The Religious Right

The Religious Right

"We want to be, and will be free, to practice as we believe". This sentiment resonated throughout the colonies approximately two and one half centuries ago. The colonists suffered religious restrictions placed upon them by their ruling monarchy. The struggle to become independent had started. A war for independence ensued, then eventual victory and then the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights includes amendments 1-10 (initially) and the first amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof", Etc (USA).

The reason we demand freedom, including religious freedom is so we can become the type of people we want to become. However, I do not feel that it can be absolute. Exceptions must be where there is obvious violations of law and where there are harmful consequences for religious actions. Certain religious restrictions should be applied to protect our and citizens, of course the whole bottom line of our constitution is to protect those people who have less of a voice than the majority, but even with that in mind, should a person have free license to practice a religious belief where laws are broken? The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protection of religious freedom applies only to laws that specifically target religious behavior and that an individual's religious beliefs do not excuse one from complying with statutes that indirectly infringe on their religious rights (Long). The key is, as stated above, As long as what we do does not harm anyone or break some law then we should be able to practice, as we want to.

So, what kinds of problems do some of these non-mainstream religions cause? What kind of trouble do they get into and how is the constitution being used to shield them from what some call questionable practices?

Scientology

It seems the church of Scientology is extreme and some of the beliefs are definitely a concern. One of the controversial topics is the use of a meter to pinpoint the level of "Harmony" a follower is experiencing. In the article Secrets of Scientology, I learned a little bit more about the so-called E-meter. The electropsychometer is a "crude" lie detector in as much as it measures skin electric responses, temperatures and such. The purpose is to measure the degree of "psychic trauma" in order to analyze a follower's mental state and in turn determine the effort needed to achieve the greatest level of "Beingness" (Touretzky).