Freedom of religion applies to all Americans of all religions. I have often heard Christians thank God for the freedom to worship in the United States. Like freedom of speech, freedom of religion doesn’t apply only to popular, inoffensive ideas. In parts of the US, evangelical Christianity is viewed as offensive and dangerous. Should those regions be allowed to ban new church buildings?

Few Muslim countries allow freedom of religion. We should shame them by our example. Yes, it is indeed unfair that Muslims are allowed to build mosques in the US, while Christians are not allowed to build churches in Saudi Arabia, even though more than one million Catholic Filipinos live and work in Saudi Arabia. In fact, the laws of Saudi Arabia (and many other Muslim nations) directly contradict the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights – which is binding on Saudi Arabia as a UN member^[*]. What would we gain by lowering ourselves to the hypocrisy of Saudi Arabia?

The Gospel spreads through relationships and truth, not government enforcement. In Rodney Stark’s book Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome, the Baylor historian and sociologist demonstrates that the early church grew from 150 Jesus followers to more than 30 million through ordinary relationships: family members, coworkers, neighbors. Elsewhere, Stark has suggested that gaining its status as the state religion of the Roman Empire actually slowed the growth of Christianity. If we want to share the love of Christ with Muslims, we can do so only by building relationships with them, not by isolating them from our community.

Muslims already live in Northern Kentucky. This mosque would not be built if there were not already a community of Muslims in Northern Kentucky. By opposing the mosque, I’m not sure what we gain other than antagonizing our neighbors. Opponents of the mosque cite fears of terrorism. But is there a faster way to turn a Muslim youth against the US than by making him feel hated and unwanted?

What should we do then?

• Welcome our Muslim neighbors as fellow Americans and support their freedoms under the US Constitution.
• Build friendships with our Muslim neighbors so that they can witness Christian love and hospitality firsthand.
• Share the gospel with them in word and deed, in the hope that they will accept the good news of Jesus Christ.

Today, a major problem in Muslim countries is the perception that Christians are uncaring, immoral, and hypocritical. We may not be able to do much to shape the views of Muslims overseas, but shouldn’t we ensure that American Muslims see a better side of Christianity?

I mentioned in class that the number of Americans reporting “no religion” has increased over the last 10 to 20 years. Here’s a good post that summarizes a couple of the findings about these “nones.”

It was great teaching this series, and I hope we can offer it again sometime.

Handout

Here is my Atheism Fact Sheet.  The presentation is below the jump.

Presentation

If you’d like an insider’s perspective on the world of Wicca and Paganism, check out The Wild Hunt. It’s a blog that covers news stories about Wicca, Paganism, and other alternative religions.

Handout

Here is my Wicca and Paganism Fact Sheet. My presentation is below the jump.

Presentation

I also mentioned this video, an internal Scientology training video featuring Tom Cruise. Cruise uses quite a bit of Scientology jargon in the video, so you’ll want to read the “More” section under the video for some translations, as well as my fact sheet below, in order to understand what he’s talking about. (For example, he refers to “KSW,” which is a document written by L. Ron Hubbard called “Keep Scientology Working.”)

Handout

Click here to download my Scientology Fact Sheet (PDF, 44KB). The presentation from class is below the jump.

Presentation

The day begins at the small, red-brick Kingdom Hall on Glendale’s Myrtle Avenue, where about 40 Witnesses gather in couples and families. Some thank Jehovah for the blessed day, others thank him for the coffee that got them here by 9 a.m. A few quick hellos in the Hall — a trapezoidal room with churchlike rows of chairs, a churchlike stage but no churchlike iconography — and the Witnesses head downstairs to arm themselves.

I found the article to offer great insight into the JW organization.

Handout

Click here to download my Jehovah’s Witnesses Fact Sheet (PDF, 55KB). As usual, my presentation is below the jump.

Presentation

One of the best sources for information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka Mormonism) is from the church itself. The LDS church has an extensive Answers to Questions section, as well as an online library of Mormon scriptures. For comparisons between LDS and mainstream Christianity, two groups called Mormonism Research Ministry and  Utah Lighthouse Ministry have extensive libraries of articles.

Handouts

Click here to download my fact sheet about Mormonism (PDF, 55KB). My presentation can viewed below the jump.

Presentation

I’ve just read an interview with Hunter in the new Christianity Today (it’s not online yet). In it, he says something that really ticks me off whenever I hear it. He suggests that Christians need to move beyond politics, and he singles out the pro-life movement as an example:

What would a post-political gesture look like in the pro-life movement? Borrowing an example from a friend, imagine ten thousand families signing a petition in Illinois that declares they will adopt a child of any ethnic background and physical capability. If they wanted to do something spectacular, they could go to city hall for a press conference, announcing that in the state of Illinois there are no unwanted children. That would be a public — but not political — act. Such an act leads with compassion rather than coercion.

Cool idea — so why does it tick me off?

What does he think Christians are already doing?

Christians are already adopting children. My own employer (a Christian nonprofit) offers significant benefits to encourage adoption, and I suspect that many other Christian employers provide similar benefits. I would now describe some of my friends and colleagues who have adopted children (from both the US and overseas), but I wouldn’t know where to start, because there are so many of them.

As far as compassion goes, does Hunter know about the work of crisis pregnancy centers, like those affiliated with Care Net? I’ve worked for one, and I have many friends and family who have worked or volunteered for them. I don’t know many people who show more compassion on a daily basis to women and children who need help. These are Christians on the front lines of the pro-life movement.

Hunter’s idea is hardly original. A well-known Christian has already offered to adopt any “unwanted” child in America:

I want the child. Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child. From our children’s home in Calcutta alone, we have saved over 3000 children from abortion. These children have brought such love and joy to their adopting parents and have grown up so full of love and joy.

Mother Teresa said this at the National Prayer Breakfast — in 1994.

When I read or hear someone suggesting that the pro-life movement needs to “show compassion” or “move beyond politics,” it suggests to me that person doesn’t actually know much about the pro-life movement. Hunter’s idea is a fine one, though I’m not really sure how a petition drive and a press conference on the city hall steps are supposed to be “post-political.” Considering the low media coverage of the enormous annual March for Life, I’m not even sure how “public” Hunter’s proposed gesture would be.

Instead of describing a hypothetical idea, however, why doesn’t he describe one of the many real Christians and Christian organizations who are already living out their compassion?

Hunter’s critique is rooted in concern over the use of power:

When Christians turn to law, public policy, and politics as the last resort, they have essentially given up on a desire to persuade their opponents. They want the patronage of the state and its coercive power to rule the day.

Yes – that’s absolutely right: pro-life Christians want the government to prevent fetuses from being aborted. If you believe that abortion ends a human life, how could you ask the government to do anything other than protect those lives?

Elsewhere in this same issue, Christianity Today describes Christians urging law enforcement and legislators to take stronger action against child prostitution and human trafficking (i.e. slavery). I’ve also mentioned Ohio State’s Price of Life event that addressed these same issues. Yes, it would be better if pimps and sex traffickers would give their lives to Jesus and voluntarily stop enslaving and raping children. Until then, what’s wrong with using the “coercive power” of the state to stop them?

James Davison Hunter is a very intelligent person, and I expect that I will read his book, sooner rather than later. This interview, though, makes me wonder whether he is really in touch with Christians who are working “to change the world.”

There’s one person I hope gets chosen, though. At my audition was a family doctor from Missouri. Part of the audition process is a “faux” game of Jeopardy, complete with the little personal interview that Alex does at the end of the first commercial break. During her interview, this woman revealed that her husband’s a pastor, and she joked that winning Jeopardy would help with their church’s building campaign.

The casting director then asked, “What would you really do with the money?” Every potential contestant was asked this question. Most of them talked of travel to favorite locales or pet projects around the home. I described a dream I have to build a garden office in my backyard.

This shy doctor from Missouri, though, gave the answer of the day.

I work with a medical missions group that helps women in Ghana who are escaping slavery. And that’s how I would use the money.

This Jeopardy casting crew hears hundreds, maybe thousands, of “what I would do if I won” answers each year. You could tell that this one gave them something to think about.

Be sure to visit the Ohio State Price of Life website. This event raised awareness, money, and political support to end human trafficking around the world, in the name of Jesus and the freedom he gives. More than 300 people made commitments to follow Christ during the weeklong event.

The handout for Buddhism is below, and my presentation can be seen after the jump. Meanwhile, a couple of links you might be interested in:

• The world’s most famous Buddhist teacher is on Twitter: click here to see the official Twitter account for the 14th Dalai Lama.
• After class, I realized that I made a major omission from my list of famous Buddhists – namely, the most famous athlete in the world, Tiger Woods.
  • CBS News did a story about Woods’ Buddhist upbringing and how it is guiding his response to his personal failings
  • GetReligion, meanwhile, has written several posts which look at media coverage of Woods’ religious beliefs. For example, here’s one post which takes a look at the bracelet that Woods has begun wearing, and connects Woods with the Dalai Lama.

Handout

Buddhist Handout (PDF, 61KB)

Presentation

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