But I Wanna Worship Pasta (#8)

Religion is a topic of huge controversy. It's something that is extremely important to some people, so much to the point that they will go to extremes just to spread their beliefs. Luckily, we have freedom of religion which protects us from a religiously biased government and from people that may try to force their beliefs down on us.

One question that came up in our class discussions about freedom of religion was,’How can you start a religion and have it officially recognized’.
As we have freedom of religion, you are able to practice whatever it is you wish, but in order to be a tax-exempt religious organization, you must have at least a few of the traits as follows, according to the IRS:


1. A distinct legal existence
2. A recognized creed and form of worship
3. A definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
4. A formal code of doctrine and discipline
5. A distinct religious history
6. A membership not associated with any other church or denomination
7. An organization of ordained ministers
8. Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed studies
9. A literature of its own
10. Established places of worship
11. Regular congregations
12. Regular religious services
13. Sunday schools for religious instruction of the young
14. Schools for the preparation of its ministers.


I even found a book about starting your own religion, if that’s something you’re into. Apparently it’s a big way to rake in money and adoration. Go figure.

In some cases, starting your own religion can be dangerous and used in malice ways, as seen in the case of Jim Jones. In 1955, Jim Jones became the founder and leader of the “Peoples Temple”, a Christian-deriving belief system with a membership of 3,000. Jones used this belief system as a way to express his appreciation for Communism. “I decided, how can I demonstrate my Marxism? The thought was, infiltrate the church. So I consciously made a decision to look into that prospect.”

Perhaps one of the most disturbing things about Jones’ story was that he was an atheist. He didn’t believe in his own gospel, but merely used it as a way to celebrate the idea of Communism. Pretty messed up, right? Through this, he led what is now known as the Guyana Tragedy, a massive cult suicide that took place in Guyana during 1978.


So you can see the good and the bad here. We have freedom of religion and assembly, so we’re able to freely practice what we believe, but that can also lead to malevolence and abuse of that freedom. This whole study of the freedom of religion led me to wonder how freedom of religion extends to children. Parents can baptize and bring their children to church services, so when does a kid have the right to say no? In Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, there are explicit laws about children’s rights. If a child desires to follow a different belief system than that of their parents, even if their parents completely disprove of this, they are free to do so, by law. I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s beautiful. Freedom is awesome, am I right?

 
So let’s put this in another context. If I wanted to become a Satan worshipper who drinks the blood of unicorns and my parents were evangelical Christians, by law, I would have the freedom to follow Satanism. That’s sort of an exaggerated example, but still.

I did quite a bit of research, but nothing was quite as explicit about children’s rights when it came to religious freedom in the U.S. We do, however, have freedom of thought, which I guess could encompass children’s rights. Obviously, there’s a lot of gray area.

But, you know, if you feel like worshipping pasta, go for it.



Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf

A Revolution Without Riots is Rather Boring (#7)

Not to mention almost unheard of. Stonewall Riots -1969

The Stonewall Riots were violent and spontaneous protests against a police raid at the Stonewall Inn of Greenwich Village in New York City. The protesters were members of the gay community, who opposed the discrimination against homosexuals. Of course, at the time, cultural views on homosexuality were even more conservative than they are now.

The raid consisted of female police officers starting a lineup to check the identities of the patrons and if they were dressed as women, they would be taken to the bathroom to check their sex. If they were men dressed as women (cross-dressers), they’d be arrested on the spot. Pretty intrusive, no? But instead of following this standard procedure, the police officers decided that they would take all the patrons that were present to the police station. At this point, both the police and the patrons felt an unsettling sense of danger looming.

The only photo of that first night,  the patrons fight back against the police

After the alcohol at the bar began to be transported, a crowd outside began to form. The passersby began to feel animosity towards the police officers and after a lesbian woman in handcuffs was beaten with a baton, the crowd went berserk.

Although there was never any official speaking done, the bystanders that had watched the scene unfold began to riot. The folk singer Dave Van Ronk began to take part in the protest as well, claiming that-although he was not gay himself-he had experienced police violence when he participated in anti-war protests and wanted to “stand up to the cops”. The incredible thing about this riot was that it wasn’t organized. Few of those who joined in on the demonstration were even homosexual themselves, but the turbulent changes and revolution of the era all seemed to come to a head, and in some unspoken way, they all felt compelled to take part in the demonstration.

Michael Fader explained,”All kinds of people, all different reasons, but mostly it was total outrage, anger, sorrow, everything combined, and everything just kind of ran its course.”

Garbage, rocks, and bricks were thrown at the Stonewall Inn by members of the queer community as a way to “tell off” the owners of the bar (the Mafia) for their discrimination. Though the series of riots only lasted a day, it was a huge marking period for the gay liberation movement. Since then, the Stonewall Riots have become a literal symbol of the queer community fighting back against an oppressive time, when queers were looked down upon.

Though what the police did was all for purpose of anti-homosexualism, it sparked just the opposite: Pride marches were started on the one-year anniversary of the police raid and two gay activist organizations were formed in New York.

And 42 years later, same-sex marriage was legalized in the state of New York. Ironic, much? I really connected with this protest, as a straight ally and on a more fundamentally human level. The fact that these people were fighting for acceptance was jarring and saddening, but maybe even empowering. While homophobia and discrimination is still a huge problem, we’re moving forward. I like to think that Freddie Mercury would be proud.

Photo source: http://www.stageandcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/stonewall-uprising-police-push.jpg
Bibliography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots