=== Jesus Christians
1. Jesus Christians speak out

=== Aum Shinrikyo
2. Ex-AUM member appeals against death sentence

=== Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
3. Uganda: President Museveni pledges intensified search for doomsday
cult leaders

=== Falun Gong
4. Banned sect under Net attack
5. Falun Gong Divided on Leader

=== Scientology
6. Suit against Scientology moved to Pinellas County
7. Damned ad nauseam

=== Buddhism
8. Seeking spiritual symbiosis

=== Hinduism
9. Hindu scholar brings lessons on prayer

=== Catholicism
10. Church Reemerges in Mexico
11. A New World Order

=== Mormonism
12. LDS Church Faces Tests as It Goes Global
13. UVSC Says LDS Studies Benefit Utah

=== Jehovah's Witnesses
14. Judge blasts church over sex offences

=== Witchcraft
15 Potter fans turning to witchcraft
16. Mob in India burns five people to death for 'black magic'

=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes
17. 'Supplies' were to include bombs
18. Germany considers ban on far-right party
19. German Neo-Nazis Arrested
20. German parliament to debate right-wing extremism

=== Other News
21. Parents Acquitted in Wasps Death
22. Raelians fight 'discrimination'
23. Church makes airwaves
24. A pyramid scheme with religious undertones

=== Religious Freedom / Religious Intolerance
25. Myanmar refutes U.S commission report on religious freedom
26. Just How Free?

=== Science
27. Christian Astronomers Mend Rift Between Science and Religion

=== Noted
28. Evangelicals Conclude Conference
29. Many teens show little commitment to religion, survey finds
30. Rastafari celebrate roots, religion


=== Jesus Christians

1. Jesus Christians speak out
BBC News, Aug. 6, 2000
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
[Story no longer online? Read this]

Members of a religious group, the Jesus Christians, have been talking publicly about the furore caused when 16-year-old Bobby Kelly left home to join their community.
(...)

Susan Gianstephani from the Jesus Christians said the media's portrayal of the story had been misleading.

''There seems to be a lot of words going around that are slanderous, like cult, brainwash, kidnap,'' she told Radio 4's Sunday programme.

''I'd like to challenge people to think what those words actually mean and provide evidence that those words are associated with our community.

''Our job is not to recruit people, but rather just to get the message out and then it is up to people whether they decide to follow it or not.

''To tell the truth, it is not many people at all that are interested in our message.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

* Jesus Christians is a manipulative cult of Christianity that insists members
reject their families, friends, and jobs.

=== Aum Shinrikyo

2. Ex-AUM member appeals against death sentence
Kyodo News Service/Associated Press, Aug. 4, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
TOKYO, Aug. 4 (Kyodo) -- Former AUM Shinrikyo cult member Satoru Hashimoto, sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1989 murder of an anti-AUM lawyer and his family and the 1994 sarin nerve gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, appealed to the Tokyo High Court on Friday, his lawyers said.

Hashimoto, 33, was also convicted July 25 of preparation for murder for building a sarin gas plant in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi Prefecture, and of attempted murder in the gas attack, which left many injured.

The Matsumoto gassing left seven people dead.

His lawyers said their client had not intended to kill the lawyer's wife and child prior to entering the family's house.

The Tokyo District Court on July 25 ruled that cult founder Shoko Asahara ordered his subordinates, including Hashimoto, to murder the anti-AUM lawyer, and that the intention to murder was shared among the members.
(...)

The prosecutors said Hashimoto, a karate expert and former bodyguard for Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, blindly obeyed him and actively took part in the crimes because he wanted to be promoted within the cult.

After the Sakamoto murders and the Matsumoto gas attack, which occurred in June 1994, Hashimoto remained in the cult and continued to take part in unlawful acts, and his actions are thus unpardonable, prosecutors said.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

3. Uganda: President Museveni pledges intensified search for doomsday cult leaders
BBC Monitoring, Aug. 6, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Text of report by Ugandan newspaper 'Sunday Vision' on 6th August

President Yoweri Museveni has said that government will intensify the hunt for the leaders Kanungu dooms day cult responsible for the death of over 700 people in March. Museveni said this Wednesday when he was inspecting the stench-filled house of doomsday cult leader Fr Dominic Kataribabo in Kigabiro, Bunyaruguru, Bushenyi district [southwestern Uganda].

''Forget this scandal and concentrate on building your families and improving your incomes as government intensifies its investigations. We shall arrest the cult leaders if they are still alive,'' Museveni said.

Museveni said that the people of Bunyaruguru Should not feel guilty over the scandals committed by a priest who turned satanic. ''This case was an eye opener. As government we shall intensify our scrutiny of religious sects in future to check the biblical false prophets,'' Museveni said. He said that former members of the cult should not be prosecuted or intimidated for the wrongs of their leaders.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Falun Gong

4. Banned sect under Net attack
Fairfax IT (Australia), Aug. 1, 2000
http://www.it.fairfax.com.au/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
(...) With the Chinese Parliament ruling that leaders of religious cults may be prosecuted for murder and endangering national security, Falun Gong has gone underground in that country.

But with millions of followers in the West, many of them in computing jobs, the battle against religious persecution is being fought over the Internet.

One of the first things the Chinese government did as part of its crackdown was to shut down all Falun Gong websites inside China because they were being used to attract new followers.

Next, authorities installed filtering software to prevent its citizens accessing Falun Gong websites in the United States, Europe and Australia.

Falun Gong webmasters in the US and Europe have reported their websites being hacked using denial of service and smurf. E-mail contacts listed are being spammed with thousands of junk messages.

The Australian website, which was started in March 1997, has been attacked a number of times over the past year. The most serious was on May 21 when the site was brought down at 3am. When the server was rebooted late in the morning, it was brought down within an hour. Nobody was able to access the website until 7pm. What adds to Falun Gong fears is that despite complaints to the Australian Federal Police, authorities here are unable or unwilling to help.
(...)

The attacks have also targeted Falun Gong members in New Zealand.

Nathan Fernandez, a computer systems engineer and security specialist in Auckland, had his e-mail accounts at two different ISPs - World Net and XTRA - spammed with more than 30,000 junk e-mails in April this year.
(...)

Using his security skills, Fernandez located the origin of the attacks.

''I actually traced these e-mails back to two places, one a Hong Kong university and the other to China itself. I could have got through their firewalls and other protection but I did not want to break into anything, so I just left it there,'' he says.
(...)

There is a similar pattern of attacks throughout Europe and the US, with American websites being the worst hit.
(...)

However, despite all the circumstantial evidence, it seems that no government has made a concerted effort to get to the bottom of this issue.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


5. Falun Gong Divided on Leader
The Associated Press, Aug. 4, 2000
http://my.aol.com/news/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
BEIJING (AP) - His followers revere him as Master Li, believing his teachings make them healthy, moral citizens with a ``wheel of law'' that spins in their bellies, absorbing and releasing energy.

But in recent months, a Hong Kong businesswoman has laid claim to Li Hongzhi's title as leader of China's outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement, sparking a war of words that has seen the normally reclusive Li angrily denounce his usurper over the Internet.

In the latest headache for the embattled sect, 37-year-old Hong Kong practitioner Belinda Pang has attracted a small group of followers who call her ``Lord of Buddhas'' and believe she is Falun Gong's true master.

``Several practitioners were enlightened,'' said Pang follower Mary Qian in a telephone interview Friday. ``We realized that (she) is the true master who created the entire universe.''

Falun Gong representatives, while clearly annoyed, say Pang's movement does not threaten to divide the group, since she claims at most 30 followers. Li's followers claim he has 100 million believers worldwide.

Still, the assertions have sparked bickering on competing Internet sites.
(...)

``I am the principal being,'' Li wrote on Falun Gong's official Web site. ``Nobody should pay attention to what that saboteur in Hong Kong has instigated or give her an audience.''

Pang's followers responded by launching their own Web site that features glowing accounts of their realization May 11 - celebrated as Buddha's birthday - that she was their master.
(...)

Gail Rachlin, a Falun Gong spokeswoman in New York, said Li is alive and that Pang, formerly an active participant in the group's Hong Kong chapter, is no longer regarded as a practitioner.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Scientology

6. Suit against Scientology moved to Pinellas County
St. Peterburg Times, Aug. 5, 2000
http://www.sptimes.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
After three years of being litigated in Tampa, a wrongful death lawsuit against the Church of Scientology's Clearwater operation has been transferred to Pinellas County.
(...)

In a May 3 hearing, Moody questioned why the case against the Pinellas-based church was being litigated in Hillsborough County.

His comment prompted attorneys for the church and for three Scientology staffers who are also defendants in the lawsuit to file a motion asking that the case be moved. They argued that the alleged acts against McPherson took place in Pinellas, where the church has its headquarters.

Ken Dandar, the Tampa lawyer representing McPherson's estate, could not be reached Friday. He has said in the past that McPherson's family wanted the case filed in Tampa to lessen the chance that Scientologists would be part of the jury pool. The filing was made possible because the church's Clearwater branch kept a Post Office box in Tampa.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


7. Damned ad nauseam
The Sunday Telegraph, Aug. 6, 2000 (Letters to the Editor)
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Jo Knowsley's otherwise mostly fair article (''Scientologists seek religious status under European Act'', News, July 30) was the latest vehicle for newspapers to quote ad nauseam a statement by the late Mr Justice Latey in a 1984 court case when he said the Church of Scientology was ''corrupt, sinister and dangerous''. It was made at an in-camera custody case at which the church had no direct involvement. The judge had been inundated with false information about the church that was designed to ensure that a non-Scientologist mother would obtain custody of her children.

A Court of Appeal later determined that his statement was not a legal precedent or otherwise binding against the church in any other case, recognising that the church had not been given any right of audience during the case.

Graeme Wilson
Public Affairs Director
Church of Scientology
East Grinstead, W Sussex
[...entire item...]

The original article:
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/news/an200731b.html#16

There is no evidence that Judge Latey has been ''inundated with false
information'' about the Church of Scientology.

The legal document:

Re: B & G (Minors) (Custody)
Delivered in the High Court
(Family Division),
London, 23 July 1984
http://www.demon.co.uk/castle/audit/latey.html
(...)
Conclusion as to Scientology
In Re: T Minors (Transcript of judgments given on 10th December 1975) the
Court of Appeal was concerned with children one of whose parents was a member
of another and very different sect. In the course of his judgement Lord
Justice Scarman (as he then was) stressed that ''it is conceded that there is
nothing immoral or socially obnoxious in the beliefs and practices of this
sect''. Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious. Mr. Kennedy did
not exaggerate when he termed it ''pernicious''. In my judgement it is corrupt,
sinister and dangerous. It is corrupt because it is based on lies and deceit
and has as its real objective money and power for Mr. Hubbard, his wife and
those close to him at the top. It is sinister because it indulges in infamous
practices both to its adherents who do not toe the line unquestioningly and
to those outside who criticise or oppose it. It is dangerous because it is
out to capture people, especially children and impressionable young people,
and indoctrinate and brainwash them so that they become the unquestioning
captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living and
relationships with others.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

The Court of Appeal upheld Judge Latey's decision, but noted:

RE B AND G (MINORS) (CUSTODY)
Court of Appeal
Dunn and Purchas LJJ
19 September 1984
http://www.demon.co.uk/castle/audit/appeal.html
(...)
Mr Johnson submits those were matters which the judge should not have taken
into account and that is a classic reason for questioning his discretion. It
seems to me, with respect, that it was unnecessary for the judge to have gone
into the detail which he did, but when one is considering a set of beliefs,
it is, I should have thought, relevant to know the sort of person who is the
original proponent of those beliefs. It is perfectly true that the judge
expressed himself in strong and forthright terms, but that is no ground for
challenging his decision. Indeed, the notice of appeal contains no challenge
to his findings of fact.

I would like to emphasize that those findings are binding only between these
parties in this case. They form no precedent and create no estoppel in any
other proceedings of whatever nature involving different parties and
different issues, but the question remains whether the judge allowed himself
to be so carried away by what he described as an immoral and socially
obnoxious set of beliefs that he failed to exercise his discretion
judicially.

It was, of course, a matter for the discretion of the judge whether or not he
gave judgment in open court. It was not necessary for him to have done so and
it was unfortunate that he gave as one of his reasons for doing so the
protection of the public as well as the other reason, that is to say the
importance of the reasons for his decision being publicly known so as to
avoid rumour and speculation. I cannot say that he was wrong to do so.

Those matters added colour to the suggestion that what the judge primarily
had in mind was the exposure of scientology rather than the interests of the
children which was in fact and in law all he was concerned with. However,
towards the end of the judgment the judge did relate the practices of
scientology to the circumstances of these particular children. He did carry
out the balancing exercise. Although he plainly felt strongly that these
children were at risk from exposure to scientology, I find no reason to
suppose that in carrying out that essential balancing exercise he did not do
so judicially.
(...)

The judge having made the findings which he did about the practices of
scientology, which were not challenged in this appeal, and the judge having
refused to accept the father's assurances, I can find no ground on which this
court could interfere with the judgment and the appeal is dismissed.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

Again, there is no evidence that Judge Latey based his opinion on false
information. Nor does the anything in the decision of the Court of Appeals
invalidate his opinion.

Incidentally, Judge Latey has not been the only legal professional to
describe the Church of Scientology in strongly-worded terms:
http://www.chaos.org/clambake/archive/quotes.htm
Justice Anderson, Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia:
''Scientology is evil; its techniques are evil; its practice is a serious
threat to the community, medically, morally, and socially; and its adherents
are sadly deluded and often mentally ill... (Scientology is) the world's
largest organization of unqualified persons engaged in the practice of
dangerous techniques which masquerade as mental therapy.''
[...more...]

=== Buddhism

8. Seeking spiritual symbiosis
The News Tribune (WA), July 30, 2000
http://search.tribnet.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Steeped in the teachings of the Buddha and Jesus Christ, Buddhist and Christian scholars from throughout the world will converge on Tacoma next week with a common mission: to listen to and learn from each other. More than 200 professors, monks, ministers and lay people supporting Buddhist-Christian interchange will meet Aug. 5-12 at Pacific Lutheran University for the Sixth International Conference of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies.

Their aim is to enlighten - not convert - each other to common issues and concerns, said Paul Ingram, a professor of religion at PLU who is directing the conference. In large and small lectures and discussion groups, presenters will give scores of talks on Buddhism and Christianity and how the two religions speak to contemporary concerns such as economic justice, the environment and the role of women. The theme for the conference is ''Buddhism, Christianity and Global Healing.''

Rather than viewing Buddhism and Christianity as competing belief systems, Ingram describes the two faiths as complementary. ''There are things to be understood from our Buddhist brothers and sisters,'' said Ingram, a Lutheran. These lessons include teachings on suffering, compassion and meditation, he said.

The conference will attract noted professors and religious leaders, including:

* Daniel Maguire, a theology professor at Marquette University, whose talk is titled ''Christian Sexism: The Pope Did Not Apologize Enough.''

* The Rev. Cecil Murray, senior pastor at First A.M.E. Church, in Los Angeles. His address will be ''Economic Empowerment: The Word Made Flesh From a Christian View.''

* A.T. Ariyaratne, a Buddhist from Sri Lanka, who will speak on ''Nonviolent Action for Justice, Development and Peace.''

* Rita Gross, a Buddhist and professor of religious studies at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, whose subject is ''Feminism and Freedom from the Prison of Gender Roles.''

* John Cobb, a United Methodist theologian from Southern California, who will talk on ''Consumerism, Economism and the Christian Faith.''

* Catholic Archbishop Alex J. Brunett of Seattle, Lutheran Bishop David Wold of Tacoma and a Buddhist nun named Yifa from Los Angeles will each give welcoming remarks Saturday night.

Most of the participants will be from the United States, but many others will travel from Asia and Europe.

Buddhism, founded more than 2,500 years ago by religious philosopher Siddhartha Gautama, teaches that liberation from suffering can be achieved through meditation. Christians say they experience God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The two faiths intersect for Ingram each Wednesday night when the professor sits cross-legged and meditates with a Zen Buddhist group in the brightly painted Seu Mi Sa Buddhist Temple in Tacoma.

Ingram, 61, describes himself as both a Christian and Buddhist. He has written two books about Buddhist-Christian dialogue.

''Christians can be Buddhists and probably ought to be,'' he said. ''It doesn't mean that Christians teach the same thing as Buddhists. That's why we have dialogue.''

Ingram described Buddhism as ''nontheistic; it teaches that even if there is a God, God can't help us.''

''Buddhism doesn't stress God as one who brings redemption or salvation to people,'' Ingram said. ''(Buddhism teaches) we cause our own suffering by clinging to permanence in an impermanent universe.

''The goal of dialogue is never evangelism, never conversion,'' he said. ''It's openness to the truth of your partner and sharing your truth in the process.''
(...)

Ingram serves as past president of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies, an organization of scholars founded in 1987 to encourage study of and dialogue between the two religions. He has attended each of the group's five international conferences, most recently at Jesuit-run DePaul University in Chicago in 1996.
(...)

Murray, the Los Angeles pastor who is one of the most prominent African American ministers in the United States, said the conference aims to help Buddhists and Christians understand their similarities and differences. The two groups can then find common ground and purposes and work to change society, he wrote in an e-mail.

''Buddhism means 'the enlightened way.' Christianity was once called 'The Way,' Murray said.

''Each can learn from the other the common way. Though there are many ways to the top of the mountain, we all meet the same hurdles,'' he said.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

Reality check:

(John 14:6 NNAS) Jesus said to him, ''I am the way, and the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

(Acts 4:12 NIV) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other
name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.''

(2 Peter 2:1 NIV) But there were also false prophets among the people, just
as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought
them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.

(2 Timothy 4:2-4 NIV) Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of
season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful
instruction. {3} For the time will come when men will not put up with sound
doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a
great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. {4}
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

=== Hinduism

9. Hindu scholar brings lessons on prayer
Dallas Morning News, Aug. 5, 2000
http://www.dallasnews.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Prema Pandurang is at peace even as a photographer shoots away, a rapid-fire flash filling the small, custom-built prayer room where she sits on a cool tile floor.

Because this is a Tuesday, there isn't much small talk for the noted scholar on Hindu scripture and Indian culture. Tuesday is a day of introspection, a day on which to focus solely on God, without the distraction of secular talk. Only if the conversation is about God, or if she is invited to preach, will the retired English professor from India utter a word.
(...)

''The 55-year-old woman is in the sprawling Frisco home of Nirmala Chari, an admirer who has helped arrange the scholar's two-month tour in the United States. Just hours after arriving from India, she will board a flight for New York, where she will remain for a month. From there, she will return to North Texas for a lecture Tuesday at the Community Unitarian Universalist Church in Plano.
(...)

''After people listened to her, they wanted to have her back,'' says Ms. Chari. ''She is very well-known in India, and when she gives discourses, the hall is always overflowing.

''Now the same can be said in America, says Ms. Chari, who helped found the nonprofit organization Kshetropasana Charitable Foundation. The group arranges religious and philosophical lectures in America and supports the charities of Kshetropasna, another organization founded by Ms. Pandurang in India.
(...)

''Ms. Pandurang's lecture in Plano will focus on the importance of faith and on the Sundara Kandam, a significant part of the Ramayana, a Hindu epic.

''To reach the Lord, you need a messenger,'' says Ms. Pandurang, who will be joined by six musicians during her discourse. ''The messenger is the Guru. Hanumanji is the link character who brings together Sita and Rama. It is a great family reunion on one side and the coming together of the individual and Supreme God. Hanumanji flies across the ocean - an impossible feat achieved only through devotion.
(...)

More information about Ms. Pandurang and her lectures may be obtained by visiting her Web site: www.ppandurang.org .
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Catholicism

10. Church Reemerges in Mexico
Washington Post, Aug. 6, 2000
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
MEXICO CITY, Aug. 5 -- Shortly after winning the Mexican presidency last month, Vicente Fox returned to his ranch in hilly central Mexico, and together with family, bodyguards and reporters, attended Sunday Mass at a local church.

With news cameras flashing, Fox stepped forward and accepted Holy Communion from a Roman Catholic priest. The effect was stunning. The next morning, photos of a president-elect publicly receiving the sacrament under headlines such as ''Broken Tradition'' were splashed in newspapers across the country.

Like so much here in this season of political revolution in Mexico, the role of the Catholic church is fundamentally changing with the election of the country's most openly religious president in nearly a century.

Although 90 percent of Mexicans consider themselves Catholic, the church was officially invisible for most of the 20th century. Relegated to the sidelines of political discourse by some of the world's toughest laws separating church and state, the church is now poised to take a more prominent role in public life and have an impact on policy.

''It is a very big deal,'' said church historian and author Marta Elena Negrete. ''I think Mexicans are very grateful that you can talk publicly about religion now.''

Many Mexicans agree. They say this is a further step in Fox's attempt to make Mexico more like other modern democracies in which the church is separate from the state, but leaders are permitted to display personal religious beliefs. But, especially as controversies erupted this week over abortion and Fox's divorce, there is concern that Fox will inflict his strong religious convictions on others through official actions.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


11. A New World Order
Dallas Morning News, Aug. 5, 2000
http://www.dallasnews.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
MADISON, Wis. - When she was a child, the Rev. Lynne Smith told her mother that she wanted to be a nun. ''That's ridiculous,'' her mother said. ''You're not Catholic.'' Her mother hadn't counted on the Sisters of St. Benedict.

The Catholic sisters, rarely slaves to convention, are inviting Protestant and Orthodox women to join them in creating the first ecumenical monastery in the United States.

Ms. Smith, a Presbyterian pastor, is the first to take the leap.

Up until now, many Protestant women who felt a call to contemplative life had nowhere to go,'' said Ms. Smith, 46, a native of El Paso. ''Essentially, our tradition lost the monastic expression of Christian life with the Reformation.''

The ecumenical community is called the Benedictine Women of Madison. Ms. Smith made her historic first profession to monastic life in June. She now lives, works and prays with her Catholic sisters, but remains a Presbyterian.
(...)

''Long steeped in ecumenical outreach, the sisters see opening the doors to non-Catholics as the logical next step. ''It doesn't make sense to us anymore to exclude Protestant and Orthodox women from being in community with us,'' Sister Kollasch said. ''We're not trying to set up a model. We're not trying to be an example. We're doing what seems right for us.''
(...)

Ever since, St. Benedict Center has been a hub for retreats and conferences for people of all faiths. In the 1960s, monks from Taizé, an ecumenical community in France, came. In the1970s, the first negotiations for the American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church in America took place there.

Even the Dalai Lama paid a visit, long before he commanded rock-star crowds. ''He was a very soft-spoken, common, easy-to-meet-with gentle person,'' said Sister Wal-genbach, who could have just as easily been describing herself.

Back then, the sisters' paid a price for their outreach. Catholics often questioned their commitment to the church.
(...)

''Today, ecumenical discussions, agreements and joint ventures in ministry are taken for granted. Even so, the sisters still encounter criticism from some Catholics for inviting non-Catholics to become monastics.
(...)

The sisters are spreading the word about their ecumenical monastery on the Internet www.sbcenter.org They're advertising in Protestant journals. And they're inviting women between ages 25 and 50 to special retreats to explore monastic living.

Last year, two-third of the 71 inquiries came from Protestants.
(...)

Ms. Smith's unusual faith journey indirectly has found credence in Presbyterian circles by popular writer Kathleen Norris, author of Dakota: A Spiritual Biography, The Cloister Walk and Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith.

Ms. Norris' books have soared on the New York Times bestsellers list. In them she details how as a Presbyterian living in Lemmon, S.D., she deepened her Christianity through encounters with Benedictine monks.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Mormonism

12. LDS Church Faces Tests as It Goes Global
The Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 5, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Humankind is believed to have first risen from the dust of Africa. Now, the LDS Church is finding the continent critical to its own evolution as a global faith.

On the threshold of becoming the next major world religion, Mormonism must break free from its 170-year history as an American sect to incorporate Third World cultures, panelists at the Sunstone Symposium's plenary session said.

''We preach the universality of the gospel, but what we don't teach is cultural uniqueness,'' said Paul Clark, a former president of the LDS Church's Kenya Nairobi Mission. ''As we bring people into the church we have to be acutely aware of their customs . . . and accommodate them.''
(...)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been in South Africa since the mid-1850s, but as a white church. Mormonism attracted few converts among native Africans until after LDS President Spencer W. Kimball ended a ban on blacks in the faith's all-male priesthood in 1978.

Since then, church officials say, more than 110,000 Africans have joined the church. Johnson said those converts prove to be devoted Mormons, too.
(...)

Bangerter, who served as president of the South Africa Mission from 1996 to 1999, noted that conversion does not change the African's hand-to-mouth existence. If there are to be native missionaries, it is the church -- not the converts' families, as in the United States -- that must foot the bill.
(...)

Jan Shipps, an emeritus history professor at Indiana-Purdue University whose speciality is tracking the growth of the 11-million member LDS Church, said that a long-term financial burden is just one factor in Mormonism's metamorphosis to a global, multicultural religion.

''The real agenda for the church in the next span of time, maybe the next quarter century, will be the immense, terribly hard work of bringing that about,'' said Shipps, who explores her role as a non- Mormon chronicler of the LDS Church in a new book due out in October, Sojourner in the Promised Land: Forty Years Among the Mormons.

''It will take them many years,'' Shipps said. ''The church is poised to be a universal church, but whether it can deal with these problems remains to be seen.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

Theologically, Mormonism is a cult of Christianity. Mormons, who follow
a Jesus created by the Mormon church, are not Christians.

13. UVSC Says LDS Studies Benefit Utah
The Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 4, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Organizers of Utah Valley State College's new Mormon Cultural Studies program face a tough challenge: How do you offer a scholarly look at Mormonism without being perceived as merely critical of the LDS faith?

Since UVSC's idea to treat Utah's predominant religion as a subject of study went public in March, ''it's been kind of a bullet train,'' eliciting hundreds of phone calls from the sacred and the secular world, said Elaine Englehardt, the university's assistant academic vice president.

Students and alumni who called said they were worried the program would become a forum for Mormon apologetics or proselytizing. Others, including three general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were concerned that it would open the doors to Mormon bashing, Englehardt said during a panel discussion Thursday at the 20th annual Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City.

Englehardt admitted to also being alarmed by the notion when UVSC writer-in-residence Eugene England proposed it.

As it stands now, the program will serve as host to conferences and guest lectures to support the school's already established religious diversity and interfaith program, housed in UVSC's Center for the Study of Ethics. But eventually the college hopes to work Mormon cultural studies into the curriculum and offer a full-blown religious studies degree.

England said the intent of the program is to provide a neutral and open atmosphere for the study of a culture, not a church. He proffered three reasons why UVSC should be in this business: To help combat anti-Mormonism; to enrich scholars' understanding of a part of Utah culture; and to help Mormons understand, appreciate and improve upon their own culture.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Jehovah's Witnesses

14. Judge blasts church over sex offences
Illawarra Mercury (Australia), Aug. 5, 2000
http://mercury.illnews.com.au/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
A Wollongong judge yesterday launched a scathing attack on the Jehovah's Witness congregation at Balgownie, accusing elders of failing to report child sex abuse.
(...)

The attack came as he sentenced Robert Leslie Souter to five years' jail for sexual assaults on two teenage boys 20 years ago.

Judge Goldring said congregation elders were told of the sexual assaults by Souter in 1990 and he was ``disfellowshipped'' or excommunicated five years later without any further action.

``The moral punishment imposed by a church is not punishment demanded by law,'' Judge Goldring said.

``I cannot criticise the church sufficiently enough ... it's well known in these courts that churches are criticised for failing to report criminal activity.''

``The church may have spiritual responsibility but it does not exceed the authority of the state,'' Judge Goldring said.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Witchcraft

15. Potter fans turning to witchcraft
This is London - Evening Standard (England), Aug. 4, 2000
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
The Pagan Federation has appointed a youth officer to deal with a flood of inquiries following the success of the Harry Potter books which describe magic and wizardry.

The federation says the Potter books, by JK Rowling, and TV shows such as Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, had probably sparked the new flood of interest.

Media officer Andy Norfolk said: ''In response to the increased queries coming from youngsters we established a youth officer, not to promote paganism, because that would be against pagan ethics, but merely to answer these queries and allow someone to offer advice and information.

''It is quite probably linked to things like Harry Potter, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Every time an article on witchcraft or paganism appears, we had a huge surge in calls, mostly from young girls.''

Mr Norfolk said that parents should not be alarmed by their children's sudden interest in magic. ''Paganism is recognised as a valid religion,'' he said. ''In no way is it a cult and certainly it offers nothing untoward.

''We do not allow members under 18. As for children, I think a lot of young people think that witchcraft will help them sort out problems in a quick and easy way.

''Some of them may wish to find out more about paganism and they will discover that it is a nature-based spiritual religion which places responsibility on people's individual actions.

''However, for most it will be just a passing fad, and it is not something parents should be concerned about.''

A spokesman from the Roman Catholic Church said the books and shows which are provoking interest in paganism had been around for years, adding: ''I haven't heard anything within the Catholic religion that suggests this is anything to be concerned about.''

JK Rowling's publisher Bloomsbury was not available for comment and the Church of England General Synod refused to comment.

However, John Buckeridge, editor of Christian young people's magazine Youthwork, said he had no doubt that such stories could ''fuel a fascination'' in the occult, leading to ''psychological and spiritual damage''.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


16. Mob in India burns five people to death for 'black magic'
CNN/AP, Aug. 4, 2000
http://www.cnn.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
HYDERABAD, India (AP) -- A furious mob of nearly 200 villagers burned alive four women and a man in southern India on Thursday, accusing them of practicing black magic and causing deaths, police said.
(...)

When police reached the village of 1,500, it was almost deserted. The terrified residents had fled, leaving behind the elderly and a few young women.
(...)

Apte said the villagers believed the five were practicing sorcery and had caused the deaths of people. Two men have died in the village in recent months, Apte said, one in a hospital after suffering chest pain, and the other by drowning in a village canal.

In some parts of rural India, villagers have been known to kill women after branding them witches, police and social activists say. The practice is outlawed but killings still take place in remote areas.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Hate Groups / Hate Crimes

17. 'Supplies' were to include bombs
Denver Rocky Mountain News, Aug. 5, 2000
http://www.insidedenver.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Two men accused of dealing in illegal pipe bombs thought they were joining a supersecret national organization that shared their white supremacist views, federal court documents say.

But the clandestine ''National Militia'' the two 20-somethings believed was recruiting them actually consisted of just one person.

He was an undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Rex Levi Rabou, 25, of Cheyenne and Carl Joel Carlson, 24, of Kimball, Neb., were arrested in Kimball on Wednesday.

The investigation that led to their arrests began in April, when Sheriff Roger Alsop of Laramie County, Wyo., asked the ATF for help.

Alsop reported that the National Alliance, a white supremacist group founded by novelist William Pierce, was recruiting members in the Cheyenne area.

Pierce, under the name Andrew McDonald, wrote the 1978 novel The Turner Diaries, said to have inspired Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995. The novel's plot involves a white supremacist group that bombs a federal building in Washington, D.C.

Documents filed in Denver U.S. District Court this week said Carlson is a regional leader of the National Alliance and Rabou is his chief assistant.

The undercover agent's story in Wyoming, according to court documents, was ''that he was an operative with a secretive national organization known as the National Militia, visiting the Nebraska/Wyoming area with the purpose of forming a small cell of the National Militia.''

The agent also said he was at work ''pre-positioning supplies'' in the area. The ''supplies'' were to include pipe bombs. Some were to be used for training militia members, and some were to be used later in ''operations,'' the agent said.

Court documents said both Rabou and Carlson expressed interest in joining the new ''cell,'' recruiting their friends and providing pipe bombs.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


18. Germany considers ban on far-right party
CNN, Aug. 4, 2000
http://www.cnn.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
BERLIN -- The German government is considering banning the far-right National Democratic Party following a media outcry over a bombing last week in which immigrants -- many Jewish -- were injured.

The call for a ban was raised Tuesday by the conservative interior minister for the state of Bavaria, who said the NPD promoted neo-Nazism and was a threat to German democracy.
(...)

Authorities want to crack down on neo-Nazi activities, build a national clearinghouse on extremists' crimes, and shut down extremist sites on the Internet.

''When you look today at the Internet, and see the kind of racist and anti-Semitic filth -- yes, you can call it filth -- then it's frightening,'' Schily said.

Barbara John, the Berlin migration commissioner, told CNN, ''We need stronger laws, and I am looking to the United States, where hate crimes are punished in a more severe way.''
(...)

The German constitution allows for the banning of parties and organizations that threaten the democratic order. West Germany banned the Communist Party in 1956 and a small neo-Nazi organization has been outlawed more recently.

But some politicians have warned a ban could push the NPD underground and would not help stop right-wing extremism.
(...)

According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic security agency, the number of right-wing violent acts rose 5 percent to 746 in 1999 compared to the previous year. Still, the number of incidents has halved since 1992. Figures for 2000 will not be made available until next year.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


19. German Neo-Nazis Arrested
The Associated Press, Aug. 6, 2000
http://my.aol.com/news/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
BERLIN (AP) - Police took more than two dozen far-right extremists into custody after a group attacked a dark-skinned man and another gang rampaged through a street festival in separate incidents in western Germany.

All were released on Sunday after being held overnight, police said.

The arrests came as Germans struggle to stem a rising wave of neo-Nazi violence against foreigners and other minorities that has claimed at least three lives this year.
(...)

Parliament leaders said Sunday they would hold a hearing on right-wing extremism in October after lawmakers return from summer break.

Union leaders said Sunday they will organize counter-demonstrations to block a march by the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany on Jan. 27 - the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz - to protest Germany's planned national Holocaust Memorial.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


20. German parliament to debate right-wing extremism
Reuters, Aug. 6, 2000
http://my.aol.com/news/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
BERLIN, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Germany's parliament plans to debate right-wing extremism in October, responding to a media outcry over a mystery bombing that injured Jewish immigrants, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Frankfurter Rundschau quoted Ute Vogt, a member of the ruling Social Democrats and head of a parliamentary home affairs committee, as saying a major debate in the Bundestag lower house in mid-October would send a clear signal against extremism.

Over a thousand people took to the streets in the western German city of Duesseldorf on Saturday to protest against right-wing violence following the July 27 blast in a railway station which injured 10 immigrants, six of them Jewish.

A further 100 left-wing demonstrators gathered in the northern town of Tostedt to protest against a rally by members of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD). Two other extreme right-wing demonstrations were banned.
(...)

Berlin Interior Minister Eckart Werthebach called on Sunday for a change to laws governing the right of parties like the NPD to organise rallies and marches in public places -- particularly the site of a planned Holocaust memorial.

The NPD said this week it had applied for permission to demonstrate against the memorial -- which is due to be built near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate -- on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp at Auschwitz.

The German Association of Trade Unions (DGB) said it would plan its own protest on the same day.
(...)

Hundreds of neo-Nazis marched through the Brandenburg Gate this January to protest against the planned monument to Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The structure will incorporate a maze of concrete pillars resembling a huge graveyard.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Other News

21. Parents Acquitted in Wasps Death
The Associated Press, Aug. 3, 2000
http://my.aol.com/news/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
[Faith Healing]
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A couple whose 2-year-old son was stung to death by yellow jackets was acquitted Thursday of child abuse charges for waiting hours to seek medical help.

A jury took just 3 1/2 hours to acquit Wylie and Kelly Johnson of Melbourne, Fla. Their son, Harrison, died in 1998 after stumbling into a yellow jacket nest while the Johnsons were visiting friends in Tampa.

The boy was stung 432 times. The Johnsons called paramedics only after the child lost consciousness, more than seven hours later.

Prosecutors were not allowed to tell the jury that the Johnsons are members of an evangelical Christian sect that equates medicine with sorcery, nor that they had been acquitted of failing to report the death of a friend's baby the same year their son died.

Wylie Johnson told the jury that when Harrison tripped on the underground nest, the yellow jackets swarmed so thickly he couldn't see the boy at first.

The couple said they rushed Harrison into their friends' trailer home and gave him an oatmeal bath and rubbed lotion on his skin. But the couple and friends told jurors Harrison showed no signs of needing medical attention, though his body was covered with welts.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


22. Raelians fight 'discrimination'
Montreal Gazette (Canada), July 28, 2000
http://www.montrealgazette.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
The spiritual leader of the cult-like Raelian movement has accused UNESCO of religious discrimination and vows to fight back.

''We will take this case before UNESCO's grand council to denounce this religious discrimination which is contrary to UNESCO's constitutional act,'' Rael told The Gazette yesterday, reading from a statement to be made public today.

He said the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has excluded the Raelian religion from its Manifesto 2000, a worldwide petition for peace and non-violence.

Landed Downtown
Hundreds of Raelians, attending the group's annual international convention at their UFOland in Valcourt, landed in downtown Montreal yesterday to solicit signatures for the manifesto and to promote their form of religion.

As the medallion-wearing Raelians stopped people along the busiest section of Ste. Catherine St. yesterday to encourage them to sign the peace manifesto, many also handed out pamphlets on their controversial religion.

In response to a statement issued by the Raelians on Wednesday claiming messenger status for the public declaration, UNESCO headquarters in Paris responded with a terse: ''This organization is not a messenger of the Manifesto 2000 and doesn't figure in any partnership list published on the Web site for the UNESCO International Year of Culture and Peace.''

But Rael argued that ''the link with the Raelian religion on UNESCO's Internet site was only active for one month as well as the account number used to send signatures online.''

Alexander Lofthouse of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO said from Ottawa on Wednesday that ''we've certainly never signed a partnership agreement with them.''
(...)

The hedonistic Raelians - about 500,000 members known for their liberal sexual practices - believe mankind evolved from an extraterrestrial laboratory experiment.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


23. Church makes airwaves
BBC, Aug. 3, 2000
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
A controversial Christian sect has bought a London radio station from Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God preaches that diseases are caused by demons and has an estimated 6,000,000 followers worldwide.

Its Brazilian founder is facing corruption allegations.

The BBC's Americas Regional Editor Robert Plummer looks at the church's chequered history.

Brazil is well-known as the largest Roman Catholic country in the world, but during the past quarter of a century, North American-style evangelical Protestant sects like the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God have been winning converts in droves.

Since the Universal Church's foundation in 1977 by self-styled Bishop Edir Macedo, it has managed to win more than 3 million members in Brazil alone - many of them from the very poorest sectors of society, attracted by the church's emphasis on personal responsibility and empowerment in a country often beset by fatalism.

However, the church has courted controversy with its views on issues such as homosexuality, which it regards as a disease that can be cured by prayer, and Mr Macedo has been criticised for forcing members to pay 10% of their income to the church - the so-called ''dízima'' or tithe.

Worried by the success of the Universal Church, Roman Catholics in Brazil have launched their own ''charismatic'' movement in an effort to bring the faith closer to the people.

But Mr Macedo and his followers seem determined to take on the Catholic hierarchy in what some observers have, only half-jokingly, described as a holy war.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


24. A pyramid scheme with religious undertones
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/Scripps Howard News Service, Aug. 3, 2000
http://www.shns.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
MADISON, Wis. - A pyramid scheme with religious undertones is sweeping across Wisconsin, authorities warned.

It's clearly illegal, and it will cost you dearly, they said.

''I've never seen anything like it,'' said Judy Cardin, who has directed fraud investigations for years as a consumer protection official with the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
(...)

According to Oemichen, people are told they ultimately can reap $16,000 in cash if they give a gift of $2,000 and recruit others to do the same. It's like going to college, with eight freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors, he said.

People at the bottom - the eight freshmen - are asked to give $2,000 each, which amounts to $16,000 for each senior, who can move on to a separate graduate program. At the higher level, gifts of $4,000 to $6,000 are in order. According to the promotional materials, the most successful recruiters could make as much as $48,000.

While the scheme Oemichen described had a class theme, Mike King, police chief in Prairie du Chien, said he was troubled by the religious aspect of the scam going on in his community.

''The scary thing about this one right now is a lot of it is being advertised on quasi-religious themes,'' King said. ''Like it's a Christian gifting club. The idea is to bring people closer to Christianity.''
(...)

Oemichen said that members of a church in northern Wisconsin had called to say that their minister was signing up members.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Religious Freedom / Religious Intolerance

25. Myanmar refutes U.S commission report on religious freedom
Kyodo News Service/Associated Press, Aug. 3, 2000
http://beta.yellowbrix.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
YANGON, Aug. 3 (Kyodo) -- Myanmar's Foreign Ministry on Thursday rejected a report by a U.S. commission on religious freedom in Myanmar as ''a misrepresentation of the highest degree.''

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report dated July 28 characterized Myanmar as a land lacking in religious freedom.

''Even a tourist will be able to attest to the harmony that exists among the diverse religious communities in the country, seeing pagodas, churches, mosques and temples existing peacefully side by side in the cities and towns across the country. This striking situation so impressed the first U.N. independent human rights expert that she stated on record that in regard to religious tolerance, Myanmar may be regarded as a model society,'' the ministry statement said.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


26. Just How Free?
Dallas Morning News, Aug. 5, 2000
http://www.dallasnews.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Religious freedom was a central concern of the Founding Fathers. Today, 63 percent of Americans say they believe that the amount of such freedom in the United States is ''about right.'' But the number of those who believe that there is too little religious freedom is growing. In 1997, 21 percent said there was too little. That figure grew to 26 percent in 1999, and to 29 percent this year.
SOURCE: State of the First Amendment 2000
[...entire item...]


=== Science

27. Christian Astronomers Mend Rift Between Science and Religion
Space.com, Aug. 6, 2000
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
In 1633, Roman Catholic astronomer Galileo Galilei was punished for suggesting that Earth revolves around the sun, a scientific theory that threatened the Church's place in the universe. Since then, scientists and theologians alike have jealously guarded their domains like a mother protects her child from infection.

Today, the Christian Association of Stellar Explorers (CASE) is mending the rift between science and religion. This amateur astronomy club in the mostly Christian town of Siloam Springs, Arkansas is teaching Christians that they don't have to be afraid of science.

''We believe God created everything in the universe, by whatever means or method,'' says founding member and club president Patrick C. Carr. ''After that, science is a perfectly acceptable way of learning how the universe works.''
(...)

In fact, interest in CASE, believed to be the world's first Christian astronomy club, reaches across the nation and around the globe. Carr has heard from people in other states looking for local chapters (which don't yet exist). He recently spoke with a man from Australia who wanted advice on dealing with a doomsday cult of Christians who believed the world would end on May 5, when five planets and the moon formed an arc in the sky.

''I told him to explain as kindly as possible that they're wrong,'' Carr says with a chuckle. ''There is no Biblical or scientific evidence that the world ends when the planets align. It's simply bad theology and bad science.''

Like any organization, CASE is not without disagreements among its members. Some believe God created the universe in six days, a strict Biblical interpretation that makes Earth only 6,000 years old. Others believe modern cosmology, which says this planet has been around 4.5 billion years in a universe that is approximately 12 billion to 15 billion years old.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


=== Noted

28. Evangelicals Conclude Conference
Associated Press, Aug. 5, 2000
http://my.aol.com/news/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - A conference of world's evangelical Protestants, organized by the Rev. Billy Graham, is concluding with an uncompromising platform statement that insists ``Christ is the one and only Savior of the world'' and rejects liberal trends in Christianity.

The paper, called ``The Amsterdam Declaration: A Charter for Evangelism in the 21st Century,'' was developed from special discussions this week among 1,000 of the 10,300 participants from 209 countries and territories. It will be distributed to the meeting during its closing hours Sunday.

Conference leaders said it is a statement of the 1,000 who prepared it, not the conference as a whole. But it will be considered an important definition of the growing evangelical movement against more liberal versions of Christianity.

A second document, a 14-point ``Covenant for Evangelists,'' will also be given to all those in attendance Sunday. They are being asked to sign it as a personal pledge before God to spread the Gospel with zeal and integrity. No names or total of signers will be tabulated.
(...)

The other document, the declaration, states that ``there may well be traces of truth, beauty and goodness in many non-Christian belief systems. But we have no warrant for regarding any of these as ... separate roads to salvation.''
(...)

Similarly, the declaration takes a strong conservative stance against all modern trends toward religious relativity and pluralism, in Christian churches as well as ``post-modern'' society.

It says the ``western intellectual establishment'' largely denies there is any absolute truth and this is ``influencing popular culture throughout the world.'' But it insists that the Christian Gospel is authoritative truth ``to everyone everywhere in all times.''

Rejecting liberal theology, the declaration says the 66 books of the Protestant Bible ``constitute the written Word of God. As the inspired revelation of God in writing, the Scriptures are totally true and trustworthy, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.''

The statement affirms such classical - but often debated - Christian teachings as the Trinity, the virgin birth of Jesus, his bodily resurrection from the dead, and his personal future return as judge and renewer of all things.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


29. Many teens show little commitment to religion, survey finds
Denver Post, Aug. 5, 2000
http://www.denverpost.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
[Trends]
Religion is a passing fancy to many teenagers, and they are even less committed to Christianity than are baby boomers, according to a recent national survey.

While 64 percent of teens say they are religious, their goals for the future put religion way down on the list of things they want, according to Barna Research Group Ltd. of Ventura, Calif.

These statistics and other data are in a book written recently by George Barna, ''Third Millennium Teens.'' Barna is president of the research group, which has specialized in religious issues since 1985.

Barna concludes that teens are a ''study in contradictions'' because they want to be portrayed as religious people, but they invest little time in spiritual pursuit.

They are far more interested in making and retaining friendships, Barna says, than in spiritual development, and often use religious attendance or religious events as a way to meet and make friends.
(...)

Other points of Barna's survey showed that:

- Nine of 10 teenagers believe Jesus was real; eight out of 10 say they are Christian, but only half say they are eager to be deeply committed to the Christian faith, and only four out of 10 teens are ''excited'' about being active in a church.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


30. Rastafari celebrate roots, religion
Miami Herald, July 30, 2000
http://www.herald.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Candacee Rakem grooms her dreadlocks with her hands. She doesn't use combs and brushes and hasn't cut her hair in 22 years.

The 40-year-old Jamaican native is the founder of Real Afrikan Cultural Expressions International, an organization that caters to the needs of the Rastafari -- vegetarians who wear dreadlocks as sacred hair, reject white Western culture, believe humans are one with nature and in the repatriation of blacks to Africa, and smoke marijuana as a religious offering to God.

On July 22, RACE, which is based in Miramar, hosted its first Royal Ethiophile Banquet in honor of the 108th birth anniversary of the late Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, whom they worship as God.
(...)

Rakem, who grew up in the ghettos of Kingston before moving at age 12 to Miami with her mother Lucille Garvis , said Rastafari face all kinds of misconceptions because ``most people think all we do is smoke, bathe and breathe weed.''

``We're aware it's illegal but some states have legalized it for medical purposes,'' she said. ``Sometimes when you smoke marijuana, you are chanting down the negativity of the Earth and holding a spiritual meditation to a higher level. What we do behind closed doors is not anyone's business. That's a risk we take because we believe in it.''

The July 22 celebration was a grand gala for the group because it took place on the eve of the anniversary of Selassie's birth. ``That was when he revealed himself to the world, and that's why this was a huge affair for all Rastafarians,'' Rakem said.

Selassie was the 225th descendant of King David from the Bible, she said.

However, the beliefs of Rastafarians are often compared to a cult and are not accepted in religious circles. Barnes said he is intolerant of people who look down on them.

``Organized religion has always dismissed the beliefs of the Rastafarian,'' he said. ``It's pure hypocrisy because preachers and pastors are not supposed to judge anyone, yet they say Rastas are bad people. I have a problem with that contradiction.''

The Rev. Craig Hammond of First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables has his own take on the Rasta movement.

``They are a religion but I would make a distinction between them and the Christian faith because we follow the teachings of Jesus,'' Hammond said. ``They are more of a sect or a culturally based faith and are kind of exclusionary.

``It's not part of the Christian faith [to smoke marijuana]. It's interesting that they have to use a drug to be brought to this higher level. Why can't they just worship like everyone else does? The monks have been practicing meditation for a long time and we don't use a drug to get us in touch with God.''

Not so, said Michael Barnett, a sociology professor at Florida International University, who teaches social change and social movement. A Rastafari, Barnett says there are millions of Rastas around the world.

``The most contentious thing in American society is the smoking of marijuana but, within their religion, is a sacrament,'' he said. ``Native Americans smoke peyote. It's part of the religious doctrine. It's taken really seriously within the movement for our rituals. It's not to get high. It's to get to a spiritual level where one would worship and get in touch more with God more effectively.''
(...)

In 1997, the United Nations passed a resolution acknowledging the movement as a religion, Barnett said.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]