Oregon is beautiful. It’s green, it’s progressive, and it’s home to some of the most stringent child welfare laws in the country. But for decades, a small, insular religious community in Oregon City and the surrounding Willamette Valley has been at the center of a legal and ethical firestorm. You might have heard of them: the Followers of Christ Oregon. They aren’t your typical church. They don’t have a website. They don't have a public relations team. They just have a graveyard that tells a story most people find impossible to stomach.
If you drive through certain parts of Clackamas County, you'll find the General Church of the Followers of Christ. From the outside, it looks unassuming. Just a building. But the theology practiced inside has led to some of the most high-profile criminal trials in Oregon history.
It’s about faith healing. Or, more accurately, the total rejection of modern medicine in favor of prayer, anointing with oil, and the laying on of hands.
What the Followers of Christ Oregon Believe
To understand the Followers of Christ Oregon, you have to look back at their roots. They aren't a new cult. They’ve been around for over a century, tracing their lineage back to a man named Edmund Creffield and later, George White and Walter White. They believe the Bible is literal. Specifically, they lean hard on James 5:14-15. It says if you're sick, call the elders, pray, and God will save you.
Most churches read that and think, "Sure, pray, but also go to the ER if your appendix bursts." The Followers of Christ don’t see it that way. To them, seeking a doctor’s help is a sign of a lack of faith. It’s almost a form of idolatry. They’ve built a community that is incredibly tight-knit—marrying within the church, working for one another, and living in a self-imposed bubble.
This isn't about people being "stupid." That's a common misconception. These are often hardworking, skilled tradespeople. But the social pressure is immense. If you’ve lived your whole life in a group where everyone you love believes doctors are the enemy, walking into a hospital feels like a betrayal of your soul and your family.
It's heavy stuff. Honestly, it's heartbreaking when you look at the outcomes.
The Legal Turning Point in 2011
For a long time, Oregon law actually protected these practices. There were "faith healing loopholes" in the homicide and manslaughter statutes. Basically, if you killed your kid through medical neglect but did it for religious reasons, you had a legal shield.
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That changed because of the bodies.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, the Oregonian newspaper did some incredible investigative work. They looked at the church’s cemetery. They found a shocking number of headstones for infants and children. Many had died from things that are easily treatable in the 21st century. Pneumonia. Infections. Diabetes.
The public outcry was massive.
- First, the legislature started chipping away at the protections in 1999.
- Then, in 2011, Oregon passed a law that completely removed the faith-healing defense for neonaticide and manslaughter.
This was a big deal. It meant that "I was praying for them" was no longer a valid excuse in a courtroom when a child died of a treatable illness. Since then, we’ve seen several high-profile cases involving members of the Followers of Christ Oregon.
The Cases of Dale and Shannon Hickman
You can't talk about this group without mentioning the Hickmans. In 2009, Shannon Hickman gave birth at home. The baby, David, was born prematurely. He had severe respiratory distress. Instead of calling 911, the family prayed. They anointed the baby with oil.
David died less than nine hours later.
Medical examiners were clear: he had a 99% chance of survival if they had just gone to a hospital. The Hickmans were eventually convicted of second-degree manslaughter. They got six years in prison. During the trial, the tension was thick. You had a family that truly believed they were doing the right thing for their child’s eternal soul, pitted against a state that says a child’s right to live outweighs a parent’s right to religious expression.
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It's a clash of fundamental rights.
The Hickmans aren't the only ones. The Schaible family—though part of a similar but separate group in Philadelphia—had a nearly identical story. In Oregon, the Beagley family also faced the courts after their son, Neil, died of a urinary tract blockage. A simple surgery would have saved him. Instead, he suffered a slow, painful death.
Is the Community Changing?
People ask if the Followers of Christ Oregon are still active. Yes. They are.
But things are shifting, even if it's slow. Some younger members have started to quietly seek medical care. There’s a "shunning" risk, of course. If you go to the doctor, you might be kicked out of the only world you’ve ever known. That’s a terrifying prospect for someone with no outside support system.
There’s also the influence of groups like Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty (CHILD), founded by Rita Swan. She was a former Christian Scientist who lost her son to a treatable infection and spent her life fighting to end religious exemptions. Her work, and the work of local activists, has kept the spotlight on Oregon City.
The church remains private. They don't recruit. They don't want you in their business. But the state is now very much in their business. Clackamas County authorities keep a much closer eye on births and deaths within the community than they used to.
The Nuance of Religious Freedom
It’s easy to get angry at the Followers of Christ Oregon. It’s much harder to understand the psychological grip of a lifelong belief system. To them, the world is a temporary testing ground. The afterlife is what matters.
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The legal system in Oregon has decided that the state’s "parens patriae" interest—the duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves—is more important than the religious freedom of the parents in these specific instances.
- Parents have the right to raise children in their faith.
- Parents do not have the right to deny life-saving medical care.
That is the line in the sand.
Actionable Insights and Reality Checks
If you are researching this group or live in an area where faith-healing communities exist, here is what you actually need to know about the current landscape.
Know the Mandatory Reporting Laws
In Oregon, almost everyone who works with children is a mandatory reporter. If you suspect a child is being denied medical care for any reason—religious or otherwise—you are legally obligated to report it to the Department of Human Services (DHS). You don't need "proof," just a reasonable suspicion.
Understand the "Mature Minor" Doctrine
In some states, including Oregon, older minors (usually 15 and up) have some rights to seek medical care without parental consent for certain things. However, in these insular groups, a 15-year-old rarely knows these rights exist or has the means to exercise them.
The Role of the Medical Examiner
One of the biggest deterrents for the Followers of Christ Oregon hasn't just been the jail time, but the fact that the State Medical Examiner now investigates every death in the community. There is no more "quiet burial." This transparency has forced a level of accountability that didn't exist thirty years ago.
Support Systems for Leavers
If you or someone you know is trying to leave a high-control religious group like this, there are resources. Organizations like the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) provide counseling and support for the specific trauma of "de-programming" and the loss of family networks.
The story of the Followers of Christ Oregon is a sobering reminder that laws aren't just words on a page. They are often written in response to tragedy. Oregon’s move to close faith-healing loopholes has saved lives, but the tension between the ancient ways of this church and the modern world is far from over. It exists in the quiet houses of Oregon City, where prayer remains the first, and sometimes only, line of defense.