Bill Maher went into a little more background. It’s called the ‘People of Praise’ and it was founded in 1971. Unmentioned in this article, but mentioned by Mr. Maher is the fact husbands are supposed to discipline their wives, if they step out of line.
Why hasn’t anyone else mentioned this? And is this what Senator Feinstein meant when she said her religious dogma still lives in her? I’m still very confused.
Yes, and it is not a cult. It is a private association of the Christian faithful, aka a parachurch apostolate.
I admit to to some it might resemble a cult, but it is not. Nor is it extremist.
wiki: Anthropologist and scholar of comparative religion Thomas Csordas has written about People of Praise and stated, “I would definitely not use the term cult in its popular sense.”[12] Csordas said “People of Praise is best described not as a cult but as a religiously-based ‘intentional community.’”[2]
And here in the USA, we do not discriminate against someone based upon their religion. That is legally and ethically wrong.
Donald Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the supreme court, to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has drawn attention to a secretive Catholic “covenant community” called People of Praise that counts Barrett as a member and faces claims of adhering to a “highly authoritarian” structure.
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Interviews with experts who have studied charismatic Christian groups such as People of Praise, and with former members of the group, plus a review of the group’s own literature, reveal an organization that appears to dominate some members’ everyday lives, in which so-called “heads” – or spiritual advisers – make big life decisions, and in which members are expected to financially support one another.
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Other Catholic writers have said it is fair to scrutinize People of Praise because the group falls far outside mainstream Catholicism.
The group emerged out of the Catholic charismatic movement of the late 1960s, which blended Catholicism and Protestant Pentecostalism – Catholics and Protestants are both members – and adopted practices like speaking in tongues. SOURCE
@Euphonious_PolemicReal Time was certainly the first place I heard of it. And they never brought it up in place they really should’ve–her confirmation hearings .
And on the contrary, religion is a perfectly legitimate thing to bring up–if it is going to influence her opinions on the high court . This is probably what Senator Feinstein meant.
I mean, I have religious beliefs too. But I don’t impose them on other people.
She absolutely should be discriminated against for her religious views. Delusional extremists don’t belong in secular positions of great responsibility.
If a person in question intends to give their religious beliefs the force of law in opposition to my religious beliefs it is perfectly reasonable to oppose them based on those beliefs. Rights are not infinite, there is a boundary beyond which your exercise of your rights infringes on my exercise of my rights. To invoke a metaphor: “Your right to swing your arms freely ends where my nose begins.”
I’ve been seeing references to it ever since her nomination started to look likely.
And they didn’t bring it up in the confirmation hearings, probably, because the last time they did so all the Republicans started screaming ‘Religious discrimination!’
– whether it’s a cult is going to depend on one’s definition of ‘cult’.
I believe that that is exactly why the Democrats did not bring it up. Trump, and many Republican politicians, have been running with the message that "Biden / Democrats want to destroy religion," and there’s no good reason to add fuel to that fire.
Also, to the OP: if you hadn’t heard about Barrett’s membership in that group before seeing Maher’s show, you may want to consider broadening the number of news outlets you read. As others have said, it’s been mentioned many times elsewhere.
“In a potential conflict between the United States Constitution and your own personal interpretation of your religious beliefs, which one will you follow?”
Pin her down. Which one? Make a choice. Choose one or the other.
.