-Caveat Lector- ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Fri, 18 Jan 2002 01:35:54 -0500 To: Matthew Gaylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: Matthew Gaylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Religion in America: 'War' on Drugs?
[Note from Matthew Gaylor: Longtime Freematt's Alerts subscriber Ed Kent is a professor of philosophy who teaches ethics.] Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 21:00:11 -0800 From: Edward Kent <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: Brooklyn College, CUNY To: Matthew Gaylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Religion in America: 'War' on Drugs? In a previous post [Below] I expressed my personal doubts about the authenticity of two of our more strident 'make-it-up' American religions -- the Mormons or Latter Day Saints and the Southern Baptists. Each of these religions is a distinctive American creation with inherent biases -- race, gender, sexual orientation -- that run deep. Each has failed to win its way in an early 20th century crusade against its religious prohibitions -- alcohol and hot drink stimulants (coffee and tea). Prohibition was repealed. Mormons are beset by higher rates of diabetes because they have substituted cold sugar drinks and sweet deserts for coffee and alcohol. The Southern Baptists have remained opposed to smoking and alcohol -- and in this regard they are on the side of the angels -- or at least the medical profession. BUT the major addictive killers in America remain legal: respectively tobacco -- nearly 500,000 now each year -- and alcohol, about 150,000. Yet our war is on prohibited prohibited substances -- marijuana, cocaine, heroin -- that kill few? Marijuana is not deadly for anyone -- in fact it is a practical medicinal remedy for several conditions -- glaucoma, nausea associated with chemo-therapy, an appetite incentive for AIDS sufferers, etc. Cocaine and heroin are not healthy substances, but only kill 3,000 or fewer each year, who overdose, self-medicate for depression, or perhaps in some cases suicide with them. What do we find in America -- a massive WAR ON DRUGS which costs many billions of dollars each year that could be better spent on persuasive prevention and therapy and which pointlessly imprisons an increasing percentage of our 2,000,000+ currently incarcerated. We spend billions funding this 'war' in Latin American countries where we spray deadly substances on people and crops extending far beyond targeted cocaine plants. And guess what -- who are our primary 'enemies? Mainly 'little brown people' there and minority group members here in the US. Yuk! Check out which of our legislators is voting for what here. How shameful! -- Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) ### Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2002 17:48:03 -0800 From: Edward Kent <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: Brooklyn College, CUNY To: Matthew Gaylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Religion in America One can never be absolutely certain about the figures of religious membership such as those cited below, as the various religious groups have varying standards for counting membership, e.g. currently enrolled vs. enrolled some time in the past. However, I assume that the following is probably as good as any in giving rough approximations of relative growth rates and rankings with a bit of self-exaggeration per the reports that I have seen evaluated in the past: Growth rates for religion (and no religion) in the U.S. 2001 (in millions) % change since 1990 Catholic 50.8 10.6% Baptist 33.8 - .4% No religion 29.5 14.2% Christian (non-denominational) 14.2 75.8% Methodist/Wesleyan 14.1 - .2% Lutheran 9.6 5.2% Pentecostal/Charismatic 4.4 38.1% Episcopalian/Anglican 3.5 13.4% Jewish (by religion only) 2.8 -9.8% Mormon/Latter Day Saints 2.8 12.1% Churches of Christ 2.6 46.6% Congregational/UCC 1.4 130.1% Jehovah's Witness 1.3 - .4% Assemblies of God 1.1 67.6% Muslim/Islamic 1.1 109.5% Buddhist 1.1 169.8% Hindu .8 237.4% Unitarian/Universalist .6 25.3% *Source: American Religious Identification Survey by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York -- The current New Yorker (1/21/02) also has an article ("Lives of the Saints") that cites some vastly different growth rates and overall numbers apparently self-reported by the Mormons and Southern Baptists ("During the past thirty years, the number of its [Mormon] adherents in the United States has increased by nearly two hundred and twenty-five per cent to more than five million, (In the same period the ranks of Southern Baptists, the other fast-growing major denominations in the country, have swelled forty per cent, to sixteen million.")). Whatever the true numbers, I am not exactly enthused about either of these groups. Each has a past history of racism, which it has cleaned up a bit officially, although such attitudes tend to linger on through subsequent generations. Each is anti-gay. Each tends to subordinate women in varying ways and degrees. Each is withholding in its disposition towards social services. The Mormons have their own internal welfare system and, thus, are prone to reject publicly funded and directed ones. Faith-based programs, needless to say, would seem to be right up their alleys. But probably "faith-based" allocations will remain a bone of contention, as such religious groups are intensely competitive and prone to attack each other's authenticity. As one with theological training, I am a total skeptic about the general authenticity of both of these religions, which tend to make it up as they go along. For instance the present article in the New Yorker on the Latter Day Saints, while it has a number of snide things to say, does not point out that the religion, or at least the Book of Mormon, was apparently based on a relatively obscure penny dreadful novel from which its founder Joseph Smith presumably cribbed his story line. The Mormons, as I have personally encountered them, are generally no better nor worse than most people. They are clannish. And G-d forbid that a relative, as is the case with one of mine, is converted by them, as one then becomes the target for conversion -- in this life OR in the next. The Mormons believe in baptism after death and have carried out, according to the current article, some 200 million posthumous baptisms including such notables as Buddha, Shakespeare, Einstein, Elvis, and all the deceased popes. They are very tough on both their dissenters and women. The Southern Bapists are less centralized and a bit more diverse in disposition. For those not familiar with American religious history, the US has been a fertile source of made up or made over religions. The traditional Protestant traditions were transplanted to this country, often with a great deal of intellectual sophistication built into their theologies. However, in the 19th century divisions within these traditions between the so-called "old lights" (intellectual) and "new lights" (highly emotional) versions opened up and were further exacerbated by the Civil War. "Born agains" are the product of the latter's emotivism and are free wheeling in their quick changes in doctrine, practice, and prejudices. As the New Yorker article indicates the older and established churches are fading away for the most part -- hurried along by internal scandals and such that hit the media periodically. One could see when I was studying theology mid century that American religion was dying. The "death of G-d" theologians put the official lid on this decline. Most of those studying theology with me departed to other careers in public service or academic fields. There are some fundamental humanistic values left behind for most of us, I think. And I am accused on occasion of preaching -- guilty as charged. But institutional religion in America must now be held suspect for its financial scams and tendency to encourage the worst of human instincts and prejudices -- particularly the revenge impulse that has so discredited our criminal justice system and may be fueling our present disposition to 'punish' enemies out there -- real or imagined. Be wary of religious fundamentalism -- and particularly those brands practiced by super powers. There are some good people who believe, but many more employ their religions as a shield for their prejudices -- or worse. -- Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) ********************************************************************** **** Subscribe to Freematt's Alerts: Pro-Individual Rights Issues Send a blank message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the words subscribe FA on the subject line. List is private and moderated (7-30 messages per week) Matthew Gaylor, (614) 313-5722 ICQ: 106212065 Archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fa/ ********************************************************************** **** ------- End of forwarded message ------- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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