http://www.religionnewsblog.com Religion news about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:15:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 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/23363/canada-defends-polygamy-ban http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23363/canada-defends-polygamy-ban#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:41:01 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23363 In January, the RCMP charged two prominent members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect in Bountiful, B.C., with practising polygamy.

The lawyer for one of them has vowed to cite his client's religious freedom as a defence, leading some legal and constitutional experts to speculate the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23363/canada-defends-polygamy-ban/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/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/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 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23138/bountiful-polygamy-6 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23138/bountiful-polygamy-6#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:38:35 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23138 After decades of controversy and allegations, RCMP swept into the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C., on Wednesday and arrested two sect leaders, including one who had bragged of multiple wives and dozens of children and all but dared police to stop him.

Some anti-polygamists were jubilant at the charges laid yesterday but others were bitterly disappointed that B.C. officials chose not to proceed with sexual exploitation charges against Bountiful leaders.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23138/bountiful-polygamy-6/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23135/bountiful-winston-blackmore-james-oler http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23135/bountiful-winston-blackmore-james-oler#comments Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:00:55 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23135 Two top leaders of the controversial polygamous sect in Bountiful, B.C., have been arrested and charged with practising polygamy.

Oppal said Blackmore is alleged to be married to 20 women, while Oler is accused of committing polygamy by being married to two women.

"This has been a very complex issue," he told The Canadian Press. "It's been with us for well over 20 years. The problem has always been the defence of religion has always been raised."]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23135/bountiful-winston-blackmore-james-oler/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21721/canadian-polygamist-may-receive-more-than-10000-from-the-government http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21721/canadian-polygamist-may-receive-more-than-10000-from-the-government#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:37:28 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=21721
As a result, prominent polygamist Winston Blackmore and his family could receive more than $10,000 this month from the B.C. government in so-called dividend cheques.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/21721/canadian-polygamist-may-receive-more-than-10000-from-the-government/feed 0