TAGS
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
TOLERANCE
While training as an Army officer, I was taught not to discuss politics and religion. This seemed eminently practical advice at the time. However, I have come to realize the flaw in this thinking. Communication is the universal solvent.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
In the weeks prior to the tragic raid, one such demagogue, the notorious convicted felon Rick Ross of the now defunct Cult Awareness Network, appeared on several network news shows and revealed that he had been “briefing” both the FBI and the ATF with his poisonous rhetoric.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The case seems simple at first. Dominique Hakim Marcelle Ray was convicted in 1995 of the rape and murder of a 15-year old girl and sentenced to death. Ray subsequently converted to Islam in 2006 while incarcerated. The death sentence was to be carried out Feb.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Reading this recent article about a jailed neo-Nazi trying to hide behind “religious freedom” to protect his hate speech reinforced my faith in our collective ability to differentiate between legitimate arguments and specious ones—between those worth protecting and those who would go to any lengths to hurt others so they themselves could somehow feel strong.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Probably everyone reading this post has personally observed the large and growing problem of homelessness in the United States. And whatever the cause or causes, we’d all have to agree that the homeless are in need of help.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Somehow religion and government, these two important arenas of human interaction, must come to terms with one another and acknowledge the potential goodness and intent in both.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Until the mid-1300s, witchcraft and magic had been quietly accepted as part of the mystic melting pot that was Europe. That now changed. Early inquisitions in France targeted witches as the source of the catastrophes.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
One of my personal goals in 2018 has been to speak out, loudly and as often as necessary, to protect my religion, Scientology, and my family and friends who join me in that faith. It’s become pretty clear to me that there are a few people, including some influential ones, who would love nothing more than to take away my freedom to practice my religion.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Growing up as an agnostic, John did not give religious matters too much thought. Nor did he assess his actions against any kind of religious teachings or moral codes. If something seemed advantageous in the moment and the risk was not too great, it was worthwhile.
TOLERANCE
When I was a child in France, the word “culte” just meant “worship.” Still does. In fact, when intolerant types there want to disapprove of some faith, they have to call it a “secte.” Of course, in the USA a cult can be anything from “the cult of skinny jeans” to some dark, authoritarian thing.
