c. 2007 Religion News Service
Senator Says Climate Change Debate Distracts Evangelicals
WASHINGTON (RNS) A Republican senator has criticized efforts to enlist evangelicals to fight global warming as a “brilliant idea to divide and conquer” and distract them from “core values issues.”
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who has been highly critical of climate change “alarmists,” made his remarks during a June 7 hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee dedicated to religious views on global warming.
The committee’s chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., called witnesses from the evangelical, Catholic, Jewish and mainline Protestant communities _ including Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, a former oceanographer _ all of whom said their traditions firmly mandate that the U.S. do something to fight global warming.
“While many of the faith communities represented here today may disagree on a variety of issues, in the area of global warming we are increasingly of one mind,” said Jefferts Schori.
Global warming has become a hot topic among evangelicals and other religious conservatives, with old-line conservatives such as Focus on the Family founder James Dobson battling attempts by younger Christians to make it part of the agenda for the nation’s estimated 60 million evangelicals.
“Even putting the issue of science aside,” Inhofe said, “religious leaders who have bought into the global warming hype need to consider the big picture of unintended consequences of legislative solutions.”
Inhofe said liberals have struck upon a “brilliant idea” to use global warming to “divide and conquer the evangelical community and get people (moving) away from the core values issues.”
But the Rev. Jim Ball, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, said recent polls suggest that 70 percent of evangelicals think global warming poses a threat to future generations. Ball also pointed to the Evangelical Climate Initiative, which was signed by more than 100 senior and evangelical leaders “who believe that a vigorous response to global warming is a spiritual and moral imperative.”
“We’re engaged on this issue because we care about the poor,” who would be hardest hit by the effects of climate change, Ball said.
John Carr, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ secretary for social development and world peace, disputed the idea that environmental protection must be an either/or priority for people of faith.
“With all due respect, the Catholic community and the evangelical community are capable of doing more than one thing at a time. This is not a division … this is an extension,” Carr said.
_ Daniel Burke
Officials Demolish Chapel So It Won’t Offend Non-Christians
LONDON (RNS) A woodlands chapel in Britain used by Boy Scouts and Girl Guides for nearly 70 years as an open-air place of peaceful worship has been demolished because scout officials feared it might offend non-Christians.
The Scout Association ordered removal of the rudimentary cross and basic altar, plus the wooden pews that had been fashioned from old telephone poles when the chapel was built by volunteers between World War I and World War II.
A campfire circle replaced the chapel near the Belchamps Scout Center at Hockley, in east England, as part of an “updating” that manager Nigel Ruse said would “turn it into a place of worship of all faiths and not to exclude anyone from scouting.”
“This is a case of taking scouting forward,” Ruse added.
But Keith Rooks-Cowell, who led Sunday services at the outdoor chapel for more than 30 years, disagreed. He insisted that a campfire “is a place for sitting around singing, telling jokes and stories,” whereas the chapel “was used as a quiet place” for meditation.
“The two don’t sit comfortably together,” Rooks-Cowell said.
The chapel was used for everything from weddings to the scattering of cremains, and “anyone from any faith or any religion could go and use the chapel,” Rooks-Cowell said. “It’s never been a problem. The chapel was already inclusive.”
Now, Rooks-Cowell said, “It has been wrecked. All the posts and everything had been demolished and laid flat. I was amazed and felt disgusted that this had been done.”
_ Al Webb
La. School Board a Target of Second Religion Suit
NEW ORLEANS (RNS) For the second time in as many months, a parent has launched a federal lawsuit against the Tangipahoa School Board over religion, this time objecting to a teacher-led prayer delivered at a recent high school graduation ceremony.
The suit was filed Wednesday (June 6) in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. It marks the sixth court case in 13 years by the American Civil Liberties Union against the same school district involving matters of religion, according to Joe Cook, executive director of Louisiana’s branch of the ACLU.
“It’s certainly a state record,” Cook said. “I’m not aware of any school district that’s been sued this many times for religious freedom.”
Plaintiffs for the case include John “P,” who is proceeding on behalf of his minor children Jane “P” and Joan “P,” both of whom are students in the school system, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs took action after attending a graduation ceremony for the Tangipahoa PM High School in Hammond, La., on May 17.
At the ceremony, Anthony Massi, a faculty member at PM High School, gave a prayer that began with “Lord we thank you for … ” and ended with “We pray for these things in Jesus’ name, Amen,” the suit states.
John “P,” who is Catholic, found the invocation “offensive and objectionable” because it served to advance only one faith or belief: Christianity, the suit claims.
Cindy Benitez, a spokeswoman for the school system, said officials had not yet received a copy of the allegations outlined in the suit. District policy prohibits further comment regarding pending litigation, she said.
_ Jenny Hurwitz
Texas Baptists List Ministers Convicted of Sex Offenses
(RNS) The Baptist General Convention of Texas has disclosed the names of convicted sex offenders whom officials believe have served as ministers at affiliated churches.
The state convention listed nine perpetrators whose names are on Texas’ sex offender registry or have been convicted of a sex offense. Those names matched people listed in the convention’s file of clergy sexual misconduct incidents.
“We felt posting the names of those who have been convicted would raise the awareness that this is a concern that churches need to be aware of,” said Emily Prevost, a staffer of the convention’s congregational leadership team.
The Web site (http://www.bgct.org/brokentrust) includes information about the convictions of offenders or a link to descriptions about them on the Web site for the state offender database.
“Baptist General Convention of Texas records indicate that these persons may have been ministers in a BGCT-affiliated church,” the convention site reads. “Additional names will be posted as the BGCT is provided with accurate information about clergy who are convicted of a sexual offense. This page should not be considered exhaustive or complete as the BGCT does not have the resources to make private investigations.”
Prevost said the convention, with 5,600 churches, has collected reports of clergy sexual misconduct since 2000. Church officials _ whether affiliated with the BGCT or not _ can inquire whether a ministerial candidate they are considering is named in those reports.
Some of the churches affiliated with the BGCT are also affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, but the state convention has distanced itself from the Protestant denomination in recent years.
Gary Ledbetter, a spokesman for the more conservative Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, said his group encourages its more than 1,800 churches to do background checks on volunteers and employees but has no plans to duplicate BGCT’s new efforts.
“I respect what the BGCT is doing, but right now, we don’t have a similar plan,” he said.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Mass. Lawmakers Set to Vote on Gay Marriage
BOSTON (RNS) State legislators are scheduled to meet Thursday (June 14) in a constitutional convention to vote on whether to place a referendum on the 2008 ballot that, if approved by voters, would ban future gay marriages.
The tally could be extremely close, and Gov. Deval L. Patrick, an opponent of a ban, said he will ask lawmakers to postpone the vote if he doesn’t think there are enough votes to kill the measure.
“We want a vote that goes the right way, that keeps us off the ballot,” Patrick said at a fundraiser for a group that supports gay marriage.
Legislators on May 9 recessed instead of voting on the question.
In order to qualify for the 2008 ballot, at least 50 legislators must vote to approve the question for the ballot in two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature. On Jan. 2, on the last day of the previous Legislature, House and Senate members voted to put it on the ballot.
About 57 legislators currently support placing the proposal on the ballot.
“If we don’t put this question to rest … this is all we will do for the next two years,” Patrick said Thursday (June 7).
Some lawmakers _ including Sen. Gale D. Candaras and Rep. Michael F. Kane, both Democrats, who both previously voted in favor of placing the question on the ballot, said they now are open to voting to kill the proposal.
Kane said he is listening to emotional stories from married gay people with children. “I’m not switching my vote at this time, but I’m open,” Kane said.
_ Dan Ring
Study: Atheists Think `Radical Christianity’ a Threat
(RNS) More than half of atheists and agnostics think “radical Christianity” is just as threatening in the United States as “radical Islam,” according to a new study.
The Barna Group, a Ventura, Calif.-based research firm, found that 56 percent of atheists and agnostics agree with that view. The firm, which often looks at opinions of religious Americans, delved into the beliefs of people of no faith and compared them to religious adults over a two-year period.
Researchers found that the proportion of atheists and agnostics increases with each younger generation. They make up 6 percent of Elders (those 61 and older); 9 percent of Boomers (ages 42-60); 14 percent of Busters (ages 23-41) and 19 percent of those between 18 and 22.
Those of no faith tend to be younger and are more often male and unmarried, researchers found. They are less likely to be registered to vote (78 percent versus 89 percent of believers). They are also less likely to serve or personally help a poor or homeless person (41 percent versus 61 percent of believers).
Researchers also found that these disparate groups had some commonalities. They were equally as likely to consider themselves to be good citizens, as placing their family first, and as being reliable and loyal individuals.
The findings were based on a series of nationwide telephone surveys between January 2005 and January 2007. The studies included a total of 1,055 adults who identified themselves as agnostics or atheists, giving the overall sample a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. The cumulative sample of 3,011 adults with an active faith had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Trinity Broadcasting Network Acquires Biblical Theme Park
(RNS) Trinity Broadcasting Network has become the new owner of the Holy Land Experience, a biblical theme park in Orlando, Fla.
“This marriage will bring an unprecedented synergy to both ministries and the production that is done there will be seen by a worldwide audience,” said Paul F. Crouch Jr., vice president of administration for the Santa Ana, Calif.-based TBN.
Crouch said the acquisition comes as the network offers local programming through Orlando’s WGTL-TV Channel 52, which it acquired last year, and will simultaneously “provide `The Holy Land Experience’ with much-needed promotion to bring more people to the theme park and Orlando as a whole.”
The ownership change came as five members of the network’s leadership, including Crouch, and his parents and TBN founders Paul F. and Janice W. Crouch, were announced as new board members of the theme park.
“The mission of The Holy Land Experience is to bring the Bible to life for everyone who comes through our gates,” said Tom Powell, president of the theme park. “The strength of the TBN leaders will empower The Holy Land Experience to carry on this important mission, in new and creative ways utilizing 12,000 television stations and 67 satellites.”
The Orlando Sentinel reported that the tourist attraction _ which features music, drama and portrayals of Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection _ has experienced financial troubles and declining attendance.
_ Adelle M. Banks
Hindus Eye Canadian Rivers for Scattering Ashes
TORONTO (RNS) Ontario’s growing Hindu community is eyeing several rivers for the religious disposal of cremated remains _ possibly including one that flows into Niagara Falls.
The Niagara River would be ideal for the scattering of ashes because of its fast-flowing water and proximity to the Greater Toronto Area, Roopnauth Sharma, president of the United Hindu Federation of Canada, told the St. Catharines Standard newspaper.
Sharma said other rivers are also being considered _ to the east, west, south and north of Toronto and the surrounding area, where people can hold brief ceremonies.
“We don’t not want to have people just go dumping ashes here, there and everywhere,” he said. Ontario’s 230,000 Hindus have been quietly disposing of loved ones in rivers and streams for years.
Sharma and other Hindu officials are working on the initiative with Ontario’s Government Services Ministry, which regulates cemeteries and burials.
There are no laws against scattering cremains into public bodies of water in the province, said government spokesman Paul de Zara. “But newcomers often don’t know that, and there were concerns they were breaking some law,” de Zara said in an interview.
He said the ministry is considering the Hindu federation’s request as part of a larger review of the religious practice of scattering ashes.
The Hindu faith considers the scattering of ashes into rivers and flowing bodies of water a final cleansing and a means of bringing peace to the deceased. In India, the river Ganges is considered the most holy place for cremation ceremonies and the disposal of ashes.
_ Ron Csillag
Poll Says Seven in 10 Republicans Doubt Evolution
(RNS) Republicans are far more likely to doubt the theory of evolution than Democrats, according to a new Gallup Poll.
Sixty-eight percent of Republicans say they doubt that humans evolved from lower life forms over millions of years, while only 40 percent of Democrats hold the view. The poll was conducted by telephone June 1-3, 2007 and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Evolution proved to be a hot-button issue among GOP presidential candidates during a May debate. Three of the 10 candidates in the debate _ Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee _ raised their hands to indicate they don’t believe in evolution.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., an Episcopalian, said he believes in evolution but qualified the statement saying, “I also believe, when I hike the Grand Canyon and see it at sunset, that the hand of God is there also.”
McCain’s loose belief reflects the view of a large number of Americans. In a separate Gallup poll this May, respondents were asked to choose between three hypotheses about human origin and development. Just 14 percent believed God had no part in the process, while 43 percent believed God created man in present form. A full 38 percent took a centrist view, affirming that man evolved but God guided the process.
Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, asserted a stronger position on creation during a CNN debate on June 5.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth,” he explained. “A person either believes that God created the process or believes that it was an accident and that it just happened all on its own.”
_ Michelle C. Rindels
Church Angry After Cathedral Used in Violent Video Game
LONDON (RNS) Church of England clerics are angry at electronics giant Sony for using Britain’s Manchester Cathedral as a backdrop for a gory video game featuring a shootout that kills hundreds in the 800-year-old building’s nave.
The PlayStation3 game, entitled “Resistance _ Fall of Man,” reportedly has already sold more than 1 million copies in Britain and the United States _ and church leaders are furious.
“For a global manufacturer to recreate one of our great cathedrals with photo-realistic quality and then encourage people to have gun battles in the building is beyond belief and highly irresponsible,” Manchester Bishop Nigel McCulloch told journalists.
The cathedral’s dean, the Very Rev. Rogers Govender, condemned the game as “virtual desecration.” He sent a letter to Sony on Monday (June 11) demanding that every copy of the game be withdrawn and that the Japanese giant make a “substantial donation” to the cathedral for its work with young people to combat violence in Manchester.
The Times newspaper in London quoted David Wilson, a Sony spokesman, as arguing that “Resistance” contains simply “game-created footage. It is not video or photography. It is entertainment, like … any other science fiction. It is not based on reality at all.”
Wilson insisted that “throughout the whole process, we (Sony) have sought permission where necessary” _ a claim hotly denied by church officials. Govender said officials are “currently seeking the advice of our lawyers.”
“What a display of gratuitous violence, sickening and showing the cathedral as an empty space filled with horror rather than living prayer,” said Canon Paul Denby, the cathedral’s sub-dean and administrator.
“It just shows what a vivid imagination and a sick mind can produce,” Denby added.
_ Al Webb
Quote of the Week: Actor Eric Linden of Los Angeles
(RNS) “But just because I’m Adam on the screen, that doesn’t mean I’m Adam off the screen. What I do shouldn’t have anything to do with who they think Adam is.”
_ Actor Eric Linden, who plays Adam in a video at the new Creation Museum in Kentucky, after officials learned that he had connections with a graphic Web site called Bedroom Acrobat, in which he has appeared, smiling alongside a drag queen, wearing a T-shirt with the site’s sexually suggestive logo. Linden, who was quoted by the Associated Press, said he is no longer affiliated with the site. The museum’s video has been removed.
KRE/PH END RNS
