In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal – Netflix Docu-Series

IN THE NAME OF GOD: A HOLY BETRAYAL on Netflix is a new True Crime Docu-Series from South Korea. In eight episodes, it covers the brutal stories of how four Korean religious leaders abused their followers. Read our full In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal review here!

IN THE NAME OF GOD: A HOLY BETRAYAL is new Netflix documentary series from South Korea. It’s true crime of the religious-based variety and it is brutal. This docu-series has eight episodes which might seem like a lot. However, four different religious leaders are covered, so it’s not just one church or “prophet” covered here.

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I have always been very fascinated by the brainwashing that is a huge part of organized religion. Particularly of the cult or fundamental variety, obviously. Naturally, that means this is the kind of documentary I can’t stop watching.

Continue reading our In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal review below. Find all eight episodes on Netflix from March 3, 2023.

Religion as a tool of power

I have watched many documentaries about true crime and religion. Some are direct and very fact-based, and others are more emotionally charged. Both can work for me as long as there’s a focus on facts and evidence to back up the claims made.

In this new Netflix true crime docu-series, facts and evidence are constantly at the forefront. So is the emotional aspect since former followers of the various churches are part of this documentary. It’s efficient and makes for an even scarier watch.

The four religious leaders in In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal claim to be prophets. This alone means they’re in positions of absolute power. After all, they are virtually representing God on this Earth.

In fact, some even state “I am the Lord” or something to this effect. Others claim to be the second coming of the Messiah and have elaborate calculations as to why. The latter is from the first story which revolves around the JMS Church. This story gets the first three episodes alone. And there is plenty of content [i.e. crimes] for such a long runtime.

Don’t blame the victims!

For the record, I might refer to the people in these churches (or cults, as they should be called) as being brainwashed. However, I do not blame any of the victims. Sure, some have been victimized more than others. In fact, some have benefited from being part of cults.

Yet, you have to acknowledge that many have been raised to believe in religious leaders. Whatever they say, you have to believe and respect them. That’s why organized religion that teaches obedience is so dangerous. Virtually every church benefits from this, and their followers suffer from it.

While it’s easy to blame the victims, we don’t know all the hows and why’s of their situation. We do, however, know that they’ve been abused terribly. This goes for all religions, cults, sects, MLM, etc.

To be honest, I’m saying this mostly as a reminder to myself as well. I can get so angry and wonder “Why did you put up with this craziness?!”, but then I stop myself. The victims are never the problem. The perpetrators are. Period!

Watch In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal on Netflix now!

As mentioned initially, this docu-series covers four religious leaders over its eight episodes. JMS is the focus of the first three episodes. After JMS, we move on to the three other religious leaders and their churches. The second is from “Five Oceans” in episode 4, followed by “The Baby Garden” in episodes 5 and 6. Finally, there’s “God of Manmin” in episodes 7 and 8.

In every story, there is abuse (including sexual abuse of minors), violence in various forms, and quite a lot of deaths.

You’ll probably prefer one of the stories for some reason. Maybe it speaks to you more or you like that it’s shorter or longer with fewer or more facts. Personally, I feel like they’re all important and cover quite different aspects of power and obedience.

It’s scary and fascinating, but more than anything, it’s important that we acknowledge these issues and crimes. Only by doing this, can we hope to stop – or at least minimize – that they continue happening. Of course, you could argue that politics and ideology are becoming the new religion of many. Maybe we’ll be getting documentaries on the problems there soon?!

In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal is on Netflix from March 3, 2023.