Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 75
efforts to help two girls escape forced marriages in polygamous families were chronicled on
CBS's "48 Hours."
...Many of these polygamous families belong to a religious group known as the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the
mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormon Church") over the
mainstream Church's official ban on polygamy. Although polygamy is prohibited by the Utah
State Constitution and its bigamy statutes, the prosecution of Tom Green in 2001 for
polygamy was the first since 1953. Most observers believe that Mr. Green was prosecuted
only because he had embarrassed state officials through his aggressive promotion of
polygamy in the media at a time when preparations for the Winter Olympics had focused
public attention on Utah.
Women and girls who have fled polygamous families report that religious teachings
emphasize their duty to submit to the authority of their fathers, husbands, and male
religious leaders, and link polygamy to their spiritual salvation. The religious teachings of
these polygamous groups and the closed nature of their communities create conditions in
which women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence, coercion, and abuse. ..
Constitutional Defense
These violations cannot be excused in the name of religious freedom. Leaders of
polygamous groups and several public officials have claimed that religious freedom protects
the right to practice polygamy. They argue that government action against polygamy-
related abuses amounts to religious persecution. But religious practices that violate the
human rights of others are not permitted by international law, which stipulates that religious
practices can be restricted when necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others.
Nor does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect religious practices that cause
harm to others. The harm associated with polygamy-related abuses puts these practices
beyond the scope of religious freedom under the Constitution, including: the physical and
mental harm caused by violence and abuse the harmful effects of child marriage on a girl's
health, educational opportunity and psychosocial development and the harmful emotional
and psychological consequences of isolation within communities that instill a belief in
women's subordination.
Officials in Utah, Arizona and the U.S. Federal Government have allowed those responsible
for polygamy-related abuses to escape justice, with few exceptions.
Raëlians
Raël Predicts Human Clone in 2 Years
The Canadian leader of a "cult" which believes in UFOs has predicted that a human clone
would be born within two years, despite U.S. government attempts to block it. Claud
Vorilhon, now known as Raël, has said that his effort to clone a person is back on track. His
company, Clonaid, was still in the process of recreating a terminally-ill man at a secret
location (after abandoning a U.S. laboratory in the wake of a warning from the United
States Food and Drug Administration that it would not allow human cloning experiments).
"The process is going well," Raël told journalists. "A baby will be born 12 to 24 months from
now." Dressed in white and with his hair swept up in a small knot, Raël said that fears of
the human cloning producing "a monster" or "Frankenstein" were unfounded because faulty
cells would be discarded in the Clonaid process. "My mission is to prepare human beings for
future technology," said the Raëlian leader, a self-confessed lover of the Internet and video
games who was in London to promote his new book. (Reuters 2/14/02, Internet)
efforts to help two girls escape forced marriages in polygamous families were chronicled on
CBS's "48 Hours."
...Many of these polygamous families belong to a religious group known as the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, which broke away from the
mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormon Church") over the
mainstream Church's official ban on polygamy. Although polygamy is prohibited by the Utah
State Constitution and its bigamy statutes, the prosecution of Tom Green in 2001 for
polygamy was the first since 1953. Most observers believe that Mr. Green was prosecuted
only because he had embarrassed state officials through his aggressive promotion of
polygamy in the media at a time when preparations for the Winter Olympics had focused
public attention on Utah.
Women and girls who have fled polygamous families report that religious teachings
emphasize their duty to submit to the authority of their fathers, husbands, and male
religious leaders, and link polygamy to their spiritual salvation. The religious teachings of
these polygamous groups and the closed nature of their communities create conditions in
which women and girls are especially vulnerable to violence, coercion, and abuse. ..
Constitutional Defense
These violations cannot be excused in the name of religious freedom. Leaders of
polygamous groups and several public officials have claimed that religious freedom protects
the right to practice polygamy. They argue that government action against polygamy-
related abuses amounts to religious persecution. But religious practices that violate the
human rights of others are not permitted by international law, which stipulates that religious
practices can be restricted when necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others.
Nor does the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protect religious practices that cause
harm to others. The harm associated with polygamy-related abuses puts these practices
beyond the scope of religious freedom under the Constitution, including: the physical and
mental harm caused by violence and abuse the harmful effects of child marriage on a girl's
health, educational opportunity and psychosocial development and the harmful emotional
and psychological consequences of isolation within communities that instill a belief in
women's subordination.
Officials in Utah, Arizona and the U.S. Federal Government have allowed those responsible
for polygamy-related abuses to escape justice, with few exceptions.
Raëlians
Raël Predicts Human Clone in 2 Years
The Canadian leader of a "cult" which believes in UFOs has predicted that a human clone
would be born within two years, despite U.S. government attempts to block it. Claud
Vorilhon, now known as Raël, has said that his effort to clone a person is back on track. His
company, Clonaid, was still in the process of recreating a terminally-ill man at a secret
location (after abandoning a U.S. laboratory in the wake of a warning from the United
States Food and Drug Administration that it would not allow human cloning experiments).
"The process is going well," Raël told journalists. "A baby will be born 12 to 24 months from
now." Dressed in white and with his hair swept up in a small knot, Raël said that fears of
the human cloning producing "a monster" or "Frankenstein" were unfounded because faulty
cells would be discarded in the Clonaid process. "My mission is to prepare human beings for
future technology," said the Raëlian leader, a self-confessed lover of the Internet and video
games who was in London to promote his new book. (Reuters 2/14/02, Internet)
