Marci A. Hamilton is an internationally recognized constitutional expert specializing in church/state relations. Professor Hamilton's new book, GOD VS. THE GAVEL: RELIGION AND THE RULE OF LAW is one of the brightest lights on the horizon in a difficult time of prosecuting religions that cause harm. Ms. Hamilton states -- "While religious conduct provides many benefits to society, it is not always benign." Further, Ms. Hamilton said, "...and truth be told, religion is capable of great harm." And this said by a devoutly religious person.
I'm no "Oprah" but I rate this book five stars. May I suggest buying this book. Why should we be so interested in what Professor Hamilton has to say? First of all, note in PART ONE, entitled WHY THE LAW MUST GOVERN RELIGIOUS ENTITIES under the heading THE PROBLEM, Ms. Hamilton's opening words:
"The United States has a romantic attitude toward religious individuals and institutions, as though they are always doing what is right. As one scholar has quipped: 'There is a long history in this country of religion being reduced to Sunday school morality in service of the common good.' Were religious institutions and individuals always beneficial to the public, this book would not need to be written, and they would not need to be deterred from criminal or tortious behavior. Religious liberty could be absolute. The unrealistic belief that religion is always for the good, however, is a hazardous myth. The purpose of this book is to persuade Americans to take off the rose-colored glasses and to come to terms with the necessity of making religious individuals and institutions accountable to the law so that they do not harm others."
In Chapter 2 of Part One entitled CHILDREN, this is what we read on p. 12, par. 1:
"Warning: If this chapter were a movie, it would have an NC-17 rating, because it describes horrible things that have been done to children beneath the cloak of religion in the United States. Children have been raped, beaten, and permitted to die excruciating deaths."
In par. 2, Ms. Hamilton states, "The suffering is often unimaginable, because the children lack the ability to protect themselves from death, permanent disability, or severe abuse - at the hands of those they have been taught are here on earth to care for them.
Par. 3: "In the first instance, some clergy, day-care providers, and religious schoolteachers use their position to take advantage of children. No person can be trusted to hold power without some check on it, and that is why we have the law..."
Ms. Hamilton zones in on Jehovah's Witnesses on pgs. 14, 15, 20, & 25-27 of Chap. 1. She states in part on page 14-15:
"Religious institutions have been havens for pedophiles for three reasons. First, up until now, society has so trusted clergy that no one questioned the priest or pastor or elder who volunteered to spend extra time with Bobby. Second, religion is an authoritative structure in a person's life, so that demands by clergy are oftentimes equated with commands from God and therefore are treated as imperatives. Third, religious institutions, especially those that form tight-knit communities, often succumb to the temptation to shield the public moral position by keeping internal sexual abuse secret, which ensures the authorities will not be contacted and permits the pedophile to continue to operate. The circumstances are tailor-made for the child molester. In the words of a former elder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, the religious organization can be a "pedophile paradise," especially where it features a 'closed society, elder authority, [and a] masculine dominated society.'"
As if it is not bad enough that religious institutions are magnets for pedophiles (partly because of the laws the religious institutions have endorsed), some religious institutions themselves have actively aided and abetted the abuse. The Roman Catholic Church and the Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, have handled reports of clergy abuse as though the public good was not their problem and have insisted on silence as they refused to report the crimes to authorities. There is no question that they placed the good of the organization above the needs of the child or the legitimate demands of society. Their disregard for the public good is even more sinister when one discovers that they were sacrificing the public good to elevate their earthly needs. The silence is an integral part of a twofold strategy: protect the institution's finances and protect its public image."
As fascinating as PART ONE is, PART TWO, THE HISTORY AND DOCTRINE BEHIND THE RULE THAT SUBJECTS RELIGIOUS ENTITIES TO DULY ENACTED LAWS is equally fascinating.
Ms. Hamilton concludes her book this way on p. 305: "The point of this book is to show that a vigorous legislative investigation is just as crucial, and sometimes more crucial, in the context of religious demands, as it is in any secular context. The United States must abandon its adolescent belief in the inevitable goodness of every religious entity and instead demand an accounting when religious entities seek to avoid the laws that govern everyone else. This is not so much a matter of distrusting religious entities as it is an invitation for the public good to re-enter the religious liberty calculus."
In the Epilogue, p. 311, these are Prof. Hamilton's closing words: "Forbidding religious exemptions altogether would be tyranny, but granting them as of right is anarchy."
If you don't buy or obtain this book from your nearest library, you'll never know what gems you have missed between the first and last page. I beg of you, please don't let that happen, not only for your sake, but for the sake of thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses' children who were molested by Jehovah's Witnesses' molesters! The more you know, the better equipped you will be to help legitimate legislative processes change the majority legislature mindset in the United States, which have allowed religions avoid accountability for causing or allowing harm, to demand full accountability by the same laws that govern the rest of us.
Thank you,
Barbara Anderson
Re: *PLEASE READ* GOD VS. THE GAVEL: RELIGION & THE RULE OF LAW
by AndersonsInfo 8 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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AndersonsInfo
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Daunt
I saw an interview of this book on The Daily Show a little while ago. She was very intelligent and not afraid to say that religion can be a dangerous force. Didn't know she was religious though. I hope more people read this book, and I hope I can get that book through these doors without getting shunned.
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outoftheorg
Thanks for this info. Barbara
If this is alright with you, I want to copy your post in the form of a letter and add my experience in this area, then send it to the state senators and to the attorney general's office for their information.
If you would rather I not or have questions please PM me and let me know your thoughts.
Best of wishes in your legal battle with the wbts.
Outoftheorg
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blondie
Marci Hamilton was the keynote speaker at SNAP's national conference in Chicago this June. I was able to talk with her afterward and get her book there. I have been reading it ever since. I saw that same interview on the Daily Show. She was also interviewed several times in connection with Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day-OConnor's leaving the bench since she law clerked for her.
This book will help us understand how difficult but not impossible the fight is against the religious institutions that hide behind the 1st amendment in regard to their reporting reponsibilites of child abuse and their legal and moral responsibilities to the children and familiies that are victimized because they fail to protect.
Blondie
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP)
Marci Hamilton also has a regular column on www.findlaw.org
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AndersonsInfo
bttt ---- Very Important read.
Barb -
IT Support
Thank you for mentioning this. I've ordered it from my library but it will take a few weeks to arrive.
Ms. Hamilton zones in on Jehovah's Witnesses on pgs. 14, 15, 20, & 25-27 of Chap. 1. She states in part on page 14-15:
Sorry for being so pedantic, but may I just check whether this is chapter 2 or chapter 1? (While waiting for the book, I'm including your quotes in some notes I'm writing up and need to have accurate references.)
I'm looking forward to reading the book. Thanks again.
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AndersonsInfo
Well, IT Support, you caught my typo, ahem, rather my error!
I had it right when I said previously:
"In Chapter 2 of Part One entitled CHILDREN, this is what we read on p. 12, par. 1," so page 14 forward has to be in Chapter 2, not Chapter 1.
I'm glad someone is pedantic on this board cause it sure "ain't" me.
Barb -
AndersonsInfo
Recently, a friend in England wrote Professor Marci Hamilton and her reply is as follows: (Perhaps some on this board might also like to e-mail Ms. Hamilton.)
From: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2005 2:23 PM
Subject: Re: WT New Hampshire
Thanks very much for your email. It is always heartening to hear from others who put children first. I am not sure what laws are encompassed by "Charity Law" in Britain, but I would be very interested in finding out.
I think you may find my new book, God vs the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law (Cambridge 2005) interesting. I discuss the children's issues in chapter 2, and British-American history in chapter 9. I believe it was just released in England.
If you have not seen my other columns on children and religious groups (I have been documenting the Catholic clergy abuse scandal since 2002), you can find them on www.findlaw.com Click on the commentator of the day, and then on my name on the list of columnists to the right.
If you have the time, please keep me posted on related legal developments in England. This is an international problem, to be sure.
Regards, Marci Hamilton -
codeblue
Very interesting !!! Thank you for sharing that information.
btw...hope you and hubby are doing well!!!
CodeBlue