Today’s edition includes stories about
a
radicalisation prevention program that may backfire.
A
protest against Whole Foods over its link to Marc Gafni.
Iglesia ni Cristo, a powerful cult of Christianity,
endorses presidential candidates.
Today: stories about the Palmarian Catholic Church, how easily people get radicalised, and what IS jihadists have in mind for Europe’s cities.
Also: tongue-in-cheek, How do Operating Thetans get in touch with eachother? And is Crossfit a religion?
Finally: Religion News Blog’s new design.
In 1981 Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh spent $5.75 million on a remote piece of property in Oregon and invested millions more to build Rajneeshpuram as a spiritual retreat for thousands of his red-frocked followers.
A few years later some of his followers were convicted of infecting salad bars with Salmonella, as well as other crimes: arson, wiretapping, immigration fraud, election fraud and attempted murder.
‘Sister Wives’ sugarcoats polygamy. ‘Escaping Polygamy’ shows what the lifestyle is really like.
Come to think of it, that’s also what Alex Gibney did in his Emmy-nominated documentary, “Going Clear,’ which exposes the Scientology cult to daylight.
Scientology quacks urged veto of Texas mental health bill.
Watch how dozens of Yazidi women and children escape from the clutches of ISIS barbarians.
Why a Wheaton chaplaincy staffer quit the evangelical college: same-sex celibacy and the church.
the US Bishops’ Sexual Abuse Charter faces challenges.
The people behind Facegloria — said to be a sin-free alternative to Facebook — want to take on Facebook, Twitter, and the world.
Aimed initially at Brazil’s booming ‘Evangelical’ movement, the service is patrolled by volunteers who prevent the posting of all-too-revealing selfies, 600 banned words, and anything related to homosexuality.
The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is a global network of people concerned about psychological manipulation and abuse in cultic or high-demand groups, alternative movements, and other environments.
ICSA is unique in how it brings together former group members, families, helping professionals and researchers.
Here is a listing of upcoming events.
The Christian owners of a bakery in Oregon have been ordered to pay $135.000 to a lesbian couple they refused to bake a wedding cake for.
Aaron and Melissa Klein said their refusal to bake for the lesbian couple was prompted by their Christian beliefs. The case has been cited in the national debate over religious freedom and discrimination against gays.
The insular Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) is building a “fortress-type” wall around its meeting house in Colorado City, Arizona.
Observers believe the wall is being erected on the orders of cult leader Warren Jeffs, who is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison.
Cult leader Lia Eden claims that a UFO piloted by the archangel Gabriel wants to pick up her followers.
She has therefore requested that Indonesia’s President and Jakarata’s Governor grant the UFO permission to land at the country’s National Monument.
