About Alternative Religions

Horror or Hype: The Continuing Case of Scientology

2009-11-22T16:20:24Z

Outrageous accusations against the Church of Scientology are coming to light in Australia, including the use of labor camps, torture and pressure to get abortions.

There's a lot of people who want to automatically believe every horrible tale about the CoS. To them, its obvious that the CoS is a monster, willing to do anything and everything to keep followers under control.

Let me remind people than in the Middle Ages, it was also "obvious" to many people that wells poisoned by Jews caused the Black Death. In the Renaissance it was "obvious" that tens of thousands of people were working in league with Satan to magically destroy Christendom. And just a few years again it was "obvious" to many people that JonBenet Ramsey was killed by her parents, both of which have now been cleared by police.

Also, as tales of these accusations spread, they get embellished. In some articles about these newest allegations, there is mention of pressure to have abortions. Pregnant women are told that having a child is contrary to the aims of their organization. But other articles imply women are forced to have abortions. There's a world of difference between the two scenarios. And as people get more and more angry, they tend to repeat the most foul version of the tales they hear. That ultimately doesn't accomplish anything positive.

Horror or Hype: The Continuing Case of Scientology originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 16:20:24.

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Fictional Images Shape Religious Perspectives

2009-11-22T16:06:16Z

The death of actor Edward Woodward this week, who starred in the British cult film The Wicker Man back in the 1970s, got me thinking of just how easily perceptions can be shaped by fiction.

One of the reasons The Wicker Man is notable is because the plot fuses some modern neo-pagan beliefs with modern paranoia about pagans. The result is a plot about a community that ritually sacrifices humans in order to appease a nature god they depend upon for survival, which periodically get quoted as examples of what modern pagans are "really" doing.

The Wicker Man, however, certainly isn't the only film to wield that kind of power over people imaginations. There are people who dislike the Catholic Church for no real reason other than what they saw in The DaVinci Code. There are accusations that Harry Potter teaches kids about Wicca and other occult paths, which is news to Wiccans and occultists.

Quite simply, anything considered a movie and not labeled as a documentary contains fiction. Even those movies labeled "based on a true story" (which none of the above movies are) contain invention, often considerable amounts of it, and watchers need to remember that. It's not just religions that get this treatment either. As a historian, I've had to train myself not to wince through historical movies and then have to do damage control when students accept such films as fact.

Fictional Images Shape Religious Perspectives originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 16:06:16.

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Old Religions; New Approaches

2009-11-16T21:58:07Z

CNN reports about a growing number of cyber-churches, where services are broadcast and parishioners view it and even take part in it from the comfort of their homes.

Some insist that things will be lost, that one cannot simply "grab grape juice and a cracker from the fridge and watch a computer screen, thinking they are truly participating in a gathering of the faithful."

Why not? While many might not find meaning in such a scenario, they can attend traditional services. But if it is meaningful to someone, who is anyone to argue?

People gripe about lowering attendances at traditional services and people pulling away from faith, oftentimes because they feel they do not have time. The world is changing. Why should faith be expected to stay stagnant? This is how we evolve intellectually: we try new ideas and see if they work, and if they better someone's life, if it keeps someone closer to God than they would otherwise be, why complain?

Old Religions; New Approaches originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 21:58:07.

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Defining "Religion": The Power of Words

2009-11-16T03:35:35Z

In the wake of Ft. Hood shootings, conservative preacher Pat Robertson has stated, "Islam is a violent -- I was going to say religion, but it's not a religion. It's a political system. It's a violent political system bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination."

It's a powerful statement, but the power isn't in the accusation it makes. Rather, the power is in the attempt of redefining Islam as not a religion. Religions have particular rights in Western countries. Talk of not calling Islam a religion is tantamount to suggesting those rights are not deserved by Muslims.

And the suggestion on a logical level is so absurd that Robertson has to use the smoke and mirrors of fear to distract readers from what he's actually said. Regardless of what else Islam may or may not be, what is may or may not espouse, it is without a doubt a religion. It has belief in a higher power, dogma, rituals, ethics, theology.

There's another threat in changing how we categorize Islam: by saying its not a religion, Robertson is isolating it, labeling it as something even more foreign and alien. His listeners are religious. But Muslims are to be seen as something else, not merely a group with different beliefs but a group who is not religious at all.

And from there, it's an easy step to accuse them of being anti-religious, which whips all sorts of people up into fits. It's juvenile and childish. Unfortunately, too often it also works.

Defining "Religion": The Power of Words originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 03:35:35.

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Baha'is Celebrate the Birth of Baha'ullah

2009-11-12T00:34:47Z

November 12 is celebrated by Baha'is as the birthday of Baha'u'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith.

Official holidays of the Baha'i Faith, including the birthday of Baha'u'llah, are expected to be marked with the suspension of work or school. Beyond that, however, celebrations widely vary. They might involve a communal meal and scripture readings, and they are generally open to the public.

Baha'is Celebrate the Birth of Baha'ullah originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 00:34:47.

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"I believe" Licence Plates Unconstitutional

2009-11-12T00:19:49Z

A judge in South Carolina has ruled that legal license plates bearing a cross and the words "I believe" on them are unconstitutional. He also accused legislators, who unanimously approved the plates of "unnecessarily draw[ing] the state into an expensive lawsuit."

I can't even begin to comprehend how these people thought such a move would be legal, especially when some lawmakers were against offering similar plates for other faiths.

This shouldn't have needed to go to court. The problem with the plates should have been obvious. Separation of Church and State, folks. It's very cut and dry on this one.

And seriously, why push so hard for it? There's plenty of ways people express their faith on their cars. Why insist on including the license plate? What possible reason could have fueled this besides a hamfisted attempt to prove that this is a Christian nation?

"I believe" Licence Plates Unconstitutional originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 00:19:49.

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2012: Can the End be Near?

2009-11-09T04:32:13Z

For all of you tired of the 2012 hysteria, try pointing the next panicked individual in the direction of this National Geographic article, which addresses several of the common claims involved in this mad rumor.

The article doesn't address the issue of Nostradamus predicting 2012, nor does it touch upon claims of Biblical prophecy. For these, I challenge people to actually find a quote from either source that actually mentions 2012. (You can also read more on the ludicrousness of Nostradamus theories over at Paranormal Phenomena.)

2012: Can the End be Near? originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 04:32:13.

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French Scientology Convicted of Fraud; Church Blusters

2009-11-09T03:46:24Z

Last week, a French court found this Church of Scientology guilty of organized fraud, CNN reports.

The Church responded by comparing the French court to the Inquisition, even though the French court ruled that the Church could continue to operate in France so long as it did so legally. The historic Inquisition was specifically to identify heretics, spiritual deviants who would be expected to conform to religious norms or face punishments up to and including death.

French Scientology Convicted of Fraud; Church Blusters originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 03:46:24.

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Adventures of Lil' Cthulhu

2009-11-09T03:32:26Z

In the 1920s, author H.P. Lovecraft created what is commonly known as the Cthulhu mythos through a series of occult stories dealing with fictional dark elder gods and the horrible things that happen when mortals attempt to access them.

These stories have significantly influenced pulp fiction perception of occult horror, and their content has fueled multiple hoaxes. The most famous is the Necronomicon, a book Lovecraft invented but which was subsequently written and published by multiple other authors ans sometimes referenced by anti-occultists. (the most recent Necronomicon foray can be found here, published by a 27-year-old who boasts having studied the occult for 15 years. Yes, do the math on that one.)

On the lighter side of things, I now bring you Adventures of Lil' Cthulhu, just to prove that anything can have a cute and humorous side on the Internet.

What, did you expect me to always be serious?

Adventures of Lil' Cthulhu originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 03:32:26.

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Phony Occult Order Lures Teens For Sex

2009-10-28T22:10:55Z

It's interesting how different writers can portray the same incident. The San Antonio Express reports on a man "accused of creating a 'secret society' to lure teenage girls into having sex with him".

Meanwhile, KENS5 reports that sex was being used to bait students into the occult order. That is to say, the implication is the students were being pressured into occultism, rather than being pressured into sex with a mature adult.

The San Antonio Express's version rings much more true. Unfortunately, this isn't a unique incident. While most occult organizations are entirely consensual and limited to adults, periodically some sicko comes along promising magical powers or mystical insight into the universe to anyone willing to mystically unite with him, aka have sex. Targeting teenage girls is fairly common in these scenarios. They're naive, vulnerable, and relatively easy to control.

These people aren't occultists. They're scam artists. They promise what they can't provide in order to have sex, and sometimes to collect a fawning fan base. This isn't a plot to ensnare people into a shadow organization. It's a plot to obtain sexual gratification.

Phony Occult Order Lures Teens For Sex originally appeared on About.com Alternative Religions on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 22:10:55.

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