Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2009, Page 60
and not just the $116,445 that he reported. The government also says that the firm claimed
numerous expenses that were not related to business.
The third case demands that two of Blackmore‘s wives return the family support funds they
received from the state. One of the women, for example, claimed eligibility based on a
family income of $31,000. But after a state reassessment of Blackmore‘s finances, the
family income was found to be $309,000, which would have disqualified the woman from
receiving any assistance.
The Russian government has announced a new government policy on religious education
in public schools: students will be able to choose courses on Russian Orthodoxy, Islam,
Judaism, or Buddhism. Alternative courses in comparative religion or secular ethics will also
be offered. The goal is to combat the aimlessness of youth. Religious education in the public
schools has become an issue with the rising influence of the Russian Orthodox Church since
the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is likely that the new approach will be criticized by
Christian evangelicals and Roman Catholics, the latter a sizable population in certain ethnic
centers. ―Might the government find itself trying to deal with hostile Friday mosque sermons
because of the kind of Islam it promulgates in the schools? How will populations in areas
where Islam is a major faith react to state school classes that offer instruction in other
faiths as well?‖
The annual report of the French government agency Miviludes (―Interministerial Mission
for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviancy) denounces ―excessive‖ cult influence in
international institutions, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe, and the European Council, as well as the U.S. State Department (through its
Report on Religious Freedoms in the World). Miviludes spotlights certain non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) it says try to legitimize cult activities by saying religious freedom
rights protect them. Scientology, whose website logo looks like the UN‘s, has presented
itself as being ―Associated with the UN Department of Public Information‖ in its attacks on
Miviludes. ..
In ―fiercely secular‖ France, the government has struggled to strike a balance between
maintaining church-state separation and honoring the right of citizens to express their faith.
But in the current case against Scientology,‖ says Time Magazine writer Bruce Crumley,
―authorities have abandoned their usual attempts at fine-tuning religion‘s standing in French
society—instead, they want to ban Scientology from France altogether.‖
A political opposition rally in April in downtown St. Petersburg in defense of the right to
gather was quickly dispersed by police, although five minutes later 50 Hare Krishnas were
allowed to walk in formation and assemble close to the same spot.
Ultra Orthodox Jews, or Haredi, are spreading throughout Israel and pressing their
puritanical ways on the country. One shopkeeper complained that the Haredi were passing
out notes ―to people like me, telling me I couldn‘t wear blouses like this,‖ referring to a
sleeveless top. ―Then, one Friday night ...I left my two kids alone—teenagers. They were
playing music, not too loud, and this Haredi neighbor comes and pounds on the door
shouting, ‗goyim‘ [non-Jews] and demanding they turn off the music. It really scared them.‖
This is a reflection of growing conflict and violence as fundamentalist Jews confront secular
Jews and traditional municipal governments. For example, Haredi protested the opening, on
the Sabbath, of a parking lot just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. When welfare officials
took custody of a half-starved Haredi boy and arrested his mother for abuse, Haredi took to
the streets and burned large bins of garbage, throwing rocks at police and setting fire to the
child welfare office. Police have sometimes broken up such protests with pepper spray and
arrested protestors.
and not just the $116,445 that he reported. The government also says that the firm claimed
numerous expenses that were not related to business.
The third case demands that two of Blackmore‘s wives return the family support funds they
received from the state. One of the women, for example, claimed eligibility based on a
family income of $31,000. But after a state reassessment of Blackmore‘s finances, the
family income was found to be $309,000, which would have disqualified the woman from
receiving any assistance.
The Russian government has announced a new government policy on religious education
in public schools: students will be able to choose courses on Russian Orthodoxy, Islam,
Judaism, or Buddhism. Alternative courses in comparative religion or secular ethics will also
be offered. The goal is to combat the aimlessness of youth. Religious education in the public
schools has become an issue with the rising influence of the Russian Orthodox Church since
the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is likely that the new approach will be criticized by
Christian evangelicals and Roman Catholics, the latter a sizable population in certain ethnic
centers. ―Might the government find itself trying to deal with hostile Friday mosque sermons
because of the kind of Islam it promulgates in the schools? How will populations in areas
where Islam is a major faith react to state school classes that offer instruction in other
faiths as well?‖
The annual report of the French government agency Miviludes (―Interministerial Mission
for Monitoring and Combating Cultic Deviancy) denounces ―excessive‖ cult influence in
international institutions, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe, and the European Council, as well as the U.S. State Department (through its
Report on Religious Freedoms in the World). Miviludes spotlights certain non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) it says try to legitimize cult activities by saying religious freedom
rights protect them. Scientology, whose website logo looks like the UN‘s, has presented
itself as being ―Associated with the UN Department of Public Information‖ in its attacks on
Miviludes. ..
In ―fiercely secular‖ France, the government has struggled to strike a balance between
maintaining church-state separation and honoring the right of citizens to express their faith.
But in the current case against Scientology,‖ says Time Magazine writer Bruce Crumley,
―authorities have abandoned their usual attempts at fine-tuning religion‘s standing in French
society—instead, they want to ban Scientology from France altogether.‖
A political opposition rally in April in downtown St. Petersburg in defense of the right to
gather was quickly dispersed by police, although five minutes later 50 Hare Krishnas were
allowed to walk in formation and assemble close to the same spot.
Ultra Orthodox Jews, or Haredi, are spreading throughout Israel and pressing their
puritanical ways on the country. One shopkeeper complained that the Haredi were passing
out notes ―to people like me, telling me I couldn‘t wear blouses like this,‖ referring to a
sleeveless top. ―Then, one Friday night ...I left my two kids alone—teenagers. They were
playing music, not too loud, and this Haredi neighbor comes and pounds on the door
shouting, ‗goyim‘ [non-Jews] and demanding they turn off the music. It really scared them.‖
This is a reflection of growing conflict and violence as fundamentalist Jews confront secular
Jews and traditional municipal governments. For example, Haredi protested the opening, on
the Sabbath, of a parking lot just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. When welfare officials
took custody of a half-starved Haredi boy and arrested his mother for abuse, Haredi took to
the streets and burned large bins of garbage, throwing rocks at police and setting fire to the
child welfare office. Police have sometimes broken up such protests with pepper spray and
arrested protestors.
