Religion in the News.

[eyeshaveit]

Jehovah's Witnesses' Iconic Watchtower Sign to be Removed

"Brooklyn?s skyline has undergone a lot of changes recently, but none perhaps more dramatic than this.
It?s time to say farewell to the Jehovah's Witnesses' famed "Watchtower" emblem that has stood perched over Brooklyn Heights for decades. The Witnesses filed a permit to remove the 15-foot-tall letters from the roof of its former headquarters earlier this month.

"The removal process will cost approximately $70,500, according to documents from the city's Department of Buildings. The frame of the sign will remain intact.

"Kushner Cos., CIM Group and LIVWRK bought the 733,000-square-foot world headquarters at 25-30 Columbia Heights and the religious group?s 1.1-million square-foot as-of-right development site at 85 Jay St. in August 2016, city Finance Department records indicate.

"The pricing for the two properties was about $700 million. The complex at 25-30 Columbia Heights was bought for $340 million. Jared Kushner headed Kushner Cos. before he stepped aside to serve as senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump"

Scott Enman - Brooklyn Daily Eagle - June 29, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

University in Oklahoma considers removing Bibles and crosses from chapel

"A university in Oklahoma said it will consider removing religious icons from its campus chapel after receiving a letter from a group advocating their removal. East Central University, which is southeast of Oklahoma City, said in a statement on Friday that the school had planned to remove the religious items, but its president said it would get feedback first from students, faculty and community members.

?We moved too quickly,? Katricia Pierson, president of the university, said in a statement. ?We regret not taking time to pause and thoughtfully consider the request and the results of our actions on all of the students, faculty and community members who we serve.?

"Pierson said the university had removed some items from the chapel, which is used for gatherings of various religious groups, student clubs and events, to show support for all cultures and religious beliefs. In a statement on Thursday, Pierson had said the school was ?looking at the feasibility? of removing the cross from the chapel?s steeple, according to the Associated Press. A spokeswoman said the university is closed, and no one was available to do interviews."

Sarah Pulliam Bailey - Washington Post - June 30, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

New Smithsonian Exhibit - How Religion Shaped America

"Religion has played an outsized role in U.S. history and politics, but it?s one that has often gone unrecognized in U.S. museums. ?As a focused subject area, it?s been neglected,? says Peter Manseau, a scholar and writer installed last year as the first full-time religion curator at the Smithsonian Institution?s National Museum of American History. America?s exceptional commitment to religious freedom stems from the diversity of its faith traditions. The rebellious attitudes prevalent in frontier settlements fostered the growth of evangelical movements. African slaves introduced Islam to America. The drive to abolish slavery was led largely by Christian preachers.

?We can?t tell the story of America without telling the story of religion,? Manseau says, ?and we can?t answer questions about the importance of religion today without going back to earlier generations.? Manseau?s appointment as curator and his inaugural Religion in Early America exhibit signal ?the beginning of a renewed engagement with the role of religion in American history,? according to John L. Gray, the museum director. Each of the objects in Manseau?s exhibit adds a special dimension to the larger narrative.

"The oldest item in the collection is the Bay Psalm Book, a translation of the Psalms assembled by a team of educated Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1640. The Puritans split from the Church of England, determined to purify the practice of their faith. The only songs they allowed in their worship were the Psalms, but they needed a Psalm book for their services. ?It?s a great example of the do-it-yourself approach to American religion that you see again and again,? says Manseau. ?Separated from the cultures in which these traditions were born, there?s a need to improvise, a need to make things new, with the materials at hand.? The persecution that Puritans faced in England was a key factor driving them to the New World. So it also was with Quakers, Baptists, Shakers, Jews, and other religious minorities, all of whom saw America as a place they would finally be free to practice their faith.

?This country, somewhat uniquely, is a nation of transplanted religions,? Manseau says, ?interacting with the beliefs and practices that were here, but also with new traditions coming in, learning and needing to negotiate, to compromise, and finding ways to live together. The practical implication of this diversity was religious freedom and the disestablishment of any particular church.? The idea of rebelling against conventionally practiced religion is a big part of America?s faith history. George Whitefield, an Anglican minister from England, was such an outspoken and controversial preacher that he was not welcome in most churches, so he built his own pulpit and took it on the road, preaching outdoors to crowds that numbered in the thousands.

"Whitefield?s portable pulpit, about six feet tall, with hinged sides, is in the Smithsonian exhibit. ?You could fold it up and strap it to the side of a horse or throw it in the back of a cart,? Manseau notes. The itinerant preacher is believed to have used it about 2,000 times, thus pioneering the great revival meetings that became a key feature of evangelical Christianity in the United States. Whitefield?s popular appeal demonstrated the deep religiosity of many Americans in the colonial era, but some of their founding fathers weren?t so devout. As a man of reason, Thomas Jefferson struggled with Christianity, trying to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the ideals of the Enlightenment. His idea was to edit the Bible, literally.

Working in the four languages familiar to him ? English, French, Greek, and Latin ? Jefferson went through several copies of the New Testament, following the scripture closely. ?With a pen knife, he would remove those sections that he agreed with and found useful, and then he glued them together in this four-column book,? Manseau says, pointing to a yellowing cut-and-pasted Bible in a display case, ?one column for each language.? Jefferson called his version of the New Testament ?The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.? The Smithsonian exhibit includes one of the Bibles that Jefferson cut apart, as well as the one he created from his pasted clippings.

"Though America is often portrayed as a Christian nation, its religious history is more complex, as the exhibit makes clear. Many of the African slaves brought to America were Muslims. Some were literate in Arabic, and did their best to maintain their faith. One, a man named Bilali Muhammed, wrote a thirteen page text in Arabic, which has been preserved and is displayed in the exhibit. ?It is a very simple document,? Manseau says. ?It contains some basics of Islamic practice, [such as] ?These are the times at which we pray. This is why we wash our hands. This is why we wash our feet before we pray.??

Religious faith was key to the abolition of slavery. The Religion in Early America exhibit tells that story in part through a pair of saddlebags, once belonging to a former slaveholder named Freeborn Garretson, a plantation owner and man of wealth in Maryland. Garretson was also a religious man, and one Sunday morning, while reading the Bible, he was suddenly struck by a thought from above, which he interpreted as the voice of God, commanding him to let his slaves go free.

"From that day on, Garretson was a committed abolitionist and spent the rest of his days as an itinerant minister, traveling on horseback from plantation to plantation, preaching the evils of slavery and trying to convince other slaveowners that they were violating God?s will. Garretson?s saddlebags are on display in the exhibit as, in Manseau?s words, ?the iconic objects of itinerant preachers throughout early America. ? He says Garretson carried Christian tracts in the bags, as well as pro-abolition writings which he shared with the people whose opinions he was hoping to change.

"The ?Religion in Early America? exhibits will continue at the Smithsonian?s National Museum of American History for a full year."

Tom Gjelten - National Public Radio

[eyeshaveit]

Gospel Sermons on Phonograph Records

"While the folk preachers may have perfected their preaching skills in Southern churches, they broadened their reach through phonograph records. From the mid-1920s well into the Depression, there were roughly 85 preachers whose hundreds of singing sermons were recorded and heard throughout the black community nationwide via 78-rpm records.

"On their records ? none longer than three minutes in duration ? the preachers, in ?call and response? with a handful of select ?sanctified? congregants, would sing and opine in rhythm and rhyme about everyday realities like ?always pay your furniture man? or ?is there harm in singing the blues??

"Their records were advertised in nationally distributed black newspapers, such as The Pittsburgh Courier and The Chicago Defender. Their names were famous within the African-American community and some of the better sellers included Rev. J. C. Burnett, Rev. T.N.T. Burton, Rev. A.W. Nix, and Rev. Sundown Jesse. The most prolific of all was Rev. J. M. Gates of Atlanta, Georgia. His more than a hundred sermons were released on a variety of labels ? Paramount, Columbia, Vocalion, Okeh and Victor ? that specialized in records that catered to ?race.?

What gave Rev. Gates prominence, besides his stellar performances, were his sensational titles, many drawn from biblical verse, others from African-American vernacular. The titles enticed people to buy the record to find out more.

?Dead Cat on the Line? was Rev. Gates taking on marriage infidelity. He opened the sermon by saying: ?If a child is no way like his father, there?s a dead cat on the line.? His reference was to a time when a cat might get up on the power lines and die from electrocution, cutting off telegraph signals so no messages could get through. The phrase meant ?we?re not communicating here.? But with the dead cat festering up there, Gates was also alluding to the problems of infidelity.

?Kinky Hair is No Disgrace? spoke to demoralization stemming from negative value placed on ?negro? features.? Gates preached: ?Skin and hair don?t make the inside of man or woman good?Remember that God looks on the inside and man looks on the outside?And a whole lot of this hair straightening is just strictly so men can see it?You needn?t worry about your hair?You straighten your heart or your brain?Get something straight on the inside. You know it!?

And his masterpiece was based on a line from the Gospel of Matthew, ?Straining at a Gnat and Swallowing a Camel.? ?Straining at a gnat,? implied getting worked up about small matters, and ?swallowing a camel? was a reminder to people about missing what was truly important right in front of them, in this case the incongruities of racism.

?You! You negro-haters. You that can?t sit with him on the street car. You that can?t eat at the same table with him. I?m talking about you who can?t sit in your own automobile with him. Aah, but I?ll tell you what you can do. You can eat what they cook. Sleep in their bed. You can let them drive your car while you sit in the rear and he handle your life in his hands. You?re straining at a gnat and swallowin? a camel.?

"The music of Rev. Gates and his fellow preachers provided the sonic moments for the religious seeds of the budding Civil Rights Movement."

Jerry Zolten - Religious News Service - July 2, 2017

[eyeshaveit]

Pope Francis flexes his muscle

"There are two ways of looking at the Roman Catholic Church under the rule of Pope Francis: an increasingly tolerant, inclusive, mercy-based charity, or a spectator blood-sport between ideological rivals who will reconcile their differences. Under the second scenario, Francis just scored what might be a knockout punch.

"By removing Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig M?ller as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Francis neutralized one of the few princes of the church whose job it was to call out the pope for his seemingly endless appetite for doctrinal change. M?ller, who was installed in his job by Francis?s predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, represented the conservative wing of the church that has looked askance at the current pontiff?s disregard for centuries-old tradition and restrictions.

"Making matters even worse, Francis replaced M?ller with Archbishop Luis Ladaria, who like Francis is a Jesuit. That reduces the likelihood that the pope will meet opposition from the one office in the church with the duty to interpret Catholic magisterium ? that is, spreading doctrinal teaching to the church?s billion plus adherents.

"Ever since Francis assumed the Throne of Peter in 2013, he and M?ller seemed to be on a collision course. Soon after becoming pope, Francis floated the idea of letting divorced Catholics who had remarried outside the church receive Holy Communion. In his role as chief interpreter of church doctrine, M?ller let the pope know that was a non-starter.   

"Nor was he pleased when Francis, answering a question about his feelings toward gay Catholics, shrugged and said, ?Who am I to judge?? When Francis announced that he wanted to create a commission to discuss allowing women to become deacons ? a job one step beneath the priesthood ? M?ller effectively quashed the idea. And when Francis was preparing his encyclical Amoris Laetitia, or the Joy of Family, M?ller?s proposed alterations were simply ignored.

"No chief executive can be expected to put up with insubordination for long, and Francis is within his rights to move M?ller out of his position. But the pope, despite his sweet smile and crowd-pleasing talk about making the Catholic Church more tolerant and focused on the poor, has created a serious division among the faithful.

"His suggestions that affluent Catholics give away their money, or that capitalism is a sin don?t wear well with some in the United States, which is by far the largest financial contributor to the Church?s coffers.

"If the pope intends to keep removing conservative thinkers from the Vatican?s inner ranks, he might find there is a price to pay for imposing his socialist agenda on an institution that has, after all, gotten along for more than 2,000 years without him"

John Moody - Fox News - July 2, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

Atheism a Death Sentence in Saudi Arabia

"Despite constant warnings issued by Saudi religious authorities about ?the dangers of atheism?, which is, according to them, ?tantamount to not believing in God?, many citizens in the kingdom are turning their backs on Islam. Among other things, perhaps what is primarily driving Saudis to abandon their religion is the country?s strict and dehumanising codex of Islamic law coupled with easy access to information and mass communication. Unfortunately, those who are open about their atheism find themselves harshly punished or forced to live double lives.

"Just recently Saudi Arabia sentenced another atheist to death for uploading a video renouncing Islam.  The man was identified as Ahmad Al-Shamri, in his 20s, from the town of Hafar Al-Batin, a village located in Saudi Arabia?s eastern province. In the video, Al-Shamri renounces Islam and makes disparaging remarks about the prophet Muhammad.

"Saudi authorities first picked him up in 2014 after he uploaded a series of videos reflecting his views on social media, which led to him being charged with ?atheism and blasphemy?.With leaving Islam punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, the country?s Supreme Court, which ruled against Al-Shamri on 25 April 2017, has effectively already pronounced the death sentence. Although court proceedings dealing with blasphemy, atheism or homosexuality may last for months, the sentence is far more likely to be known in advance ...

"In 2014, Saudi Arabia introduced a series of new laws in the form of royal decrees, which define atheists as terrorists. The new royal provisions define terrorism as ?calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which Saudi Arabia is based?.

"Conflating atheism and terrorism has become official in Saudi Arabia, by which non-believers who commit ?thought crimes? are the same as violent terrorists."

Hakim Khatib - Qantara.- July 3, 2017

[eyeshaveit]

ABC Annoys Australian Church Leaders

"ABC is planning to dump its executive producer of religion in a move savaged by Christian and Islamic leaders angry that the broadcaster will elevate a non-specialist to the once prestigious post.

"Religious leaders have slam?med the ABC for the alleged ?systematic dismantling? of religious programming, with managing ?director Michelle Guthrie warned that she could breach her commitment to 30 of the nation?s ?religious leaders last year that the broadcaster would maintain the quality of its religious content.

"The Australian understands the ABC?s executive producer of religion, Jane Jeffes, a religious broadcasting specialist, has been told she is ?potentially redundant?, with the role expected to be filled by Joe Gelonesi, who has ?experience in science, the arts and philosophy. Jeffes?s redundancy is expected to be confirmed this month.

"Under changes to the structure of religious programming at the ABC, the service will also be blended with the topic of ethics and moved under the control of Radio National, where Gelonesi has worked for more than a decade. The religion editor will have less capacity to initiate programs and appoint staff, but the head of science will remain a specialist in that genre.

"Religious figures argue the change is part of a move in the past few years by the ABC to diminish its religious content, while the former head of ABC Religion Radio, Paul Collins, accused management of a ?complete failure to understand the essential cultural role that the ABC plays in Australian society?. Mr Collins, who left the ABC in 1996, said the religion department used to employ 18 people across four states. He said that was now closer to five, all in Sydney.

?From the last board and the present board and through senior management, there is a complete failure to understand the essential cultural role that the ABC plays in Australian society,? he said. ?They just don?t get it.? Prominent Anglican minister Lynn Arnold said the move would weaken the ABC?s religious programming. Dr Arnold, a former Labor premier of South Australia and a doctor of philosophy, said the restructure differed from Ms Guthrie?s assurance to religious leaders in November.

"He said the ABC?s looming decision to replace Jeffes with a non-specialist appointment did not honour the spirit of the meeting between religious leaders and Ms Guthrie: ?We had been led to believe that in their program res?tructuring, there would be new initiatives in the area of religious broadcasting that (would) see movement of people but the overall impact would be neither a ?reduction in overall airtime or content quality.? The restructure comes after religious groups were critical that the religious radio show Sunday Nights with John Cleary was axed last year.

"An ABC spokesman said the broadcaster was committed to a wide range of religious programming. ?ABC radio is currently in consultation with staff regarding proposed changes to the management of its specialist genre units,? he said. ?An announcement on the outcome of this process will be made in due course. There will be no impact on specialist content or programming.?

"Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Philip Freier said the move was ?questionable? and slammed the broadcaster for giving ?vague? assurances. ?We were seeking to engage with the board but all the communications back to us have been triumphalism about the ABC?s performance when we know from other sources that the amount of content used is much less and the amount of resources being put into it is much less,? he said.

?I?m concerned about the blurring of religions and ethics as one topic. I think they are both important topics but putting them together obscures the distinctiveness of how religions are differently structured to ethics.? A spokesman for Forum on Australia?s Islamic Relations said it was surprising the ABC was considering replacing Jeffes. ?The direction the ABC is taking is the wrong direction. The person who is supposed to replace Jeffes does not have a strong religion background,? he said.

?They have culled a number of programs from the religious ?affairs unit and one of the best shows was Sunday Night with John Cleary. Those kinds of programs are needed more now than ever because the conflicts occurring around the world have rippling ?effects in Australia. If the ABC doesn?t talk about it, no one will.?? Uniting Church president Stuart McMillan said the ABC was not ?facing up? to its responsibilities as a public broadcaster.

?I think this is just another part of the systematic dismantling of quality religious programming by the public broadcaster and it denies their civic responsibility to the more than 60 per cent of the culturally and religiously diverse Australian community,? he said. Shane Healy, Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne media ?director, called it ?disappointing?.

Greg Brown - The Australian - July 4, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

Dear Prudence : Good Neighbors, Bad Religion ?

Question -
"I am guardian for my four grandchildren, as their father was killed in a car accident last year. They live with me and next to my very kind and often helpful neighbors who like to have the children over to visit (they are really cute, sweet kids), which is fine most of the time. The neighbors are younger than we are and have taught the children to Rollerblade and play piano, and they generally have a grand time together. However, they are extremely religious, and while I don?t mind them reading Bible stories or singing kids? hymns, they are starting to cross lines, such as telling the 5-year-old that Santa isn?t real (she still believed this last Christmas) and God doesn?t like Halloween because it is devil-worshipping. They also discourage the oldest one from dancing, telling her she?s ?too old??she?s 10. The kids visit one to two times a week, and it?s nice to have these wholesome folks take a real interest in them, but I don?t know how to tell them that the beliefs they hold, while fine for them, should not be discussed with the children. We don?t have a particular religion we practice?I was Catholic growing up but no longer observe?and I prefer the children not feel pressured this way. I don?t want the 5-year-old to feel bad because she wants to be a puppy on Halloween or the oldest to be told she isn?t behaving in a perfectly normal tween fashion. How can I express my concern without offending these folks and possibly ending our long-standing neighborly relationship?

Dear Prudence's Answer -
?I really appreciate the interest you?ve taken in the children, and they always love getting to play at your house. I?d like to ask you to refrain from talking to the kids about your religious beliefs, especially when it comes to normal childhood milestones like dancing to music or going trick-or-treating. I respect your religious views, and I?d like you to respect mine and how I?m raising my children.? If their response to being asked not to indoctrinate your children is anything other than ?Oh gosh, I?m so sorry, of course,? that?s regrettable but is not because what you asked was rude or out of line. If they bristle, and you think the long-standing positive relationship outweighs their occasional saying something like ?Halloween is for the devil,? then you can feel free to tell the children something like, ?The Howells are lovely people, but I don?t share their beliefs?I think Halloween/dancing/Santa Claus is a lot of fun. What do you think?

Mallory Ortberg (Dear Prudence) - Slate - July 5, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

Proof that religion is not a part of the foundation of the United States of America

?If I could conceive that the general government might ever be so administered as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg you will be persuaded, that no one would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny, and every species of religious persecution.? George Washington, 1789, letter to the United Baptist Chamber of Virginia.

?Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.? Thomas Jefferson, 1787, letter to Peter Carr.

?Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law. Take away the law-establishment, and every religion re-assumes its original benignity.? Thomas Paine, 1791, ?The Rights of Man.?

?Congress has no power to make any religious establishments.? Roger Sherman, 1789, Congress.

?The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.? Benjamin Franklin, 1758, ?Poor Richard?s Almanack.?

?I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people build a wall of separation between Church & State.? Thomas Jefferson, 1802, letter to the Danbury Baptists.

?To argue with a man who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.? Thomas Paine, 1776, ?The American Crisis No. V.?

?Our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry.? Thomas Jefferson, 1779, ?A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom.?

"The bottom line is that the Constitution was written by men who were dedicated to the concept of religious freedom and who were very concerned about the long history of members of one religious sect using their political power to coerce members of all other religious sects, as well as citizens who were agnostics or atheists. The more we allow religious beliefs to enter the public space, the less religious freedom we all will have.

Ed Birnbaum - Albuquerque Journal - July 7, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

The Vatican says, that the Eucharist cannot be 'Gluten-Free'

"The unleavened bread used to celebrate the Eucharist during Catholic masses can be made with genetically modified organisms, the Vatican said Saturday, but they cannot be entirely gluten-free. But low-gluten hosts are allowed as long as the wheat has enough gluten to obtain the bread without the use of additives or other "foreign materials". Cardinal Robert Sarah of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said the guidance was needed now that the Eucharistic bread and wine can be found in supermarkets and "even over the internet".

"In a letter issued last month, Sarah also reminded bishops that hosts should be made by people "distinguished by their integrity" -- and that adding fruit or sugar is a "grave abuse".

"It is altogether forbidden to use wine of doubtful authenticity or provenance," he added. But for people who cannot tolerate wine the use of mustum, or must, a thick non-fermented grape juice, is considered "valid matter" for the sacrament, which Catholics believe turns the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ."

France24 - July 8, 2017.

[Teaspoon Shallow]

George Pell to return to Australia to face historical sexual assault offences.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-29/cardinal-george-pell-charged-sexual-assault-offences/8547668

If he has protected sexual predators like so many in the RCC, Watch Tower, Mormons, Anglican and secular societies, I hope he justice is served to the best of their ability.

[eyeshaveit]

Presbyterian Church (USA) votes down marriage equality 

"The 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has voted against a marriage equality proposal. The civil union and marriage committee at the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) had voted in favor of amending the church?s directory of worship to change the definition of marriage from a ?man and a woman? to ?two persons.? The directory of worship is part of the Book of Order, the Presbyterian Church (USA) constitution.

"The general assembly, however, rejected the committee?s recommendation and voted 308-338 against the proposal and will not change the church?s definition of marriage. The general assembly did, after about four hours of debate, vote for a proposal calling for two years of  ?serious study and discernment? regarding Christian marriage.

?While we are thrilled with yet another study, it doesn?t give any relief to those of us in states where same-sex marriage is legal,? said Karen Bartel, a ruling elder from the Presbytery of East Iowa.

"Also, earlier in the week, the committee narrowly voted down a proposal that would have allowed Presbyterians ministers to officiate gay and lesbian wedding ceremonies in states that have marriage equality.

"For now, reports the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, there is no official resolution of the pastoral crisis many affirming Presbyterian ministers are experiencing in states that recognize gay and lesbian couples? unions."

Wisconsin Gazette - July 7, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

news
South African religious practitioner must be registered                                   

"Every religious practitioner must be registered and fall under umbrella organizations. Every registered religious leader should have a location where he or she conducts religious ceremonies and this could be churches? homes? mosques? temples? mountains? open fields and tents.

"These are the recommendations made by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural? Religious and Linguistic Communities. The commission presented its report to Parliament last week following its investigation into the ?Commercialisation of Religion and Abuse of People?s Belief Systems?. The commission undertook this investigation following media reports about instances in places of religious worship which put the lives of congregants in danger.

"These included reports about religious leaders feeding congregants snakes and grass and giving them paraffin to drink.

"According to the recommendations? each worship centre would freely form their umbrella organisations and these umbrella organisations must be registered and known to peer-review committees. These committees will each cover a particular religion? for example? one for Christians and one for Muslims. These committees will ensure there is religious self-regulation and accountability. The peer-review committee will be the final mediator of disputes within their own religion.

"Some religious leaders have been opposed to the convening of this investigation? fearing that the commission would interfere with freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution. Briefing the media on Tuesday? commission chairperson Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said the Constitution also stated that everyone had the right to choose a trade? including being a religious leader? and that the practice of a trade or occupation may be regulated by law.

"She said the aim of the investigation was to protect the congregants. She said the investigation found that there was no comprehensive database of religious leaders and there were a high number of unregistered institutions.

"The commission also found that the death of worshippers using faith products and defaulting on their chronic medication was high. It also found that there were ?cult-like? religious organisations which engaged in controversial practices like asking congregants to eat grass or drink petrol. Mkhwanazi-Xaluva said she knew there were those religious leaders who would not want the current arrangement to be changed. ?We are convinced the majority of reasonable religious leaders will agree with us?? she said.

"However? Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA)? said it was not persuaded that licensing of practitioners was the way to go. Michael Swain? executive director of FOR SA? said the state had no business meddling with religion. Swain said the organisation represents six million people from 227 denominations? churches and other religious groups. ?We are not persuaded that licensing is the solution.? Swain said the organisation was waiting for an opportunity to make submissions to the portfolio committee on co-operative governance and traditional affairs. Swain said although religion was a ?profession?? it cannot be compared to careers like law? medicine and financial services.

"Swain said the country had laws which dealt with every abuse that the commission had identified.
He said the proposal that peer-review committees should advise the commission was the clearest indication that the commission? an institution of the state? wanted to meddle in religious affairs."

Ernest Mabuza - South Africa Sunday Times - July 11, 2017

[eyeshaveit]

Is Religion is a form of Mental Illness?

"A Stanford University professor has been teaching for years that religion is a form of mental illness, according to a Tuesday report from The Independent highlighting the lessons. Professor Robert Sapolsky teaches Stanford students that religion in all of its forms, regardless of benefits, is an irrationality and a kind of ?organized schizophrenia,? and has made these claims since at least 2009.

"Sapolsky said religious rituals were regarded as expressions of obsessive compulsive disorder, as opposed to a voluntary discipline, and claimed that fervently held religious belief and sustained interest in religion stemmed from damage to the brain and epilepsy. ?We are permeated by irrationality,? Sapolsky said in a recorded lecture from 2009. He continues to teach in Stanford University?s biology department."

Article includes 20 minute recorded lecture:
http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/11/atheist-stanford-professor-teaches-religion-is-mental-illness/

[eyeshaveit]

"I think the thing that?s most disturbing is the megachurch because megachurches are not churches. My feeling is that when you?re a pastor, you know the people?s names. When 5,000 people come into the church, you don?t know anybody?s name. I don?t think you can be a pastor with just a bunch of anonymous people out there. In the megachurch, well, there?s no relationship with anybody. I think the nature of the church is relational. If you don?t know these people that you?re praying with and talking with and listening to, what do you have? I feel pretty strongly about that.

"Now there?s a lot of innovation in the church, and overall, I can?t say I?m disheartened. I?m just upset by the fad-ism of the megachurch, but I just don?t think they?re churches. They?re entertainment places."

Eugene Peterson, commenting on the Christian megachurch in a recent interview.

[Inertialmass]

Is Religion is a form of Mental Illness?

Speaking of Orthodox Jew-turned-atheist Robert Sapolsky:


http://mondoweiss.net/2015/02/professors-divestment-occupation/

Stanford professors call for divestment from Israeli occupation ahead of student govt vote

We, the undersigned faculty members, respectfully ask the ASSU to pass the bill currently before it.  The bill asks the university to stop investing in companies that profit from the occupation of Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967.  This is entirely consistent with, indeed required by, the University Code of Conduct, which requires that members of the Stanford community ?maintain the highest standards of integrity.?

The bill asks that Stanford divest from corporations that profit from maintaining the infrastructure of Israel?s 48-year long illegal occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and of the Gaza Strip, and enabling the collective punishment of civilians in those territories, as well as acts of mass incarceration, repression of unarmed protesters, and the denial of rights to work and economic well-being.

To achieve this goal, it selectively targets multinational companies that violate international humanitarian law and human rights in the Occupied Palestine Territories and here in the United States.  Companies like Motorola Solutions, Veolia, Cement Roadstone Holdings, Elbit Systems profit from constructing the physical infrastructure of the occupation, including settlements of Israeli Jews implanted in the West Bank, which violates Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention and UN Security Council Resolution 465 of 1980 (among many others), and a separation barrier that effectively annexes 9.5% of the West Bank, which a 14-1 vote of the International Court of Justice ruled illegal in July 2004.  Lockheed Martin, Caterpillar, G4S, Defense Technology Corporation, and Combined Tactical Systems provide hardware and military equipment used to enforce the occupation, confiscate Palestinian lands, demolish Palestinian homes, and carry out acts of mass incarceration (over 800,000 Palestinians since 1967), transfer Palestinians outside of the West Bank, and impose collective punishment, which violate Articles 33, 49 and 76 of the 4th Geneva Convention.

Some argue that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a problem of ?multiple narratives.?  But there is no question about the facts of the case at hand relating to Israel?s occupation of the territories seized in the June 1967 War ? they are verified by internationally recognized sources such as the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Israeli Human Rights organizations like B?Tselem, and Israeli news sources.  These facts support the international consensus that the Occupation is illegal and the actions undertaken by the State of Israel to enforce it violate international law.

Therefore, Stanford must distance itself from them, as the Code of Conduct requires that, ?No unethical practice can be tolerated because it is ?customary? outside of Stanford or that it serves other worthy goals.  Expediency should never compromise integrity.?  We are asking Stanford to uphold its proclaimed values.

We reject the notion that divestment unfairly singles out one country for condemnation.  The enormous amount of US aid to Israel (at least $3 billion annually, more than any other country in the world receives) already makes us in the United States complicit with Israel?s actions.  We equally reject the claim that divestment is a form of anti-Semitism or in any way directed against Jewish students on campus.  Divestment is directed against the policies of the state of Israel.  By supporting divestment, we believe we are doing what we can locally, within the Stanford community.

We stand in the proud tradition of previous faculty actions, against the South African apartheid regime, against investments in fossil fuel, and others.  We believe it behooves us as educators to not only train our students to be world citizens and world leaders, but also to mode ourselves actions that embody the best aspects of world citizenship, beginning with upholding international law and opposing those who do not.

Respectfully,
1.Joel Beinin, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History
2.Eamonn Callan, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Pigott Family School of Education Professor, and Professor, by courtesy, of Philosophy
3.Clayborne Carson, Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor
4.David Como, Associate Professor of History
5.Robert Crews, Associate Professor of History
6.Mark Crimmins, Associate Professor of Philosophy
7.J.P. Daughton, Associate Professor of History and, by courtesy, of French and Italian
8.James Ferguson, Susan S. and William H. Hindle Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences
9.Kenneth Fields, Professor of English
10.Thomas Blom Hansen, Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor in South Asian Studies and Professor in Anthropology
11.Robert Finn, Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus
12.Leslie Hill, Associate Professor (Teaching) of Theater and Performance Studies
13.Doug McAdam, Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor
14.Cherr?e L. Moraga, Artist in Residence, Department of Theater and Performance Studies, Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity
15.Andrea Nightingale, Professor of Classics
16.David Palumbo-Liu, Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor
17.Mar?a Paz Haro, Professor Emerita, Iberian and Latin American Studies
18.Robert Proctor, Professor of History and, by courtesy, of Medicine
19.Rush Rehm, Professor of Theater and Performance Studies and Classics
20.Professor Joan Ramon Resina, Professor of Iberian and Latin Cultures, and of Comparative Literature
21.Paul Robinson, Richard W. Lyman Professor in the Humanities, Emeritus
22.Robert Sapolsky, John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor and Professor of Neurology and of Neurosurgery
23.Priya Satia, Associate Professor of History
24.Paul Seaver, Professor of History Emeritus
25.Thomas Wasow, Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy, Emeritus
26.Sylvia Yanagisako, Edward Clark Crossett Professor of Humanistic Studies
27.Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano, Professor of Iberian and Latin American Cultures, Emerita
28.Richard White, Margaret Byrne Professor of American History
29.Khalil Barhoum, Senior Lecturer in Arabic
30.Todd Davies, Lecturer in Symbolic Systems
31.Linda Hess, Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies

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RIP, Anti-Mormon Literature

"What is going on with the disappearance of anti-Mormon literature? Here are four possible explanations. I?m sure even more will become apparent over time.

1 - Publishing is changing. Some topics are so comprehensively covered online now that only the oldest and least Internet-savvy readers might actually buy books about them. That?s true of a number of categories that used to generate strong book sales, like books about TV shows, heroic pets, or annual almanacs. When the same information is available for free at a user?s fingertips, it?s hard to justify the purchase price of a book.

2 - Mormons are boring. Mormons just aren?t that exotic anymore, darn our hides. Readers are still willing to pay for polygamists? memoirs because those stories remain quite different from the mainstream and have residual shock value. Mainstream Mormon families are pretty milquetoast by comparison. Who wants to read an expos? about their neighbor family?s adventures in a beige minivan? Where the littlest one poops in the car seat on the way to church? Yeah, I didn?t think so.

3 - Evangelicals care less about theology than they used to. Sociologists have noted a trend over the last few decades that suggests theology is not as important as it used to be in the minds of most American Christians. If Americans are fussed about religion at all (and a growing number aren?t), they are more concerned with behavior and political views than with orthodox belief. And many self-professed evangelicals don?t even know their own theological tenets, according to a LifeWay study released last year. More than half, for example, agreed that Jesus was the ?first and greatest being created by God??an Arian heresy that?s anathema to classically-defined evangelicalism. If evangelicals don?t care about (or even know about) their own theology, the whole raison d??tre of anti-Mormon lit has just gone up in smoke.

4 - Mormonism is no longer a threat, because it?s growing far more slowly. In the heady days of the 1960s through the 1980s, when Mormonism was adding to its membership at rates between three and nearly nine (!) percent a year, evangelicals were crapping their pants because of us. Now, with our growth rates slowly dipping to between 1.5 and 2 percent a year, we?re not nearly so scary. Mormonism is still growing, but the rate of that growth has significantly decelerated worldwide. Moreover, what growth does occur is largely happening in the global south. If Mormonism?s most promising areas of conversion are in West Africa rather than the western U.S., American evangelicals are not going to get terribly exercised about it."

Jane Reiss - Religious News Service - July 11, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

The Generosity Gap - Latest Barna Report

"Among the study?s key findings:

*Nineteen in 20 Christians surveyed (96%) said generosity is important to them.

*Just one in six Christians (16%) said they are most often generous to others through monetary support.

*One-third of Christians surveyed (32 percent) most strongly associated generosity with service or volunteering, and 30 percent associated it with emotional or relational support. About one in five Christians (22 percent) connected it with giving money, 12 percent associated it with hospitality, and five percent said it was giving non-monetary gifts. When segmented by generations, Millennials were least likely to associate generosity with monetary giving (13 percent).

*Just more than half of Christians surveyed (56 percent) said they gave less than $50 to church and charity last year. Eighty-four percent of Millennials reported that they gave less than $50 dollars, the highest percentage of all generational segments. Nearly four in five Millennials (78%) said they were satisfied with their level of giving.

*While strong majorities of pastors and Christians agreed that generosity is always or often a response to Christ?s love, pastors were more likely to hold this belief (91 percent vs. 73 percent).

*Nearly half (47 percent) of Christians surveyed agreed that it is okay for church members who volunteer extensively not to give financially; just nine percent of pastors surveyed agreed (and 85 percent disagree).

A Barna Report Produced in Partnership with Thrivent Financial
www.barna.com/generosity

[eyeshaveit]

Quaker group takes religious pilgrimage to protest coal power plant

"A group of mostly Quakers walked for seven days from Portsmouth, New Hampshire's Schiller power station to Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire [about 56 miles] to demonstrate against burning coal for energy. The station is the last coal-burning power plant in New England without a shutdown date.

"The group arrived at Merrimack Station at about 10 a.m. Saturday and held a prayer service. A portion of the group then split off to build a blockade on the train tracks to block more coal from arriving at the plant. "That's the path through which the coal enters. So the idea with the civil disobedience is to get in the way, to get between the place where the coal comes from and the place where it's burned,? said Katherine Fisher, part of the group.

?Merrimack Station does not operate that frequently but when it does, it's absolutely essential to keeping the lights on,? Eversource spokesperson, Martin Murray said. Eversource has a settlement agreement with the state to sell off all their plants, including Merrimack Station. It doesn't mean they're shutting down, but Eversource will no longer own them. Murray said other solutions are needed to power up the region.

"We have to as a region find new gas infrastructure because we're so dependent on that fuel, and also embrace projects like northern pass that will diversify the energy mix in the region,? he said. Murray added the Merrimack Station doesn't just receive coal via train, but also has a coal inventory on site and has the capability to receive it by truck as well.

"Meantime, the group said Saturday they're ready to stay on-site. ?If the truth about climate change is really true and if the truth about the power of god to heal the world is really true then this is the action that we're led to,? Fisher said.

Cam Tranchemontagne - WMUR OnDemand - July 16, 2017.

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We?re Headed Toward One of the Greatest Divisions in the History of the Jewish People?

"In late June, 19 rabbis gathered in New York City for an urgent meeting. It wasn?t secret, exactly, but it certainly wasn?t public. The Jewish leaders?all members of the Conservative movement?s Rabbinical Assembly, except for two?were there to decide what to do about intermarriage. Since the 1970s, the Conservative movement has banned its rabbis from officiating or even attending wedding ceremonies between Jews and non-Jews. The denomination is more traditional than the Reform and Reconstructionist movements, which both allow their rabbis to decide the intermarriage question for themselves. But over time, Conservative Judaism has also been more willing to make concessions to modern life than Orthodoxy, leaving it distinctly vulnerable to challenges from within on one of its most sensitive policies.

"A small, vocal resistance to the Conservative movement?s stance on intermarriage has been building in recent years. Some rabbis left: Adina Lewittes?once an assistant dean at the Conservative movement?s flagship school, the Jewish Theological Seminary?decided she couldn?t tolerate the lack of welcome for non-Jews anymore. Or they were kicked out: Seymour Rosenbloom, the recently retired rabbi of Philadelphia?s Congregation Adath Jeshurun, wrote an op-ed about marrying his stepdaughter and her non-Jewish husband last spring. Months later, the executive leaders of the Rabbinical Assembly expelled him unanimously after more than four decades in the organization.

"This summer, the dissent has gotten much louder. In June, the rabbis at a large Manhattan synagogue, B?nai Jeshurun, announced they would begin officiating at intermarriage ceremonies. Although the congregation isn?t technically associated with the Conservative movement, its longtime senior rabbi, Roly Matalon, is part of the Rabbinical Assembly. Another prominent rabbi, Amichai Lau-Lavie, released a 58-page study detailing why he had decided to start marrying interfaith couples at his ?artist-driven, everybody-friendly, God-optional, pop-up, experimental? congregation, Lab/Shul. ?These are two very important institutions,? said Rosenbloom. ?They?re very avant garde. They are the models that many Conservative synagogues look to as a vision for the future.? These rabbis? decision to break with their denomination about intermarriage is ?going to give other people encouragement to follow their conscience,? he added. ?It seems like we?re coming to a tipping point. ? Everyone is talking about this right now.?

Emma Green - The Atlantic - July 16, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

Mexican folk religion involving human sacrifice gaining status among criminals

"A Mexican folk religion involving human sacrifice and devoted to "Holy Death" is growing in popularity among drug traffickers and violent criminals, prompting Texas officials and the Catholic Church to warn about honoring the so-called "Saint Death." Authorities are speaking out about the religion devoted to La Santa Muerte, which translates to ?Holy Death? and "Saint Death," that has gained popularity steadily since the late 1980s among Mexican-American Catholics.

?She?s not a saint. There is nothing good that can come out of praying to her,? Sante Fe Archbiship John Wester said in February. ?We have a lot of saints who represent the teaching of Jesus Christ. This is an aberration.? Clad in a black nun?s robe and holding a scythe in one hand, Santa Muerte appeals to people seeking all manner of otherworldly help, from fending off wrongdoing and carrying out vengeance to people seeking protection for their drug shipments against law enforcement. Devotees often use Catholic prayers and set up shrines in "her" honor.

"The Catholic Church in Mexico and the U.S. denounces the skeleton "saint," and warns that worship is spiritually dangerous. In February, Wester, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz and San Angelo Bishop Michael Sis in Texas joined their counterparts in Mexico in urging Catholics to avoid honoring the folk saint and called her ?antithetical? to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

"Law enforcement officials in Austin, Texas told KVUE the religion has become prominent among drug traffickers and violent criminals. "We're seeing more and more criminals that are praying to Santa Muerte,? Robert Almonte, a former narcotics detective, told the television station.

KVUE (Austin, Texas) - Associated Press - July 17, 2017

[eyeshaveit]

Why is the A.C.L.U. targeting Catholic hospitals?

"The campaign against Catholic health care affects the church and the communities that they serve. The importance of Catholic hospitals: In myriad ways, the church and Catholic women religious in particular had a hand in bringing about American health care as we know it.

"Today, one in six patients receives medical care at a Catholic institution. According to the Catholic Health Association, there are 649 Catholic-sponsored hospitals in the United States employing nearly 750,000 people. For leaders in Catholic health care, the growth of these hospitals at a time of economic uncertainty is to be celebrated. It is a sign that these institutions, many of which were founded by women religious to serve the most needy, continue to thrive in the 21st century.

?One of the things about Catholic hospitals is they tend to have a mission to help the poor?the preferential option, so to speak?and it?s not an accident that a lot of urban hospitals happen to be Catholic,? Eric Rassbach, an attorney with the public interest firm Becket Law, said. ?One of the main groups that would be impacted by having Catholic hospitals shoved out of health care in this country would be poor people.? The campaign against these health care institutions has high stakes not just for the church but also for underserved communities. If the American Civil Liberties Union is successful in pressing one or more of its suits, ?it very may well drive Catholic hospitals out of providing medical care,? said Kevin Theriot, senior counsel and vice president at the public interest law firm Alliance Defending Freedom.

"What is the A.C.L.U.?s attitude toward Catholic hospitals? ?The A.C.L.U. is trying to enforce its own orthodoxy on moral issues as they see them,? said Hillary Byrnes, assistant general counsel at the U.S.C.C.B. ?It?s really unfortunate, but they?re trying to essentially force Catholic hospitals to not be Catholic anymore.? For the A.C.L.U., the fact that faith-based hospitals are prevalent?providing the only source of hospital care in some locations?makes them more of a target for lawsuits. In its 2013 report ?Miscarriage of Medicine,? the organization wrote that the ?number of Catholic acute-care hospitals has been increasing rapidly? and that this is a problem: ?With the rise of Catholic hospitals has come the increasing danger that women?s reproductive health care will be compromised by religious restrictions.?

"Does the A.C.L.U.?s treatment of Catholic hospitals reflect a shift in its guiding principles? The A.C.L.U. website still says religious liberty is a ?fundamental freedom? that ?can?t be taken away, even by ?majority rule.?? So how is it that the same organization is now in the business of repeatedly suing Catholic hospitals to force them to perform procedures to which the church is morally opposed?

"The group has also been described as moving from broad-based civil libertarianism to an agenda more closely aligned with the Democratic Party. Mr. Glasser and the other dissenters ?saw [the new executive director] transforming the organization that once defended the right of Nazis to march on Skokie into just another liberal interest group, money-hungry and cowed by political correctness,? Michelle Goldberg explained in The American Prospect in 2009. The changes might be characterized as a shift in focus toward civil rights and away from civil liberties."

Religion News Service - July 19, 2017

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After two drown in Tanzania, Christians re-examine safety of river baptisms

"It?s a rite that dates to the time of Jesus, who was dunked in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. But Christians in East Africa are now taking stock of their faith?s central rite after one such ritual turned tragic in northern Tanzania.

"Two Christian farmers, aged 30 and 47, died as their pastors attempted to baptize them in the fast-moving current of the Ungwasi River in Rombo District in the Kilimanjaro region. The ritual was organized by Shalom Church, a charismatic group in the country. ?Following the incident, we have agreed on some measures that will ensure the safety of our followers during baptism in the rivers,? Samuel Kamigwa, a pastor at the Victory Christian Center, a Pentecostal church in Tanzania, said in telephone interview.

"Kamigwa said churches were considering increasing the number of ministers at one baptism event. They would also baptize one person at a time, while others are kept at a safe distance, and will choose a time when the water is calm enough for the ritual. ?As churches, we have to be careful. Baptism is one of the core rites in our faith and it has to continue,? he said.

"Drowning during baptism is not uncommon in Africa, and Tanzanian police detained a pastor in connection with the deaths of the two. Local news reports say Kilimanjaro Regional Police Commander Hamis Selemani has warned against using the rivers for such activities unless the safety is confirmed. In Africa, river baptism is popular, particularly among Pentecostal and charismatic churches.

"Immersion is viewed as a way of cleansing one?s sins and being reborn into a new life. Affusion, where water is poured over the head, and aspersion, where water is sprinkled on the head, are more common in mainline churches."

Fredrick Nzwili - Religion News Service - July 19, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

China Will Now Punish Party Members Who Believe in a Religion

"The Communist Party of China (CPC) is reinforcing a point that keeps members from any external forces which may influence their moral values, with a big focus on religion. In a recent announcement, members and officials belonging to China?s ruling Party have been warned that those who refuse to let go of their religious beliefs will be punished.

"Aimed to prevent subversion, the Party?s ban on religion was announced earlier this week, reports the Global Times. The State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) director Wang Zuoan stressed the importance of atheism in keeping the Communist Party?s ?strength and integrity? intact.

?Party members should be firm Marxist atheists, obey Party rules and stick to the Party?s faith? they are not allowed to seek value and belief in religion,? he was quoted as saying. He also added how ?some foreign forces have used religion to infiltrate China, and extremism and illegal religious activities are spreading in some places, which have threatened national security and social stability.?

"Members of the CPC are no longer allowed to participate in any form of religious activity, regardless of the objective. Ethnic and Religious Committee of the Chinese People?s Political Consultative Conference chairman Zhu Weiqun pointed out that being religious may fundamentally jeopardize the CPC.

"Zhu told Global Times that Party officials who have supported religious practices have ?undermined the Party?s values based on dialectical materialism.? The announcement further validates the Chinese government?s stand how Party members are not supposed to enjoy some religious freedom it provides its citizens.

"A crackdown on religious behavior among members has actually been initiated by the atheist Party a couple of years ago. A CPC newsletter stated in 2015 that, ?Chinese citizens have the freedom of religious belief, but Communist Party members aren?t the same as regular citizens; they are fighters in the vanguard for a communist consciousness.?

Ryan General - NextShark - July 20, 2017

[eyeshaveit]

Religion without humanity

"A mobile policeman shot and killed a truck driver on Creek Road in the port city of Apapa, Lagos on Wednesday. The unconfirmed story was that the policeman was angered by the truck driver?s refusal to give money demanded. Seeing the result of his uncontrolled anger, the policeman took refuge in a nearby bank.To avenge the death of their fellow, irate truck drivers, joined by ever-ready Lagos hoodlums, mobilised to the bank to demand that the trigger-happy policeman be handed over to them. When their request was turned down by security forces attached to the bank, they beset the bank, gathered disused tyres and set the bank building ablaze, specifically targeting air-conditioners and ATM counters. Not done, they also set ablaze another nearby bank and also attempted to molest bank staff and customers. It was only the arrival o f policemen from Area ?B? Police Command and soldiers that quelled the situation. Bank staff were promptly evacuated.

"The killer mobile policeman, the rioting tanker drivers and the hoodlums all certainly profess one form of religious belief or the other. Typically, since they are Nigerians, each of them would either be a Muslim, a Christian or an adherent of a traditional religion. As we got into Apapa that day, we heard several gunshots. The story was that the security forces fired shots into the air to scare away those angling to loot cash from the burning banks. Those would-be looters would be either Christians, traditional worshippers or Muslims. Every now and then a fully-loaded truck or tanker trips and falls while struggling through our dilapidated death-traps, spilling its contents ? say, bags of cement, cans of drinks, petroleum products, etc already paid for by someone like us ? and our compatriots, rather than offer help, descend on the spilled contents and begin to loot. Those looters profess one religious belief or the other. The other looters ? those in government who have ensured that these roads remain dilapidated by embezzling funds meant for road construction/repair ? also profess religious beliefs.

"Same scenario obtains in accident scenes, be they road or air. Human beings who should sympathise or work to save lives actually steal from the dead. Some take snapshots of these scenes and share on social media while fellow human beings writhe in agony. How can they play the Good Samaritan? Are they from Samaria?

"Hit-and-run drivers, pick-pockets, ritual killers, treasury looters in Abuja and state government houses, armed robbers and all other criminals adhere to some religion. Suicide bombers do it in the name of religion. Nigerians are a highly religious people. We pray at every event/meeting ? opening prayer, closing prayer. When there is economic or political crisis, as now, our politicians who brought the woes upon us in the first place ask us to pray. I?m sure no researcher has been able to document the number of churches in the entire country. Not even Christian Association of Nigeria can give you that number, reason being that new churches seem to spring up on an hourly basis.

"Christianity is today one of Nigeria?s major exports to the world. Mosques are springing up in the most unexpected places, even as the debate rages whether there are more Muslims than Christians in the country or vice-versa. The traditional shrines, despite decades of onslaught on them by invading foreign religions, have refused to die off. The only thing that uproots them these days are developmental projects in rural communities. But all of these to what effect?

"It is perhaps this religion without humanity that is fuelling the growing scepticism in the minds of many young Nigerians who are constantly questioning the relevance of religion and tending towards atheism. But religion can remain a positive force in society if only adherents of the various faiths could live by the tenets they profess."

Chuks Oluigbo - Business Day (Nigeria) - July 23, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

Protestants Ditching Denominations

"Ask an American Christian what type of church they belong to, and you?re more likely than ever to hear the label nondenominational. The proportion of Protestants in the United States who don?t identify with a specific denomination doubled between 2000 and 2016, according to a Gallup poll released this week. Now, about 1 in 6 Americans are nondenominational Christians.

"The growing popularity of nondenominational identity is the result of two trends: the decline in the number of Protestants overall, as more Americans eschew any religious affiliation (becoming ?the nones?), and shrinking denominations themselves. Not only are the major mainline churches continuing to see their numbers fall, the country?s largest Protestant denomination?the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)?has lost a million members in the past 15 years.

Prior to 2000, half of all Americans belonged to a specific Protestant denomination. Now, just 30 percent do, Gallup reported. The shift toward nondenominational identity is so strong that even denominational churches downplay their affiliations to avoid the negative connotations now associated with religious hierarchy and structure, suggested Roger Olson, theology professor at Baylor University?s George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

?Very few churches I know anything about are truly, totally, exclusively ?nondenominational? in the sense most people think,? he wrote in a blog post last month. ?In almost every case where I am asked about a church that declares itself ?nondenominational,? I can find some affiliation of that church with some network of similar churches.?

Kate Shellnutt - Christianity Today - July 20, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

Jehovah's Witnesses shunned by their families

"For some former Jehovah's Witnesses, leaving the faith is not just the mark of losing your religion - it can also mean losing your loved ones. In many cases, friends and family are told to cut all ties with ex-believers, leaving them isolated and sometimes suicidal.

"I don't speak to any of my family," Sarah - not her real name - tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire program. "Because of being 'disfellowshipped', I can have no contact." Last year, Sarah - in her 20s - was excluded by the Jehovah's Witnesses in a process known as "disfellowshipping", she says sparked by her refusal to live in an abusive relationship. She claims her partner at the time had been violent towards her, at one stage leaving her with broken ribs.

"Going to the police - and involving those from outside the religion - is heavily discouraged by Jehovah's Witnesses, she says, claiming that elders within the faith refused to punish her ex-partner's behavior. It was only when work colleagues noticed the bruising, and convinced her not to put up with the abuse, that she says she fled the relationship. Sarah claims she was consequently disfellowshipped by the religion, and that her friends and family cut all ties with her.

"This is because Jehovah's Witnesses believe those outside the religion can be of detriment to their faith. In a statement the religious group told the BBC: "If a baptised Witness makes a practice of breaking the Bible's moral code, and does not given evidence of stopping the practice, he or she will be shunned or disfellowshipped.

"When it comes to shunning, Witnesses take their instructions from the Bible and on this subject the Bible clearly states, 'Remove the wicked man from amongst yourselves.'" The night she was disfellowshipped, Sarah says her mother refused to talk to her. Her father woke her up at 7AM to kick her out of their home. Responding to Sarah's claims, the Jehovah's Witnesses said that while it could not comment on individual cases, "violence, whether physical or emotional, is strongly condemned in the Bible and has no place in a Christian family".

"Sarah says the loss of her closest family ties has been "very, very difficult" to cope with. She is engaged, and aware she is "having to plan a wedding where your parents won't attend". "I would class myself as an orphan, which is quite sad," she says. Her support network comes from her friends at work. When she left the faith, she says, they "rallied around" her, in contrast to what she had expected. These people I'd been told [by the religion] were awful, were bad association, and God was going to smite them all at Armageddon.  "Yet these people opened up their homes."

"Sarah is still, however, complimentary about most of the people within her former faith. "There are good people in the religion, who believe they are saving people's lives [by spreading the faith's message]," she says. "I look back with some happy memories, because they were the last memories I have with my family and siblings. But then I do have to look back and feel a lot of heartbreak that I'm never going to be able to sit down with them for a Sunday meal again.

"When they die, I probably won't be invited to the funeral either."

Monica Soriano - BBC News - July 24, 2017.

[eyeshaveit]

I?m guilty of living my religion,? says former Mormon bishop found guilty of polygamy

"Winston Blackmore was making no apologies Monday after he and another former bishop of an isolated religious community in British Columbia were found guilty of practicing polygamy. ?I?m guilty of living my religion and that?s all I?m saying today because I?ve never denied that,? Blackmore told reporters after a judge announced a verdict against him. ?Twenty-seven years and tens of millions of dollars later, all we?ve proved is something we?ve never denied,? Blackmore said. ?I?ve never denied my faith. This is what we expected.?

"Blackmore, 60, was married to Jane Blackmore and then married 24 additional women as part of so-called ?celestial? marriages involving residents in the tiny community of Bountiful. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said the ?collective force of the evidence? proved the guilt of Blackmore, who was a practicing member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a breakaway Mormon sect that believes in plural marriage.

?His adherence to the practices and beliefs of the FLDS is not in dispute,? Donegan said, reading her written ruling in a courtroom in Cranbrook, B.C. "Mr. Blackmore ? would not deny his faith in his 2009 statement to police. He spoke openly about his practice of polygamy.? Blackmore was shown a list of his alleged wives and made two corrections to the details, Donegan said.

?Mr. Blackmore confirmed that all of his marriages were celestial marriages in accordance with FLDS rules and practices.? Blackmore?s lawyer Blair Suffredine told the court he would launch a constitutional challenge of Canada?s polygamy laws. A hearing date is expected to be set next Monday. Blackmore said it?s not religious persecution that bothers him, but that it?s political persecution and he hopes the challenge will bring about change.

?Twenty-seven years ago, adultery was a criminal act. Twenty-seven years ago when they started with us, same-sex marriage was criminal,? he said. ?Those people all successfully launched constitutional challenges on the basic right to freely associate. For us I imagine it will be (that) this is entrenched in our faith and I would have been hugely disappointed if I would have been found not guilty of living my religion.? A decades-long legal fight launched by the provincial government led to a 12-day trial earlier this year. It heard from mainstream Mormon experts, law enforcement officers who worked on the investigation, and Jane Blackmore, a former wife of Winston Blackmore who left the community in 2003."

Bill Graveland - Canadian Press - July 25, 2017

[eyeshaveit]

Is Justin Bieber Starting His Own Church?

"Bieber shocked millions of fans yesterday when he revealed he was calling off the Purpose Tour months before it was due to end as he was ?burned out.? He wrote on Facebook that he was was feeling exhausted after 18 long months on the road. However, sources claim Bieber may now be looking at starting up his own church as part of his plan to get closer to God.

?I am led to believe that the real reason he has come off the road is because he wants to reconnect with his faith and he may be even planning to start his own church,? veteran showbiz reporter Richard Wilkins told Today Extra. ?We know that he was in the country (Australia) a few weeks ago having meetings and attending the big Hillsong Church convention that they had here,? said Wilkins.

?[He?s] very close to a lot of the Hillsong people. Whether he?s looking at teaming up with them in something of a more permanent situation or doing some sort of religious activity on his own ? starting his own church ? we?re not quite sure, but that?s the word from an inside source.?

"A statement on the star?s Facebook site read: ?Due to unforeseen circumstances, Justin Bieber will cancel the remainder of the Purpose World Tour concerts.

Jon Lockett and Holly Bancroft - The Sun - July 25, 2017.