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0

I don't think any religion is immune to this.

0

People really need to read the "Black Collar Crime" report from FFRF [freethoughttoday.com]

1

I'm very reluctant to characterize any belief as good or bad based on any good or bad actions of a major figure in that belief.

Every group has good and bad people, even a great majority of one over the other at times, but it doesnt matter: The belief is either correct or incorrect, that's what matters. I've long given up complimenting or blaming the belief or the group based on the good or bad action of a few or many.

As I tell my religious friends in moments of shared deep contemplation: "if it makes you a good person or bring good things in to your life would you believe in something that was not true?"

And, boy, do I get some pregnant pauses. 🙂

1

I read a book by a Muslim woman who does not got to mosque. She went on a retreat led by Dalai Lama. She asked him "Is Islam violent?" He replied "All religions are violent, even Buddhism." Miscreants can be found anywhere.

SKH78 Level 8 Nov 23, 2019
2

All religions have unethical people .... the Buddhists have always taught respect and peace - you would think THEY would know better .... the Unitarians teach human rights - but they too have had their share of miscreants. Rather sad, but true. Abusers can be found anywhere.

SKH78 Level 8 Nov 23, 2019

Exactly ... Evil is more disappointing when perpetrated by religious entities that lay claim to propagating the improvement of humanity.

3

Why would Buddhists be any different from the rest of mankind. Child abusers come from all religions and none. They are attracted to certain positions and occupations because it gives them access to children, and not the other way round. If the predilection wasn’t already there, being in close proximity to children would not turn them into pedophiles. Btw...I had to guess what the article said as I can’t access NY Times unless I subscribe.

I can't read it ether unless I subscribe. So that's that.

2

Maybe discriminate between "Buddhist" and "buddhist". One is part of an orthodox power structure that disseminates a body of teaching; the other lives by that teaching.

I have met non-church going Christians who practice what they believe - treating others with respect. I have read about Muslims who never enter a mosque and they do their prayers at home. They treat others with respect. Places of worship are power structures. Beliefs are private and personal.

@SKH78 your point is well taken BUT more often than not practitioners of these isms try to force their beliefs on everyone else. If they truly kept their beliefs private and personal I’d have no beef with them.

3

This is pervasive throughout all the isms, anywhere a few yield power over many. Not even just religion. Hollywood and politics are two other examples. Though I guess now a days politics is over run with religion.

Cinco Level 5 Nov 23, 2019
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Why would you think anyone who can abuse their position, and does, is anything other than a despicable human being? Trying to link it to any "ism" is just a form of racism.

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Not only Catholic priests abuse children but Protestants and religious leaders from all other religions do it to.

I am sure that you are right ... I just used the brand "Catholic" because it still represent a rather large cohort. Though I have no data to back my assumption, I am somehow convinced that the phenomenon, e.g. sexual and other physical abuse, might be amplified by the rule of celebacy. I am also certain that the phenomenon of sexual abuse and exploitation is not limited to religious organisations.
Hierarchies are prone to developing such phenomena as there will always be an element of competing for the alpha position.
I am curious whether there are any studies on the subject carried out within Muslim communities regarding their islamic office bearer..

Unfortunately I’m pretty sure child abuse isn’t related to religion. It’s related to a power dynamic and attraction to abuse in the first place. Anyone who thinks getting rid of religion will prevent the sexual abuse of children is going to be shocked when they see stats remaining stable regardless of people leaving religion 🙁

@girlwithsmiles Yes but religion does provide a very easy route for those who want to abuse power, to obtain that power, and one with, by its very nature, no filters to prevent them doing so.

@Fernapple so does parenthood.

Scout leaders, Hollywood producers, royalty... the list is very,very long!

4

No abusive man is better than the other. But it's worse coming from a person we put our trust upon...no matter the religion.

1

People are people. All levels of development in all groups. Buddhists are not supposed to tell others how to live.

How refreshing!

0
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Abuse is abuse

2

In any organization religious, commercial or otherwise abusive individuals will rise to positions of power and abuse that power in turn. Whether others in those groups look the other way to those abuses or stand firm against it is the true measure of what each is.

3

it's an ugly situation. I left the baptist church decades ago and after years of secular wandering I found solace in the Buddha. After some time I took issue with a difference in opinion regarding the Mandukya upanishad and Buddhist traditions of the self. Turns out the Sri Lankan, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Thai Buddhists were every bit as close-minded as the Baptists I'd left behind. They all have their own bad boys. I finally turned to advaita vedanta and have not looked back.

How about just no religion?

@AnneWimsey because not all people view "religion" in the same manner as yourself. these "beliefs" didnt start out as some mystical fairy tale. they started off as the rules each little community used to guide their activities. each of these communities started off as its' own little world. people living in close proximity tend to need rules and a little social order when the numbers get above around 150. refer to yuval harari and the rest of the social-evolutionary theorists for that. the whole thing just got perverted or skewed as people factored into it as well as the chaos of no standards and differing conditions etc... . A lot of these community belief sets were more sociology than theology. The various sections of the "aryan" vedas is a perfect example. These are the very first of the so-called "holy books" of the world (along with the tora and koran and bible) with verifiable geographic references made dating parts of them to as far back as 75,000 years ago. Each of the vedas (rig, arthara, sama and yajur) has 4 sections each with a different emphasis. The samhitas are indeed prayers to various gods and good things and people and the brahmanas are rituals. But the aranyanka are different instructions for the elderly and poor living in thee woods or otherwise away from the community. The upanishads are the philosophies of various smart guys sitting around minding their flocks or harvesting grain when thoughts would hit them. Like thoughts from a bunch of dudes hanging around the coffee shop. These were the distilled words without all the prayers and rituals. It ended up being a repository of ancient knowledge, not just or even theology. The mystical part becomes easy to discern and discard. So I don't believe in throwing out the baby with the bathwater. That's dumb.

3

Nope. No better.
Abuse is never okay. Regardless of who is doing it.

I'm okay with calling them ALL out.
But that's me.

7

An abuser is an abuser and they come in every imaginable configuration.

Exactly 😟

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