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I was thinking the same thing reading through that.. Doesn't sound that much different from the Amish or Mennonites.
But.. Have you ever heard of a sex abuse scandal in either of those churches? Perhaps because they (at least the Amish) are so insulated from the real world, it happens and just isn't reported.. Mennonites, tho.. They do venture out into the world. More so than the Amish at least. So, you'd expect if it happens there, you'd hear stories about it. It would leak out.
Sex abuse seems to be fairly common through any religion.. Catholicism obviously has its problems with it.. It seems that when people hear about a 'strange' religion and sex abuse, it's "Oh, it's a sex abuse cult".. Obviously there have been some of them.. But, I don't think any moreso than 'normal' religions.
Why does it happen in 'standard' Christian-based religions more? Or at least seem to? Well, so far as I know, Amish and Mennonites have councils.. They don't have the one position of power like the catholics and the like. So, perhaps it goes towards a "absolute power corrupts absolutely" type thing?
Personally, I think you find more sex abuse in religion where sex is demonized and strange practices, such as total celibacy or teaching that masturbation is a horrible sin, are dictated.
I've read a couple articles that link fundamentalist teachings of 100% abstinence before marriage to sexual dysfunction. The subjects I read about had it pounded into their head s that sex was bad/dirty (by abstaining, you remain "pure and clean") for so long that it still seemed bad and dirty after getting married.
I was thinking the same thing reading through that.. Doesn't sound that much different from the Amish or Mennonites.
But.. Have you ever heard of a sex abuse scandal in either of those churches? Perhaps because they (at least the Amish) are so insulated from the real world, it happens and just isn't reported.. Mennonites, tho.. They do venture out into the world. More so than the Amish at least. So, you'd expect if it happens there, you'd hear stories about it. It would leak out.
Sex abuse seems to be fairly common through any religion.. Catholicism obviously has its problems with it.. It seems that when people hear about a 'strange' religion and sex abuse, it's "Oh, it's a sex abuse cult".. Obviously there have been some of them.. But, I don't think any moreso than 'normal' religions.
Why does it happen in 'standard' Christian-based religions more? Or at least seem to? Well, so far as I know, Amish and Mennonites have councils.. They don't have the one position of power like the catholics and the like. So, perhaps it goes towards a "absolute power corrupts absolutely" type thing?
There is a lot of abuse in Amish communities. It is only reported locally, as most crimes are. They have to do something weird like cut off the beards of others to make the network news. Look at the sex offender lists in counties that have Amish communities.
With Catholicism it was the priests doing the crimes not the run of the mill Catholic.
It is cults like the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist and FLDS that seem to be loaded with abuse and cover up.
I was thinking the same thing reading through that.. Doesn't sound that much different from the Amish or Mennonites.
But.. Have you ever heard of a sex abuse scandal in either of those churches? Perhaps because they (at least the Amish) are so insulated from the real world, it happens and just isn't reported.. Mennonites, tho.. They do venture out into the world. More so than the Amish at least. So, you'd expect if it happens there, you'd hear stories about it. It would leak out.
Sex abuse seems to be fairly common through any religion.. Catholicism obviously has its problems with it.. It seems that when people hear about a 'strange' religion and sex abuse, it's "Oh, it's a sex abuse cult".. Obviously there have been some of them.. But, I don't think any moreso than 'normal' religions.
Why does it happen in 'standard' Christian-based religions more? Or at least seem to? Well, so far as I know, Amish and Mennonites have councils.. They don't have the one position of power like the catholics and the like. So, perhaps it goes towards a "absolute power corrupts absolutely" type thing?
We're assuming that this happens any more frequently than in the general population as a whole. Child molestation is often swept under the rug, whether you are religious or not. Its not as easy as it once was but it still happens. I just don't think that families that are religious are anymore immune to it than anyone else in the rest of the population. I do think there is a certain percentage of the population afflicted with pedophilia, treatment may help curb their desires but never quite cure them.
I also don't think Mother Nature gives a **** whether you believe in the Christian God, Allah, the FSM or anything else, its just how the roll of the genetic dice goes as new research indicates that some people are just born pedophiles.
Maybe those who are more insulated in their communities are much more likely to try and cover this up, to "make it go away" but in our increasingly connected world, that is becoming more and more difficult for anyone. In anycase I don't think sexual abuse is any more common among the religious than any other part of the population. I do think that those who seek to abuse children will do everything they can to gain access to them, whether working in schools, daycare, tutoring, or getting involved in a church community in roles that give them unfettered access to young kids.
You don't have to look any further than NBC's "To Catch A Predator" series to see that those folks came from all walks of life, police officers, military, software engineers, doctors, truck drivers, teachers....etc.
this happened a while ago, but, unfortunately, this isn't unheard of in the amish community.
I lived near enough to Hart County, KY to know that it happens in the Amish community way, way, way more than reported but we don't hear about it. They take care of it in-house. Sort of like the Duggars tried to do. Sort of like a lot of parents, regardless of their religious beliefs, choose to do if the research is to be believed.
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The best thing about that article is the reminder to me that I truly don't understand how sheltered and unaware some people can be. They grow up in this mini-world of conformity and have difficulties in the larger world that doesn't require conformity. It must be so difficult for people entering the larger world.
The best thing about that article is the reminder to me that I truly don't understand how sheltered and unaware some people can be. They grow up in this mini-world of conformity and have difficulties in the larger world that doesn't require conformity. It must be so difficult for people entering the larger world.
It's like the polygamists when they "dump" the teenage males out into the real world to keep their balance of more women per men in their communities. The "boys" have no clue how to operate in the real world and often end up on drugs/alcohol and going the complete opposite way they were raised.
It's like the polygamists when they "dump" the teenage males out into the real world to keep their balance of more women per men in their communities. The "boys" have no clue how to operate in the real world and often end up on drugs/alcohol and going the complete opposite way they were raised.
Which is kind of an extreme example, how many widescale "polygamist" groups do you have outside of the FLDS which is majority located in Colorado City and Hilldale. Nothing about what these groups do is legal and law enforcement has been cracking down on them in recent years, the leader of the FLDS, Warren Jeffs, is currently sitting in federal prison serving a life sentence.
The largest polygamist groups in the U.S. are thought to have around 20,000 people combined in a nation of hundreds of millions.
Which is kind of an extreme example, how many widescale "polygamist" groups do you have outside of the FLDS which is majority located in Colorado City and Hilldale. Nothing about what these groups do is legal and law enforcement has been cracking down on them in recent years, the leader of the FLDS, Warren Jeffs, is currently sitting in federal prison serving a life sentence.
The largest polygamist groups in the U.S. are thought to have around 20,000 people combined in a nation of hundreds of millions.
Well, yeah, there aren't that many of them. But there are definitely similarities to how the Duggars live. There are probably more people living like the Duggars (their extreme and conformist/conservative/controlling brand of Christianity) than FLDS polygamists.
What struck me about the article were the similarities between the Gothard cult and beliefs in other extreme religious communities, such as women covering up so as not to tempt men, and women being blamed if men are tempted. The author of the article didn't say women were physically punished if they were sexually assaulted like they are in some cultures where they can be murdered if they are raped, but I see the putting the blame on women as being on the same continuum. Also, when she said that women are not supposed to have sex drives, it reminded me of female genital mutilation which is done so that they absolutely will not have a sex drive.
What struck me about the article were the similarities between the Gothard cult and beliefs in other extreme religious communities, such as women covering up so as not to tempt men, and women being blamed if men are tempted. The author of the article didn't say women were physically punished if they were sexually assaulted like they are in some cultures where they can be murdered if they are raped, but I see the putting the blame on women as being on the same continuum. Also, when she said that women are not supposed to have sex drives, it reminded me of female genital mutilation which is done so that they absolutely will not have a sex drive.
Yes. I think I pointed out that there are quite a few parallels between this version of Christianity and extremist Islam. Although I'm pretty sure the Duggars aren't for suicide bombing, cutting off hands or executing gay people.
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