Freitas is a Masters student in Religious Studies at Universidade Metodista de São Paulo (UMESP). He is a psychologist, educator, theologian, and an autistic person. His research focuses on neurodiversity, ableism, and critical disability theories. He is a founding member of the Autistic Collective at UMESP.
