Religion News, Opinion & P.R.
Former Scientology insiders say the church uses coercive fundraising tactics to feed its voracious appetite for cash. So says the St. Petersburg Times in its latest series of exposes covering the Church of Scientology. »
Homosexuality / Lesbianism / Bisexuality / Transgenderism • RNB's Religion News Blog:
A Christian couple who did not let a gay couple have a double room in their hotel have appealed against a ruling that they acted unlawfully. The couple says the hotel’s policy is based on their beliefs about marriage, not hostility to any sexual orientation. »
Exorcism • RNB's Religion News Blog:
A Russian couple went on trial Tuesday accused of the gruesome killing of their 26-year-old daughter, allegedly beating, disembowelling and trampling her to death in an attempted exorcism. The parents, who deny the killing, were ordered to stand trial despite being deemed mentally ill by psychiatrists, investigators say. »
Cult Experts • Cults • RNB's Religion News Blog:
Global fears of economic or environmental upheaval feed the growth of gurus and damaging cults that prey on the weak, a French government expert on cults has warned during a visit to Australia. >Georges Fenech, president of France’s Interministerial >Mission for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviances, said it was working for greater international co-operation in dealing with sectarian abuses. »
Hare Krishna • RNB's Religion News Blog:
Swami Bhaktipada, a former leader of the American Hare Krishna movement who built a sprawling golden paradise for his followers in the hills of Appalachia but who later pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges that included conspiracy to commit the murders-for-hire of two devotees, died on Monday in a hospital near Mumbai, India. He was 74. »Family Radio • Harold Camping • RNB's Religion News Blog:
Family Radio preacher Harold Camping, who has a record of false doomsday prophecies, insist his new date of Oct. 21st is correct — probably. A heretic himself, Camping has turned his formerly Christian radio network into, theologically, a cult of Christianity. »
Opus Dei • RNB's Religion News Blog:
Two members of the secretive Roman Catholic society Opus Dei were due in a Paris court Thursday accused of subjecting a disciple to years of abuse.Catherine Tissier says she was forced to work 14-hour days and brainwashed, resulting in charges of “undignified punishment” and illegal employment. »
Dale and Shannon Hickman • Faith Healing • Followers of Christ (Oregon) • RNB's Religion News Blog:
A pediatrician who specializes in newborns and premature infants testified Monday that David Hickman would have survived if his parents had called for help. Dale and Shannon Hickman took “a real and avoidable risk” with their child’s life, Dr. Joseph Kaempf, a neonatologist and prosecution witness, said. »
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Religion News Blog
Susan Grady has been convicted on second-degree manslaughter in the faith healing death of her 9-year-old son, Aaron Grady. Grady is a member of The General Assemblies and Church of the First Born church, a movement whose extremist teachings regarding faith healing have led to many unnecessary deaths. »
Cult Experts: If your loved-one is caught up in a manipulative cult, abusive church, or destructive relationship (so-called 'one-on-one cult') you may need a cult expert. Avoid the bad apples. Here's how to select a cult expert.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the conviction of a man found guilty in the 2008 beating death of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter, Amora Bain Carson. The child was beaten with a hammer, sexually assaulted, and bitten more than 20 times. »
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the jury selection process is under way for the trial of a woman accused of relying on faith and prayer, rather than seeking medical care, to treat her 9-year-old son who died of diabetes-related complications. Susan Grady is a member of the Church of the First Born — a network of churches whose extremist teachings regarding faith healing have resulted in many unnecessary deaths. »
The U.S. Justice Department says it plans to introduce evidence at the trial of Amish sect leader Sam Mullet to prove he had total authority over his Ohio community, including disciplining its members with beatings and having sex with other men’s wives to “counsel” them. Mullet and several of his family members and other followers are awaiting trial on a Federal hate crimes indictment for a series of beard- and hair cutting attacks against Amish men and women. »
A court in Brussels opened the trial of six people charged in connection with the 2004 murder of a young Muslim woman in a deadly act of exorcism, a practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person believed to be possessed. The woman was reportedly deceived into believing that she could not have children because she was possessed and that she had to undergo a practice of exorcism. »
In August, 2011, a Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls “spiritual marriages.” Jeffs has appealed his conviction with ‘revelations’ in which Jesus Christ allegedly demands his release, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has turned down the appeal. »
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One year ago today: Cult leader linked to missing boy appears in court
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Two years ago today: Thousands Believe Catholic Priest Richard McAlear Heals The Sick, Yogi Bhajan’s legacy in question
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