Religion News: Critics say Amish religious rights violated by town
Amish face fight over building codes
The religious rights of 10 Old Order Amish men are being violated by an upstate New York town that is selectively prosecuting them for building homes without permits, a national public interest group says.
Elected officials in rural Morristown accuse the state of turning its back on them in the dispute, which the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty said involves discrimination against the Amish.
The fight began in July 2006 when a member of the conservative Swartzentruber sect was charged with building a house without a permit. Since then, nine other Amish men have been cited for failing to adhere to the town's building code.
"The basis of the Old Order Amish faith is that they don't conform to new technology," said Steve Ballan, the St. Lawrence County assistant public defender who is representing the Amish men. "So if you have a law that says you have to keep pace with technology, that's the same as having a law that says no Amish allowed."
Ballan has filed motions to dismiss the charges based on religious persecution and legal technicalities. -- Newsday
Retirement home can't escape offensive shape
From the ground, the Wesley Acres Methodist retirement home in Decatur, Ala., looks like any other building. But fly over in an airplane, and the outline is unmistakable: It's one big swastika.
Prompted by complaints from a Jewish activist, the agency that owns the government-funded building is planning to alter its shape to disguise the Nazi symbol. The move comes just a few years after a $1 million design modification meant to quiet similar complaints from a U.S. senator.
Wesley Acres provides government-subsidized housing for 117 low-income people ages 62 and above. Most have no reason to suspect their hallways take on a sinister shape.
The one-story building, designed in the mid-1970s and completed in 1980, underwent a $1 million alteration in 2001 with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development following complaints by Democratic Sen. Howell Heflin, who has since died. But the addition of two wings did little to hide the offensive shape, and in some ways accentuate the symbol. - The Associated Press
Quote of Note
"This is a new genre of confession. They have said to me, 'This is where hope is for me.' They think they can find on these sites some kind of goodness that eludes them in real life."
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Sherry Turkle, who has researched cyber relationships and interviewed people who post confessions online.
Web sites such as ivescrewedup.com, mysecret.tv and dailyconfessions.com have allowed people to unburden themselves anonymously. Admissions on Christian church-operated sites such as ivescrewedup.com and mysecret.tv range from shoe shopping addictions ("I can't stop. They are all so pretty") to extramarital affairs ("I'm not sure whether I should tell my wife") to criminal acts ("I have stolen about $15,000 when working for a family member"). - cnn.com
Get to Know … Metropolitan Laurus Skurla
Metropolitan Laurus, 80, died Sunday, March 16, less than a year after he played a key role in the controversial reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church.
As the first hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Metropolitan Laurus helped lead the reunification with the base Russian Orthodox Church on May 17 in Moscow. The rift in the church came after the 1917 revolution. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia cut all ties in 1927 after Moscow Patriarch Sergiy declared loyalty to the Communist government. Reunification talks began after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Because of concerns about the Communist interests that at one time infiltrated the Russian church, this change caused controversy and resulted in some parishes and parishioners leaving the church.
But most parishes remained with the church, which is now spiritually unified largely because of Metropolitan Laurus' work. - Observer-Dispatch
Survey Says
An extensive new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details the religious affiliation of the American public and explores the shifts taking place in the U.S. religious landscape.
More than 6 in 10 Americans age 70 and older (62 percent) are Protestant, but this number is only about 4 in 10 (43 percent) among Americans ages 18-29. Conversely, young adults ages 18-29 are much more likely than those age 70 and older to say that they are not affiliated with any particular religion (25 percent vs. 8 percent).
Good Book?
"Meat and Potatoes Catholicism" by the Rev. Joe F. Classen: What is so special about Sacraments? How did the rituals and traditions of the Mass get started? Why do we have a pope? What's the point of going to confession?
Father Joe Classen has heard all these questions and more from parishioners, fishing buddies, neighbors, and acquaintances. They seem to recognize right away that this straight-shooting and approachable young priest speaks a language they understand.
You will find real questions and direct answers from a passionate, engaging priest who wants nothing more than to share his love of the faith in real life terms. Get to know what the church teaches and why, and discover Father Joe's secret recipe for a happier, more fulfilling life. - amazon.com
The Word
Free will: When used by Christian theologians, means the ability of an individual to freely choose to repent of their sins and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is denied by Calvinists, who say God cannot be truly sovereign if humans have free will. - Religioustolerance.org
Religion Around the World
Religious makeup of Norway (2004)
Church of Norway: 85.7 percent
Pentecostal: 1 percent
Roman Catholic: 1 percent
Other Christian: 2.4 percent
Muslim: 1.8 percent
Other: 8.1 percent
- CIA Factbook
GateHouse News Service