Heaven’s Gate and the Infringement of Religious Freedoms
Introduction
How much religious freedom do we want? The United States Constitution guarantees religious freedom to all citizens. However, since the establishment of this freedom, there have been continuous debates and modifications. Despite this independence, there have been times when the government felt it necessary to infringe upon religious freedom for various reasons. The question is, at which point it is okay for the government to become involved in religious affairs for the sake of safety and protection?
The Heaven’s Gate religious group is one group in particular that has aroused much controversy in terms of the extent of religious freedom. In 1997, members of this group partook in an infamous mass suicide, claiming thirty-nine lives. There has been an extensive debate as to whether or not the government should have intervened in this group’s practice due to the violence and danger that it obviously posed to its members. However, through the acknowledgment of personal prejudices, an evaluation of coercion, the breadth of violence, legalities, and ethics revolving around this group’s violence, it can be concluded that government involvement in the religious practice of Heaven’s Gate would have been an inappropriate limitation of religious freedom. It would have been legally and morally unjust for the government to prevent the believers of Heaven’s Gate from making independent decisions.
History
The Heaven’s Gate religious group was started by Marshall H. Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles in the United States in 1972. These two individuals met each other and believed that they were the two witnesses mentioned in the Bible who preceded the end of time. ...
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...norms, many did not understand them and quickly wrote off their beliefs and practices as “crazy” and “dangerous”, causing many to encourage the government’s intervention. Nevertheless, when dealing with such important issues, a decision cannot be made based on personal prejudices alone. After evaluating the willingness of the members to participate, their personal desires to end their lives, the containment of violence, legalities, as well as ethics, the conclusion can be drawn that while many did not agree with the practices of Heaven’s Gate and the initial reaction of many would be to save the thirty-nine lives that were lost, the government should not have stopped their mass suicide in 1997 and should have allowed the members the freedom to make their own decisions regarding religion in order to honor the guarantee of religious freedom and to avoid moral harm.
The Heaven’s Gate Cult is one of thousands of millennial cults and UFO- based cults throughout the world. It has existed for over 22 years now. The cult was lead by a man named Marshall Applewhite and a woman named Bonnie Nettles. They were referred to as “Do” and “Ti” by the cult. These were said to be their spiritual names. Bonnie met Marshall as a patient in a psychiatric hospital where she worked as a nurse.
The Heaven’s Gate Cult was founded in the early 1970’s by Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles. Applewhite was recovering, under the care of his nurse Ms. Nettles, when he claimed to have has a near death experience. Applewhite claimed that he and Nettles were the two witnesses spoken of in the Book of Revelation. And they were to prepare the worlds inhabitants for recycling.
Another well-known cult leader is Marshall Applewhite, one of the founders of Heaven’s Gate. Applewhite was born on May 17, 1931 in Texas. He was a music teacher who was also well known for having good public speaking skills. He moved to Huston in the 1960’s to take over as head of the university’s music department. Shortly after moving, Marshall began to experience a mental decline. He and his wife divorced, he quit his job, and left his children. In the midst of a nervous breakdown and near-death experience, he met a nurse at a hospital named Bonnie Nettles. Nettles played a main role in Applewhite’s turn toward religion, as she is the one who recruited him to join the group, of which they would become co-leaders. She told him that his declining
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." These opening words of the First Amendment of the Constitution set forth a guarantee of religious freedom in the United States. The Establishment clause was intended to accomplish this end by, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, creating a "wall of separation between Church and State." The First Amendment prevented the government from interfering in it's citizens religious lives. It did not, however, prevent the federal government from engaging in it's own.
This essay is dedicated to the expression of the various official views of religious bodies within our nation. Most major denominations are represented. These religions have long been the custodians of the truth, serving to check the erratic and unpredictable tendencies of political, judicial and social bodies which would have Americans killing off their elderly and handicapped.
“Separation of Church and State,” is a theory derived from different parts of the constitution; primarily the first and fourteenth amendment. The first amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting and establishment or religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof....” The first amendment says that there can not be any laws against anyone’s individual religion. How far can we take this though? There are circumstances when you don’t want the government to intervene with your personal beliefs but is it sometimes necessary? What if there was a Satanist who believed in killing all other races. If the government was to punish them, wouldn’t that be suppressing their religious freedom? No. Sometimes different laws override the previous. For example, someone cannot practice their religion if it infringes upon another person’s rights.
To open this discussion, I would like to start with the civil liberty of freedom of religion. This liberty was identified in my original Constitution essay through the mentioning of the separation of church and state clause. The reason for my including of this liberty, and my stressing of its importance, is that I feel that the government interprets this liberty in a one sided fashion because of the incorrect interpretation of the already in place separation of church and state clause. I also include it because I believe that recently the attacks upon religion have metastasized and tha...
On March 26, 1997, in what has become known as one of the most noteworthy mass suicides in history, thirty-nine men and women affiliated with the Heavens Gate cult took their own lives by ingesting a combination of Phenobarbitals mixed with applesauce and alcohol. Each was dressed all in black, their faces covered by a purple shroud. Those who wore glasses had them neatly folded next to their body, and all had identification papers for the authorities to find. The house was immaculate, tidier even than before the victims had moved in. It was as if, in preparing for their death, they were heeding the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” And while their abrupt end may seem rather strange, the way they lived is even more perplexing.
Wood, James E, Jr. "Religious Human Rights and a Democratic State." Journal of Church and State 4(2004):739. eLibrary. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.
The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect toward the freedom of religion. It also prevents the government from "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Since the early history of our country, the protection of basic freedoms has been of the utmost importance to Americans.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT vs INDIVIDUAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN THE U.S. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Religious Tolerance: www.religioustolerance.org/govt_con.htm
The First Amendment to the Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," meaning that an American citizen would be able to practice his or her religion without any intervention or persecution from the government, be it Islam, Judaism, Mormonism or Catholicism. Yet, with religious freedom, comes an important question concerning its existence. Is religious equality just as important as all the other freedoms... such as the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, the freedom to assemble, and others as well? The answer here is yes. If this nation truly stands for freedom, the American government cannot say that its citizens have the right to speak freely, write freely, or assemble freely, but then maintain an establ...
“But as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace” (Doc. B). Being able to have the liberty and same rights as other people prevents from everyone going to war with one each other. When people are able to choose and follow the religion they want it prevents from having one religion having all the power, over through and control people at the point they have to follow something they don’t worship. If that were to happen we wouldn't be at peace and we will be unhappy. Government, and religion are two of three import things that make up part of human
While it may it be true that laws influenced by religion can seem harmless, such as not being able to buy alcohol on a Sunday, the reverse is also true. For every situation that seems harmless, is another where someone has committed unspeakable acts in the name of their religion. Not only that,
Kadivar, Mohsen. "Freedom of Thought and Religion."Current History (New York, N.Y.: 1941) Humanities Full Text. 2005. Web.