Dominique Tucker American Religious Diversity

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Is scientology a dangerous cult?

HEAD TO HEAD: YES The manipulative methods used by Scientology to control its members put it beyond the pale of legitimate religion…

Is scientology a cult????? The question I bet millions of you are wondering as well as myself. I created another blog about scientology and celebrities leaving it. Here I am here to write about on my blog very the negative views and aspects that many people have on it. After going to the scientology center first hand, I personally thought it was shady and felt like i wasn't getting the full truth. I decided to extend my research on why so many people today think it is a cult.

According to irishtimes.com they believe scientology is absolutely a cult. It is about recognizing the dangerous and manipulative organizations of what it really is. The church engages in suppression and harassment to its own members as well as people who criticize the religion. Scientologist basically isolate themselves. They can be ordered to “disconnect” with a family member or friend that criticizes scientology. They see them as a potential troubled source.

There was a case in 2003 that accused scientologist of brainwashing and other mind controlling techniques. Members suffered emotional and mental abuse within the religion. A common introduction to scientology is a personality test. So not shocking at all, mainly everyone who takes the test is diagnosed as unhappy, unstable, and liable to depression. They then receive their results and are pressured into taking the second course to treat these “problems”. The highest level is called “OT level” and is reported to be the highest cost at ten or even hundred of thousands of dollars just to complete. These test have caused many dangers. More and more countries are now finally starting to realize the real dangers behind scientology and the church. When it comes to scientology there is a hunger for negativity and is nothing what normal religions practice.

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Here i displayed a photo of a group of the Amish. I had already done a blog on amish and their ways of life but here i want to explain what happens when they decide to break free of this religion. Breaking amish is a american reality television show on TLC. It first aired in 2012 in september. The series revolves around five young amish adults who move to New York city to start over and experience a new life. While they are moved away they are still trying to decide if they wish to return to the amish after. They face neglect from family members and often lose friendships of people still in the amish. This is different from Rumspringa which is when they turn 16 they are allowed to experience the outside world and then decide whether or not they want to return. These two are different because one is breaking free and being rebellious and the other one you are allowed to experience it. In the episodes the amish teens are having sex, getting drunk, getting DUI’s, getting kicked out of their houses, and dressing inappropriately. These kids took it to the extreme when they broke free.There was a bit of controversy when the first episode aired because the relationships within the cast members were false. I chose this piece because it impacted me in a way that i did not see before. These are kids who some have no choice to pick what religion they want to be. They were just raised into these families. Also it is very interesting to see what the kids who break amish decide to do first and to see if they really do come back or stay far far away from it. Many times the kids aren't welcomed home which is in a way sad because many times they have no other place to go since they have been shunned from their community.

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Why Madalyn Murray O’Hair was the most hated woman in America

A new Netflix biopic portrays the woman who got prayer out of U.S. schools and her volatile life as a pioneer in atheism.

Madalyn O’Hair also known as the most hated woman in america!!! In class we discussed her and her actions. She was born in 1919 and later died in 1995. She did not come from a stable household. She stated how her mother would constantly confronted her and never failed to add her in her schemes. O’Hair obtained a lot of success even though she was hated a ton. She was able to make her point and state it very clearly. O’Hair was able to play the media part very well. She was able to clearly make the case that atheism is not a religion. She was able to show some of the intellectual limits of atheism.

Now referring to the article titled “why o’hair was the most hated woman in america”. Murray V. Curlett is the name of the case that she brought to challenge in the supreme court that said if we should have kids in grade school say the pledge. This was in 1963 she was able to end all prayer in public schools. She also sued to have “in god we trust” taken off the United States currency and to have “under god” removed from the pledge of allegiance. She was considered a huge villain at the time.

I chose this specific topic because it is related to the course. I also chose to write this blog about O’Hair because in class we watched about a 15 minutes youtube video on O’Hair and she just carried herself so confidently even if she was hated woman in america which is one of the reason she was surprisingly successful in what she wanted.

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33 facts about the amish everyone should know is an article about one of the best known religious minority group in the world. They focus on things such as farming, crafts, and all while worshiping god. Television has become another way we are able to look at amish cultures and lifestyles. They typically are the youth. The amish are live a very traditional lifestyle and do not use technology. They are allowed one telephone for the community. Many amish forbid cars, televisions, and radios. They believe in banning technology because it allows personal vanity which is against the church. I am going to discuss a few in my blog.

As I learned in lecture the amish are educated up until the eighth grade. Girls are already destined to become housewives while the boys pick a trade to enter. The amish students all learn in one room and are taught by an amish teacher.

Every amish couple has between five and seven children. They do not believe in the use of contraceptives which is the reason for their large families. The more children they have the more people they have to work on the farms and for the girls they can become housewives.

Next, this is shocking but new amish couples are highly encouraged to sleep together before marriage. This was news to me as well. But both girl and boy are fully clothed and a board is placed between them to prevent any type of physical contact. The ultimate goal is to have them communicate with each other all night rather than doing other things. If they like each other the boy drives the woman home and gets to meet her parents.

I chose this topic because the amish is such a highly talked about religion. There are so many questions about it and rules. Personally I believe the religion is intriguing and entertaining to learn about. It is something I definitely want to keep looking into and researching.

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What It’s Like to Be Black and Atheist

African-Americans are statistically the most religious group in the U.S. Leaving that community can be extremely hard, and carry a heavy price.

This article is called “what it’s like to black and Atheist” written by brandon withrow. Over the course we talked about african americans being atheist. Data has shown that out of 100% only 3% percent of blacks are atheist. Black people believe there must be a god. The article stated “African americans are statistically the most religious group in the United States of America and leaving that certain community can be extremely challenging.

It also discusses how some atheist who are black tend to keep quiet. While honesty is the best policy if you are black and come out as atheist it could come with a heavy price. They are often referred to minority within a minority.  An observation concluded that african americans who were atheist tended to lose friends as well as family members. Studies have shown that african american women are ranked 87% of the most religious group in the nation.

Black people value their faith and religion because during hard times they would all prayer. As some would say prayer is all they had during these difficult times. Even if african americans were raised in a religious household they explain how they still were exposed to it all over. There was a woman who was raised as a jehovah witness but when her parents split she decided to try something else. She became involved in evangelism and casting out demons, and speaking in tongues. She explains how she tried to keep quiet on her non beliefs to avoid aggressive conversations with her family and friends.  

In conclusion in the black community being an atheist is frowned upon and not accepted. If you are going to be atheist and black you are going to have to hide in and won't be able to express your beliefs around the black community.

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Another Ex-Scientologist Writes Scathing Essay About Why She Left The Church

"Scientologists have no boundaries and their cruelties exclude no one."

In this blog i chose to write about an article called “Another Ex-scientologist writes a scathing essay about why she left the church”. There was an actress and her name was Carmen Llywelyn who spent her last 8 years involved with the church of scientology. Since she left she felt prompted to right an essay on the details of what she went through and the religion of scientology. A quote stated by carmen is “the reality of scientology is deceptively hidden and clearly disguised”

She then goes on and explains how she forgives herself for joining the church. She believes it was solely based on manipulation and is built on a foundation of violence. She was introduced to this religion by her ex husband. The reason she even bothered joining the religion was because she thought maybe it could save her marriage.

As she continued her practice in scientology she noticed how unreal and expensive it was. “The membership would cost her up to 50,000 dollars”. Now that is insanely expensive. She felt as tho scientology was more like a surreal lifestyle for privileged people. It was not like a normal belief that people practice at little cost or no cost at all.

An interesting quote I just read in the article is what carmen said “in scientology your friend can become your worst enemy” when you speak your mind. In her essay she adress how scientology has a complex system that aims to ruins the lives of those it seems as a threat or enemy in any possible way. When she finally broke free from scientology she explains how her world was forever changed. She has lost almost all her friends and even her talent agency dropped her. She was basically expected to start all over. Carmen now reaches out to other who are leaving scientology and cults in general.

I chose this piece because it was related to the course and learning about scientology was very interesting. We even visited a scientology center. I feel that at the scientology center they were giving up no specific information about scientology. It was shady because if one of us asked a question that could have easily been answered but instead the scientology answered with “read the book”, “come back and we can help you”, or “the best way to find out is to try it out yourself”. So reading about people leaving scientology is interesting because you get the real scope of what goes on and not just what you want to hear.  

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British atheist philosopher A.C. Grayling had an arresting thought about creating a Humanist Bible: How would world history have been different if the writers of the Bible used Greek and Roman philosophy instead of local religions as their sources? But they didn’t so Grayling did. The result is The Good Book: A Humanist Bible (Walker …

This article is called Atheism and the Humanist Bible. The article discusses how a British atheist Philosopher had a thought about creating a Humanist bible. That is just what he did and now today it is called “The Good Book: A Humanist Bible by Walker and Co. What he was trying to create was a secular contribution to the old-aged conversation humanity has with itself about the good. He was not trying to push aside and take away the glory from the Bible. What he did was take some of his old thoughts and wove them together to make it flow. Similar to the Bible.

This article relates to what we discussed in American Religious Diversity. When we learned about Atheist and what would come after it we learned it would be humanism. This was cool to read and was one the reasons I decided to chose this piece. I did not know that people actually were working on something such as humanism to take place after atheism. Also i chose this piece because it was interesting to see how they made the humanist bible. They literally just created the original bible but with their beliefs, pages and customs. In my opinion if you are atheist why would you want to recreate something you do not trust, nor believe in? In conclusion that is why i chose this piece. For more deeper research personally and because it related to our course and what we went over with professor Whitaker.  

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15 Black Celebrities Who are Sold Out For Jesus

Celebrities who "sold out" for Jesus fully commit themselves to their Christian faith. After highlighting "8 Black Celebrities who Don't Believe In Jesus" last week, here are 15 black celebrities who have sold out for Jesus. Denzel Washington. Although he may not be the most outspoken person about his faith,

This article is about 15 celebrities who have “sold out” for Jesus and completly committed themselves to their christian faith. In this blog I am only going to address a few of the celebrities who sold out for Jesus. The article was written September 3rd back in 2013. 

The first celebrite they address is Denzel Washington. Many people say they have not heard about Denzel speaking on his religious beliefs but in this article it states that he is a devout christian and gives all his glory to god. The article even states that he donated “2.5 billion dollars to his church”

The next celebrities stated is Tyler Perry. He is very famous and many of you made recognize his from the movie Madea. He is another example of an African american celebrity who sold out for Jesus. As stated in the article Tyler Perry reminds us of his faith through his film production and often creates shows based on christianity family values. 

Lastly the final celebrity I am going to address is Steve Harvey. According to the article Steve Harvey states “God has given me a life far beyond anything I've ever dreamed about. God is, man, god is something else man”. Steve Harvey is an unapologetic devout christian and is so committed to Jesus that he dislikes atheists and thinks they're idiots. 

This article relates to what we discussed in class about religion within the African Americans and their faith. I chose this pieces because I am African American and I can really relate to what most African Americans believe. I feel they all share most of the same faith and beliefs and we come together as a community to express our faiths. It creates a comfortable environment.