Two recent stories highlight the issue of child sexual abuse in religious organizations -- this time not the Catholic church -- but rather the Mormons and the Southern Baptists. Unfortunately, organizations that should provide a safe, nurturing environment too often harbor sexual predators. There are three primary reasons for this in my view: Organizations that cloak themselves in the mantle of religion tend to remain outside the scope of societal protections against abuse. Particularly in the United States, where the First Amendment has been interpreted over the years to preclude … [Read more...]
Scientology’s Tax Exemption
I happened to pull up this posting from April 2015 and in re-reading it I thought it important enough to repost here today. With The Aftermath on Netflix, many new people are being exposed to the horrifying truth about scientology for the first time. And many have the same question as those who have been in the know for some time. How is it that scientology can be tax exempt? This is a pretty good essay that explains in some detail why it should NOT. And it addresses a bit why it hasn’t changed. Unfortunately, with a conservative majority now firmly entrenched in the US Supreme Court, … [Read more...]