For a certain culture, being a good artist came to be “commonly identified with being loose-moraled, wicked, idle, and drunken.” That culture, Hubbard believed, was wrong.
From the World
L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the Visual Arts. 1. The Aesthetic Mind
The founder of Scientology devoted much attention to aesthetics. However, his texts on the subject remain little-known.
Japan Religious Donations Law. 4. The Return of Brainwashing
Brainwashing was debunked by scholars of new religious movements as pseudoscience already in the 20th century. It now returns in Japan.
Japan’s Religious Donations Law. 3. An American Precedent
In 1931, in the landmark case “People v. Blackburn,” the Supreme Court of California stated that claiming an inspired religious knowledge and collecting donations even for a marginal religious movement is part of religious liberty.
Japan’s Religious Donations Law. 2. “Fear” and Religious Fraud
The new law, by prohibiting donations based on “fear” of misfortunes in this or in the next life and on trust in “inspired” teachers, in fact looks with suspicion at all religions.
Scientology Churches Are Tax-Exempt Religious Buildings, UK Court Says
While Mormon temples (open to Mormons only) had been denied exemptions for not offering “public religious worship,” Scientology won its case.
Japan’s Religious Donations Law. 1. An Ambiguous Text
The Japanese Parliament has passed laws regarding as fraudulent donations motivated by “fear” and where the “free will” of the donors has allegedly been suppressed.
UN: Pakistan Should Halt Forced Conversions, Marriages of Christian and Hindu Girls
Six Special Rapporteurs wrote to the government of Pakistan. They have now decided to publish their letter.
Ahmadis Killed in Burkina Faso, Booked for Printing the Quran in Pakistan
Nine were slaughtered in Burkina Faso, five have been charged for blasphemy, as a radical cleric incites Sunni Muslims to “pour petrol rather than water” on Ahmadi houses on fire.
Shincheonji: Why the Korean Supreme Court Dismissed a Lawsuit Based on Deceptive Evangelism
Overcoming a lower court’s decision, the highest court in South Korea ruled that what Shincheonji did was not illegal.