http://www.religionnewsblog.com Religion news about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:33:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23821/bountiful-flds-polygamy-case-not-appealed http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23821/bountiful-flds-polygamy-case-not-appealed#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:49:41 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23821 Canada will not appeal a court ruling tossing out criminal charges against two men in polygamous religious sects, authorities in British Columbia said Thursday.

Provincial Attorney General Michael de Jong said that westernmost British Columbia will instead ask its provincial Supreme Court whether Canada's law against polygamy is constitutional.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23821/bountiful-flds-polygamy-case-not-appealed/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23703/bountiful-polygamy-7 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23703/bountiful-polygamy-7#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:30:31 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23703 Criminal polygamy charges against B.C., Canada religious leaders Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler were thrown out last Thursday -- which, Canada's National Post writes, means they can continue to practise what they preach: Accept multiple wives, including teenage girls.

But McGill University law professor Angela Campbell isn't too worried. While she does not endorse polygamy, her research into the religious groups suggests Bountiful is neither a community of horrors nor a utopia.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23703/bountiful-polygamy-7/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23687/polygamy-charges-dismissed-against-polygamous-cult-leaders http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23687/polygamy-charges-dismissed-against-polygamous-cult-leaders#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:07:46 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23687 Criminal polygamy charges against B.C. religious leaders Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler have been thrown out.

Former attorney-general Wally Oppal did not have authority to appoint a second special prosecutor to the decades-long case after the first one declined to proceed, Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein ruled.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23687/polygamy-charges-dismissed-against-polygamous-cult-leaders/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23625/winston-blackmore-moral-advice http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23625/winston-blackmore-moral-advice#comments Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:23:13 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23625 Winston Blackmore says charges of polygamy against him have not undermined his authority to offer advice on moral issues.

The Globe and Mail earlier this week reported that Mr. Blackmore was offering online advice to women in abusive relationships.

Nancy Mereska, who has campaigned against polygamy, was startled by Mr. Blackmore offering moral advice. All polygamous relationships are abusive, she said in an interview with The Globe and Mail]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23625/winston-blackmore-moral-advice/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23305/winston-blackmore-2 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23305/winston-blackmore-2#comments Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:46:25 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23305 Winston Blackmore has yet to enter his plea to the criminal charge of practising polygamy, but he's already on his third lawyer, has filed for legal aid and asked Utah's attorney-general for help in having his bail conditions amended.

Blackmore's new lawyer is Joe Arvay, a well-known human rights and constitutional lawyer, whose firm successfully argued before the Supreme Court of Canada that the Constitution protects gays and lesbians from discrimination.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23305/winston-blackmore-2/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23274/pologamy-charges-against-canada-sect-leaders http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23274/pologamy-charges-against-canada-sect-leaders#comments Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:36:54 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23274 Winston Blackmore and James Oler, leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Bountiful, B.C., were charged last month with practising polygamy.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is urging that the constitutionality of the anti-polygamy law be tested by a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada —a recommendation made in earlier legal opinions prepared for the B.C. attorney general.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23274/pologamy-charges-against-canada-sect-leaders/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23268/flds-bountiful-polygamy http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23268/flds-bountiful-polygamy#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:44:47 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23268 The arrests in Canada last month of two fundamentalist Mormon leaders are bringing renewed interest to their polygamous communities near Creston, B.C., and loyal followers living just across the border in Idaho’s Boundary County.

Winston Blackmore, 52, and James Oler, 44, who now head factions of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Canada, face prison terms if convicted of violating that country’s polygamy laws.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23268/flds-bountiful-polygamy/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23193/bountiful-polygamy-court http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23193/bountiful-polygamy-court#comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:35:58 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23193 The practice of polygamy sets neighbour against neighbour, parent against child, politician against politician and even some husbands against wives in this southeastern B.C. town.

It's not that townsfolk here are polygamists. But Creston's proximity to the fundamentalist Mormon community of Bountiful, where some men unabashedly have more than one wife, makes it a more frequent topic than most would like.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23193/bountiful-polygamy-court/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23189/bountiful-polygamy-charges http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23189/bountiful-polygamy-charges#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:12:46 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23189 The lawyer for a B.C. polygamous sect leader plans to defend his client's right to marry more than one woman by citing gay marriage and cohabitation arrangements.

Blair Suffredine, who is representing Winston Blackmore in court Wednesday, will challenge the legitimacy of the Criminal Code's ban on polygamy, arguing it contravenes religious protections under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23189/bountiful-polygamy-charges/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23188/winston-blackmore-jim-oler-bountiful-polygamy http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23188/winston-blackmore-jim-oler-bountiful-polygamy#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:45:58 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23188 The bitter rivalry between two religious leaders in B.C. charged last week with polygamy could lead to two separate trials, increasing costs and prolonging a process that is already expected to stretch over a number of years.

Mr. Robertson would prefer to have both men on trial at the same time. But Mr. Blackmore and Mr. Oler have the option to ask for separate trials, Mr. Robertson said in an interview.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23188/winston-blackmore-jim-oler-bountiful-polygamy/feed 0