As a former reverend-turned-feminist, I pay very close attention to the churches and religious organizations that lobby against gay marriage, abortion, and are now attempting to cut off birth control access.
Although religious entities and their followers have the freedom to believe what they want, they do not have the right to deny basic rights to individuals. Essentially their religious freedom ends when it puts another person in harms way. Abuse runs rampant in religious organizations of all kinds, but over the past few years my work as an activist and advocate for those who've faced abuse from evangelical clergy, I've learned that it's tough to find justice. Religious leaders simply have too much power and money and they've taught those they've abused that they must remain silent.
At seventeen years old, I entered a ministry training program called Master's Commission. From age seventeen to twenty-four I worked well over sixty hours a week as an executive assistant, event planner, writer and nanny for free. Because I was so young when I entered this ministry position, I was naive enough to believe my boss when he said I was an "intern" and they didn't have enough money to pay me for my work. It wasn't until a few years after I left that position that I started looking into labor laws and found a lawyer. My lawyer said the church I worked for had violated labor laws, but unfortunately my statute of limitations was up.
A few months ago, I met a young woman who attended Mercy Ministries, a Christian residential treatment center founded by Christian evangelist Nancy Alcorn. After an extensive investigation into Mercy Ministries, I discovered evidence that they were a coercive group (also known as a "cult") and their 'treatment' practices would qualify them for medical malpractice.
Today, I came across this Facebook post by International best-seller, Anne Rice. Anne Rice has been very public about her skepticism of the Catholic Church and their views on gay marriage. She follows the sex abuse scandals and calls for the Vatican to take responsibility, instead of brushing the abuse under the rug. So today's post was nothing out of the ordinary for her.
Anne Rice's take on tax exemption for churches matches mine and if there's one way to protect victims of religious abuse, it's to remove their automatic tax-exemption status. After working in the ministry for seven years, I saw very little actual charity work. Instead, our pastor went on vacations all over the world, sent his children to private schools and provided spiritual counsel to the governors of the state.
It's time we all get involved in watching religious groups, because they are the pouring millions of untaxed dollars into lobbying against women's rights and gay rights and they are creating the GOPs agenda. If you are interested in learning more about the on-going investigations into religious groups, I've compiled a short list of watchdog groups/individuals below. If you have other groups to recommend, please list them in the comments. Together, we can make a difference.
Occupy the Vatican, whose mission is to uncover, investigate and put an end to the massive pedophilia network, financial fraud and money laundering taking place at the Vatican bank, effects of world-wide spread of disease by their global and medieval position on contraception, birth control and their oppression of women's rights and anti-homosexual agenda.
Freedom from Religion Foundation is an educational, watchdog organization working to keep church and state separate, has had many significant legal accomplishments nationwide.
Professor Marci A. Hamilton A leading church/state scholar, author of “Justice Denied” & “God vs. the Gavel” & litigates clergy sex abuse and religious land use cases. Professor Hamilton has served as constitutional and federal law counsel in many important clergy sex abuse and religious land use cases in state and federal courts.
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests SNAP is an independent, confidential network of survivors of religious sexual abuse and their supporters who work to: protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded,
prevent the abuse.
Tue May 15, 2012 at 1:31 PM PT: The Center for Inquiry suggests the U.S. could be losing over $71 billion dollars in religious tax exemptions.