ICSA TODAY 34
appear to be a “religion of substitution,”
as the German Protestant theologian
Mai Funkschmidt argues (Roth, 2017),
or it may even appear to be a religion,
as Professor of Law and Ethics Lisa
Johnson asserts (Johnson, 2015) but
does this mean that it is a cult?
If veganism does include cultic
characteristics, such as being a group
that, in Michael Langone’s words,
“considers itself to be an elite,” where
“dissenting members are always
wrong,” it is also the case that a cult is
characterized as “a group or relationship
[that] seems to enforce an exploitive
compliance through subterfuge”
(Langone, 2017). In addition, a cult
typically shows one or more of the
following behaviors: “psychological
manipulation, psychological abuse,
spiritual abuse, brainwashing, [and/
or] mind control” (Langone, 2015).
This cannot be said of ethical
veganism, which is closely connected
to antispeciesism as a philosophical
outlook, in distinction to a religion.
François Jaquet, researcher at the
University of Geneva, Switzerland,
states that “the philosophical beliefs
[in antispeciesism]—for instance that
the welfare of animals is as important
as that of humans—do not proceed
from faith because they are sustained
by arguments” (Roth, 2017). For the
historian of religions Jean-François
Mayer, despite absolute imperatives,
antispeciesism cannot be linked to
religion because it has neither rites
of passage, nor an explanation of the
origin and destiny of the universe, nor a
link to transcendence (Roth, 2017).
Jehovah’s Witnesses (Quebec)
The case of Éloïse Dupuis, who died
in October 2016 from complications
after giving birth to her son because
she refused blood transfusions (see
ICSA Today v. 8, no. 2), has continued
to stimulate strong debates. Quebec
law states that an adult who is sound
in mind, conscious, and well-informed
may accept or refuse a medical
treatment. The patient’s decision must
be “free and enlightened” (Bureau
du coroner, 2017). According to the
Quebec Charter of Human Rights and
Freedoms, everyone has the basic rights
to freedom of conscience and religion.
On November 14, 2017, Luc Malouin,
the adjunct coroner in chief who
investigated this case, announced his
much-awaited report on Dupuis’ death:
In five instances, he said, she refused
blood transfusions with full awareness
of the possible consequences. Far from
setting this case to rest, the coroner’s
report has rekindled some people’s
determination to denounce as an
aberration the Jehovah’s Witnesses
rules in such cases. Michel Morin, a
lawyer who is keenly interested in
the religious movement and in Éloïse
Dupuis’ death, is preparing a book on
the subject. He declared that, “Free
and enlightened consent is a consent
without constraints, threat, or pressure.
I don’t believe it. She was born in a
Jehovah family. All her life, she was
told that it was against Jehovah’s will
to receive blood transfusions” (Agence
QMI, 2017). The constitutionalist lawyer
Guy Bertrand expressed his shock that
the medical authorities did not rush to
the courts:
The rights of the child should
have been defended equally
before the court. The child has
the right to security, which
includes the security of his
mother, the security of a life
system in which his mother
plays an important role.
(Boutros, 2017)
A former member of the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, Kristy Cuevas, whose life was
saved by a blood transfusion, confirmed
that “You really are going to lose your
friends, your family, your community
if you make that choice.... Which is
another reason why it’s really coercive.
...Where does religious freedom
begin and the right to live end?”
(Laframboise, 2017). In an editorial for
the daily newspaper Le Soleil, Pierre
Asselin blamed the Jehovah’s Witnesses
for Dupuis’ death and highlighted a
paradox in Quebec:
While we tear our shirts over
state employees wearing a
scarf in the name of religious
neutrality, a religious group
can prevent doctors from
making the gestures that
could prevent a death that is
as avoidable as it is useless.
This is absurd and aberrant.
(Asselin, 2017)
The coroner’s report has also provoked
a request from the deputy of the
opposition, Agnès Maltais, that the
Committee on Institutions study the
indoctrination methods of structured
cults and their impacts on members
of these cults (Bussières, 2017). As for
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Quebec, they
declared they were grateful for the
coroner’s report (Boutros, 2017).
Report From Germany
Friedrich Griess
Reichsbürger
The Reichsbürger phenomenon is
very similar to the Freemen in the
Anglican world. The Reichsbürger do
not recognize the Republic of Germany,
which they call a “company,” and they
claim that their valid state would be
the German Empire from 1937 (under
Hitler, and with parts that today belong
to Poland). A brochure has been
published that analyzes the ideas of
the Reichsbürger and suggests how to
confront their ideas.
The increasing activity and number of
the Reichsbürger is causing problems
for the authorities. There are more
members of the group than was known
before now: The estimated number as
of September 30, 2017, is 15,000, of
whom 900 are on the extreme right,
and 1,000 own weapons. A special
figure in this connection is Peter Fitzek,
in Wittenberg, who calls himself the
“King of Germany,” now jailed for illegal
banking. His property has been raided
by the police.
A television documentary shows some
similarity of ideas of “green esotericism”
and the philosophy of the Reichsbürger.
Waldorf
Waldorf Steiner Schools have a problem
that arises from their being attractive
to far-right-minded parents, especially
Correspondents
,
Reports
appear to be a “religion of substitution,”
as the German Protestant theologian
Mai Funkschmidt argues (Roth, 2017),
or it may even appear to be a religion,
as Professor of Law and Ethics Lisa
Johnson asserts (Johnson, 2015) but
does this mean that it is a cult?
If veganism does include cultic
characteristics, such as being a group
that, in Michael Langone’s words,
“considers itself to be an elite,” where
“dissenting members are always
wrong,” it is also the case that a cult is
characterized as “a group or relationship
[that] seems to enforce an exploitive
compliance through subterfuge”
(Langone, 2017). In addition, a cult
typically shows one or more of the
following behaviors: “psychological
manipulation, psychological abuse,
spiritual abuse, brainwashing, [and/
or] mind control” (Langone, 2015).
This cannot be said of ethical
veganism, which is closely connected
to antispeciesism as a philosophical
outlook, in distinction to a religion.
François Jaquet, researcher at the
University of Geneva, Switzerland,
states that “the philosophical beliefs
[in antispeciesism]—for instance that
the welfare of animals is as important
as that of humans—do not proceed
from faith because they are sustained
by arguments” (Roth, 2017). For the
historian of religions Jean-François
Mayer, despite absolute imperatives,
antispeciesism cannot be linked to
religion because it has neither rites
of passage, nor an explanation of the
origin and destiny of the universe, nor a
link to transcendence (Roth, 2017).
Jehovah’s Witnesses (Quebec)
The case of Éloïse Dupuis, who died
in October 2016 from complications
after giving birth to her son because
she refused blood transfusions (see
ICSA Today v. 8, no. 2), has continued
to stimulate strong debates. Quebec
law states that an adult who is sound
in mind, conscious, and well-informed
may accept or refuse a medical
treatment. The patient’s decision must
be “free and enlightened” (Bureau
du coroner, 2017). According to the
Quebec Charter of Human Rights and
Freedoms, everyone has the basic rights
to freedom of conscience and religion.
On November 14, 2017, Luc Malouin,
the adjunct coroner in chief who
investigated this case, announced his
much-awaited report on Dupuis’ death:
In five instances, he said, she refused
blood transfusions with full awareness
of the possible consequences. Far from
setting this case to rest, the coroner’s
report has rekindled some people’s
determination to denounce as an
aberration the Jehovah’s Witnesses
rules in such cases. Michel Morin, a
lawyer who is keenly interested in
the religious movement and in Éloïse
Dupuis’ death, is preparing a book on
the subject. He declared that, “Free
and enlightened consent is a consent
without constraints, threat, or pressure.
I don’t believe it. She was born in a
Jehovah family. All her life, she was
told that it was against Jehovah’s will
to receive blood transfusions” (Agence
QMI, 2017). The constitutionalist lawyer
Guy Bertrand expressed his shock that
the medical authorities did not rush to
the courts:
The rights of the child should
have been defended equally
before the court. The child has
the right to security, which
includes the security of his
mother, the security of a life
system in which his mother
plays an important role.
(Boutros, 2017)
A former member of the Jehovah’s
Witnesses, Kristy Cuevas, whose life was
saved by a blood transfusion, confirmed
that “You really are going to lose your
friends, your family, your community
if you make that choice.... Which is
another reason why it’s really coercive.
...Where does religious freedom
begin and the right to live end?”
(Laframboise, 2017). In an editorial for
the daily newspaper Le Soleil, Pierre
Asselin blamed the Jehovah’s Witnesses
for Dupuis’ death and highlighted a
paradox in Quebec:
While we tear our shirts over
state employees wearing a
scarf in the name of religious
neutrality, a religious group
can prevent doctors from
making the gestures that
could prevent a death that is
as avoidable as it is useless.
This is absurd and aberrant.
(Asselin, 2017)
The coroner’s report has also provoked
a request from the deputy of the
opposition, Agnès Maltais, that the
Committee on Institutions study the
indoctrination methods of structured
cults and their impacts on members
of these cults (Bussières, 2017). As for
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Quebec, they
declared they were grateful for the
coroner’s report (Boutros, 2017).
Report From Germany
Friedrich Griess
Reichsbürger
The Reichsbürger phenomenon is
very similar to the Freemen in the
Anglican world. The Reichsbürger do
not recognize the Republic of Germany,
which they call a “company,” and they
claim that their valid state would be
the German Empire from 1937 (under
Hitler, and with parts that today belong
to Poland). A brochure has been
published that analyzes the ideas of
the Reichsbürger and suggests how to
confront their ideas.
The increasing activity and number of
the Reichsbürger is causing problems
for the authorities. There are more
members of the group than was known
before now: The estimated number as
of September 30, 2017, is 15,000, of
whom 900 are on the extreme right,
and 1,000 own weapons. A special
figure in this connection is Peter Fitzek,
in Wittenberg, who calls himself the
“King of Germany,” now jailed for illegal
banking. His property has been raided
by the police.
A television documentary shows some
similarity of ideas of “green esotericism”
and the philosophy of the Reichsbürger.
Waldorf
Waldorf Steiner Schools have a problem
that arises from their being attractive
to far-right-minded parents, especially
Correspondents
,
Reports
