c. 2005 Religion News Service
State Dept. Again Cites `Concern’ for Religious Freedom in Saudi Arabia
(RNS) The U.S. State Department has again included Saudi Arabia on its list of nations designated as “a country of particular concern” regarding religious freedom.
In its annual international religious freedom report, released Tuesday (Nov. 8), Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also redesignated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Vietnam as countries where “particularly severe violations” continue to occur.
“The sad truth, which this report exposes, is that many millions of religious believers continue to suffer for the belief or practice of their faith, and many governments refuse to recognize or protect this right,” wrote John V. Hanford, the U.S. ambassador at large for religious freedom, in an introduction to the report.
The seventh report, which includes the period from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005, identified countries where there are barriers to international religious freedom, cited nations where there was improvement in protecting religious liberty and detailed U.S. efforts to advance religious freedom across the globe.
The report said that in Saudi Arabia, “religious freedom is not recognized or protected under the country’s laws, and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam.” A key U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia has objected in the past to its inclusion in the report.
Factors cited in the report about other “countries of particular concern” included:
Burma: Continuing anti-Muslim violence and prohibition on non-Buddhist groups building new places of worship.
China: Detention and arrest of religious leaders and adherents, including Falun Gong members, and “increased government scrutiny” of underground Christian groups, Muslim Uighurs and Tibetan Buddhists.
Eritrea: Harassment and detention of Pentecostal and other evangelical groups and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Iran: Religious minorities, such as Sunni Muslims, Baha’is, Jews and Christians, reported imprisonment and discrimination based on their faith.
North Korea: “Religious freedom does not exist” and repression of unauthorized religious groups continues.
Sudan: Restrictions placed on non-Muslims, non-Arab Muslims and Muslims from groups not linked with the ruling party.
Vietnam: Restrictions on clergy and organized activities of religious groups.
_ Adelle M. Banks
California Church Vows to Fight IRS Investigation of Sermon
PASADENA, Calif. (RNS) An Episcopal Church says it will fight to keep its tax-exempt status in light of an Internal Revenue Service investigation into a politically charged sermon.
The Rev. Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Church, said Monday (Nov. 7) that the church learned of the investigation in June, and he made it public in services Sunday because the IRS appears to be close to a decision on the matter. The investigation was triggered by a sermon delivered by Rector Emeritus George Regas.
While many churches deal with politics in general from the pulpit, they are enjoined from making endorsements if they wish to stay tax-free.
The IRS notified the church of the investigation in a letter that cited an Oct. 31, 2004, sermon by Regas called “If Jesus Debated Senator Kerry and President Bush.” Church leaders say they have done nothing wrong.
“There’s much more at stake than All Saints in this” investigation, said Bacon. “I think it’s a defining moment about religious freedom in the United States.”
All Saints Episcopal Church started in 1892 with a small gathering of parishioners in a home. Now, about 3,500 people attend the socially liberal church every week. IRS officials would not confirm the investigation because of what they called confidentiality concerns during an ongoing probe.
The agency’s regulations prohibit churches from participating in any political campaign on behalf of one candidate. Endorsements, donations or statements made on behalf of a church are also not allowed. Even a debate or forum that shows a preference for or against a particular candidate could violate regulations, according to IRS guidelines.
Regas’ sermon speculated about what Jesus would say to Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry on subjects including poverty, violence and war.
In his introduction, Regas said he did not intend to tell people how to vote, but at one point, Regas imagined the words Jesus would have for Bush: “Mr. President, your doctrine of a pre-emptive war is a failed doctrine. Forcibly changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has led to disaster.”
Bacon said the IRS asked for supporting documents in its letter, which the church provided. Then the agency offered a deal: If the church would say it violated regulations and promise to comply in the future, the IRS would drop its investigation.
The church replied that it had not broken any regulations.
_ Marshall Allen of the Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News
Study Finds No Ill Effects of Peyote Use Among Navajos
(RNS) Native Americans who use peyote as part of a religious ritual show no long-term negative health effects, and actually fare better than recovering alcoholics, according to Harvard researchers.
A five-year study at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., also found that Navajo Indians who used peyote scored better on mental health tests than Navajos who did not use the hallucinogenic cactus.
“We found no evidence of psychological or cognitive deficits among Native Americans using peyote regularly in a religious setting,” the researchers said in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Biology Psychiatry.
A 1994 law allows some 300,000 members of the Native American Church to use peyote in religious ceremonies, and 1997 guidelines allow its use among an estimated 10,000 Native American members of the armed forces.
The use of peyote was scrutinized by the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 1 as part of a case that involved the importation of a hallucinogenic tea used by members of a small New Mexico religious sect. Lawyers for the sect argued that laws that protect peyote should also protect the use of the hoasca tea.
Researchers studied 61 Navajos who have ingested peyote at least 100 times, and compared their scores with 79 Navajos who reported minimal use of the substance, and 36 tribe members who are recovering alcoholics.
The study found that peyote users scored better on mental health categories, including anxiety, depression, behavioral control and psychological distress. Researchers were unable to find any long-term negative effects.
Researchers cautioned, however, that the high scores may actually be tied to membership in a close-knit religious community, not the drug. “From our data, we cannot say what the effects of peyote might be in any other group,” said Dr. Harrison Pope, director of McLean’s biological psychiatry laboratory.
_ Kevin Eckstrom
Canada’s Largest Protestant Church Continues Push to Unionize Clergy
TORONTO (RNS) Ministers of the United Church of Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers vow to press ahead with a drive to unionize the church’s clergy, despite the recent failure to garner enough support to trigger a vote in the province of Ontario.
The CAW, one of Canada’s biggest unions, could not sign up enough clergy by a Nov. 4 deadline to prompt a certification vote for the church’s 1,100 ministers in Ontario, where 40 percent support was needed to take the issue to a vote.
A senior CAW official handling the clergy file would not say how far short the Ontario campaign fell. In fact, the union won’t even tell the clergy spearheading the drive the final tally.
But those behind the effort say the response to their first membership drive has convinced them to press ahead with efforts to unionize ministers across Canada.
“We have garnered enough support, enough momentum and a good foundation to justify continuing and relaunching the drive for a second year,” the Rev. David Galston told CTV News.
Galston and the Rev. Jim Evans launched the campaign to unionize last fall, following the release of a study on ministers’ working conditions.
The study found that 60 percent of ministers reported high levels of conflict with congregations, while 80 percent felt they had no peer support.
Ministers of the United Church, Canada’s largest Protestant denomination, reported harassment from their flock, the organizers say.
“We’re talking about ministers who’ve had their lives threatened. We’re taking about (having) their families threatened,” said Galston. “Is that part of the job? Don’t we deserve protection (from) that?”
CAW official Colette Hooson said the union drive “will take time. We’ve got the patience. We’re going to continue on.”
She said the union has support from clergy across Canada. “We’ve got cards already from other provinces who just can’t wait to get on board.”
Although pro-union clergy eventually want to form a national body, they decided to campaign piecemeal because union organizing rules vary from province to province.
“But we do want to successfully conclude the province of Ontario before we take it out on the road,” Hooson said.
The general secretary of the church, which represents about 3,600 congregations, said he’s willing to work with ministers.
“We know there are clergy who have concerns,” said the Rev. Jim Sinclair. “We are continuing to work at what it will take to make the ministry a healthy place.”
_ Ron Csillag
Actor Receives Catholic Humanitarian Award for Helping Iraqi Children
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (RNS) Actor Gary Sinise has been honored by Catholics In Media Associates (CIMA) for his extensive but quiet work visiting U.S. troops and aiding Iraqi schoolchildren.
Sinise stars in the CBS crime drama “CSI: NY” and is known for playing Lt. Dan in 1994’s Tom Hanks hit movie “Forrest Gump.” But what prompted CIMA to give Sinise its first humanitarian award Sunday (Nov. 6) was how, for the past 20 months, he has raised more than $500,000 as co-founder of Operation Iraqi Children, which buys school supply kits for students who had been sharing one pencil per Iraqi classroom.
When he accepted his award, Sinise said that when a U.S. military convoy recently drove by one school, the children appreciated their new pencils and other items and warned the troops that the road ahead had been mined by insurgents.
“So Operation Iraqi Children is helping our troops in more ways than one,” said Sinise, whose Lt. Dan Band has performed with the USO at military bases in the U.S., Iraq and Afghanistan. “We see very little in the media that anything positive is there (in Iraq) and that does affect our troops.”
The annual CIMA awards combine a Sunday Mass with a brunch and awards ceremony. Speaking to more than 400 Catholics gathered for the four-hour event, Alexander Salazar, an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, spoke of Jesus Christ as “the master scriptwriter.”
Other CIMA honorees were the NBC drama “Medium” about a psychic mom who helps solve crimes, the dramatic film “Hotel Rwanda” about Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, and tap dancer Gregory Hines, who at age 57 died of cancer two years ago. He had re-embraced his Catholicism after a long stretch away from the faith.
_ David Finnigan
Quote of the Day: Thomas More Law Center President Richard Thompson
(RNS) “America’s culture has been influenced by Christianity from the very beginning but there is an attempt to slowly remove every symbol of Christianity and religious faith in our country. This is a very dangerous movement because what will ultimately happen is, out of sight, out of mind.’
_ Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., explaining why his organization works to protect the expression of Christian beliefs in the public square. Thompson, whose center has defended a Pennsylvania school district’s inclusion of intelligent design, was quoted by The New York Times.
MO/PH END RNS