Religion stories make the front page of the Denver Post a lot. This is a little surprising give this story off the front page of the Denver Post.
The Rocky Mountain West boasts an unusually high proportion of Roman Catholics, Mormons and "nones," or people who claim affiliation with no religious institution but may consider themselves spiritual, a new study has found.
Why is this case?
"When you do ask, there are a lot of people who claim a religious identity but are not affiliated," said Mark Silk, director of the Greenberg Center and project co-editor. "A true 'none' is someone who you call up, you ask them about their religious identity, and they say they have none."Scholars connect the rise of the "nones" in the West to several factors: an independent spirit and distrust of institutions, newcomers who leave behind the religion of their upbringing, a desire to spend more time outdoors in nature and the fact that identifying oneself as nonreligious is no longer taboo.
Also, the nones are not really nones.
A more accurate gauge of "nones," scholars say, is the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey, which quizzed 50,000 U.S. households. That's the survey that found 23 percent of those in the Mountain West identified themselves as "no religion/humanists."
This has been what I have observed. The institutional aspect of religion is weak in the Rocky Mountain West. Part of the study contrasted Boulder and Colorado Springs. You get your usual New Age versus Evangelical analysis. But what was also found is the situation is more complicated in the case of Colorado Springs. It really isn't the Evangelical juggernaut.
The data, however, show Colorado Springs is not a one-religion town. In El Paso County, conservative Protestants account for 37 percent of religious adherents, followed by Catholics (25 percent), African-American Protestants (16 percent), mainline Protestants (16 percent) and Mormons (5 percent).
Nevertheless Evangelicals in the Springs were stated as being responsible for the strength of the Republican party. I think that this is overblown. The issue of gay marriage is bringing Black, White, and Hispanic Evangelicals (and conservative Catholics) together. The Washington Times reported, for example.
Evangelical Protestants, both black and white, appear to be one of the few remaining bulwarks against widespread acceptance of homosexuality in an American society where sodomy has been decriminalized and television shows feature homosexual characters.
Given the strength of Catholicism in the Rocky Mountain West I wonder whether the effect on politics here is being underestimated. For example, Ken Salazar, Peter Coors, and Bob Schaefer are all Roman Catholic. So, is Representative Marilyn Musgrave who is the author of the Family Marriage Amendment to the Constitution.
So-called media bias does not require a conspiracy, but rather a common worldview. The same can be said about religious people in the Rocky Mountain West. A common worldview drives the political agenda even if the people are not institutionally connected. In a sense it is a strength. When institutions fail the faith of the so-called "nones" can continue.
Organizations such as The American Family Association do not seek to "protect marriage." They seek to deny gay relationships "any legal recognition" of any kind.
http://www.unitedanglicanchurch.org/uac_information.htm
http://www.cwfa.org/ma-update.asp
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/130/story_13037_1.html
www.cwfa.org/papersarchive.asp
www.cwfa.org/images/content/masjc-09163.pdf
www.afa.net/Category.asp?y=2004&m=4&id=5
www.afa.net/family/Default.asp?y=2004&m=4&id=5
They argue from one side of their face that marriage is unnecessary for gay couples because most (if not all) rights granted by marriage are available by other means-- such as a medical proxy.
They are lobbying to deny gay people access to each and every one of those rights they say can be attained without marriage.
From the other side of their face, they seek to reserve "all rights traditionally belonging to marriage" solely for heterosexual couples.
www.ccv.org/Homosexuality-Where_CCV_Stands.htm
www.state.tn.us/tccy/tnchild/36/36-3-113.htm
They also say that if civil unions are allowed, "don't panic," because they will try to get rid of them later.
And if there were any doubt of their intentions, they are even lobbying for legislation that would forbid gay couples from having hospital visitation-- even with a medical proxy.
They've even sued to force municipalities and companies do stop voluntarily providing same sex partner coverage for their employees
Do you want an idea of their ultimate, Final Solution, to "The Gay Problem?"
Michigan just passed The Conscientious Objector Policy Act (COPA) which would allow physicians, pharmacists, and health care insurers to refuse medical treatment to any individual they choose on "ethical, moral, or religious grounds."
www.365gay.com/newscon04/04/042904michFolo.htm
www.tgcrossroads.org/news/?aid=870
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/8709907.htm
http://www.washblade.com/2004/5-7/news/healthnews/HIBS.cfm
http://www.michiganlegislature.org/mileg.asp?page=getObject&objName=2003-HB-5006
While the law forbids "conscientious objections" due to race and religion, they rejected an amendment to the bill that would have included sexual orientation on the list of those who could not be discriminated against.
They also rejected an amendment that would have required an objector to provide a referral to another service provider.
And the bill does make an exception for "emergency treatment," but does not specify what constitutes an emergency-- for example, is bleeding to death an emergency, or is something like a broken arm (not life threatening, but painful) an emergency?
There are COPA laws in the works in several other states right now. I honestly believe that if we do not do something soon, this will be the first true step in the next Holocaust.
These laws like COPA are what people like Grand Rabbi Ira Korff are supporting at the same time that they say homosexuals should be treated "with love, intelligence and compassion," to quote Rebbe Y.A. Korff.
This is the same hypocritical scumbag who distributed "Last Temptation of Christ for Viacom," and now says "what's coming out of Hollywood" is the real problem with society. He owns a newspaper, and claims that "the values and institutions which have been around for centuries have been undermined by concepts like free love and free speech."
Ira Korff also says, ""Freedom of speech does not give people the right to speak derogatorily about others," yet he says homosexuals are destroying society and likens them marrying each other to marrying, "man's best friend, the dog."
http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/other/5_May/doma2.htm
Rebbe Korff says that, "if you act civil, you will breed civility in others. I hardly see him as being in any way "civil."
http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/2000/8_Aug/rebbe.htm
http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/other/5_May/doma2.htm
These people do not want to "protect" squat. They come only to destroy. And the final smoking gun pointing to a conspiracy to commit genocide is the so-called "Conscientious Objector Policy Act."
It is disgusting that a fellow Jew like Ira Korff, who was appointed as a chaplain to the City of Boston, is so willing to put on the jackboots and become a willing executioner himself.
When did "Never Again" suddenly become, "take THEM first?"
They claim that they are trying to protect and preserve the sanctity of marriage and the family.
They are lying.
One of the members of The MFI / AFM is The Grand Rabbi Ira Korff, Chaplain for the City of Boston.
The title of ”Grand Rabbi” is neither elected nor appointed-- it is inherited. The Jewish community didn’t choose Ira Korff.
He is lying.
For almost two years, I worked for Ira Korff at The Jewish Advocate newspaper in Boston.
Last year, within the space of about four months, my mother had congestive heart failure, my grandmother died, and I was diagnosed with cancer.
I spoke to Ira Korff and told him I was having another operation in a week, and my mother was having an operation the week after that.
I asked Ira Korff if I could take an unpaid medical leave for a month to protect and preserve my family and my health.
Grand Rabbi Ira Korff, Chaplain of the City of Boston, champion for the preservation and protection of the family, said “No.”
He told me that in this economy he could replace me quickly for less money.
In their crusade against gay people, Ira Korff and The Massachusetts Family Institute have joined forces with the leadership of The Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Society of Boston, Islamic Society of New England-- supporters of Hamas and of Al Queda. Terrorists.
www.jewishworldreview.com/1203/ marriage_terrorists.php3
The image of same-sex couples at the altar together is more horrific to Ira Korff than people flinging themselves from the windows of the burning World Trade Center.
Ira Korff is more afraid of seeing gay people happily married than he is of seeing his own brethren lying mangled and bloody in the streets of Israel.
Ira Korff is also the Honorary Consulate to Austria. The post had been discarded in disgust following the election of a Nazi-sympathizer as Chancellor of Austria. Ira Korff jumped at the chance to take the unwanted “honorary” position on the bones of our martyred fathers.
Grand Rabbi Ira Korff rubs shoulders with terrorists and Nazis.
These so-called protectors of the family and preservers of marriage are liars and frauds and hypocrites.
They are people like Ira Korff, whose newspaper I know (and can prove) has been lying for years about the circulation figures upon which it bases its advertising rates.
They are a motley assemblage of Judases, Uncle Toms and Judenrats.
Liars. Frauds. Hypocrites.
What Ira Korff and his fellow travelers are doing now has all been done before, and it started with laws about who was allowed to marry whom.
Why would someone want to exchange their yellow star for a swastika?
We need everyone to speak up and say, with one voice, “Never Again!”
--
Rev. Ian Brumberger
Brockton, MA
The National Association for Stupid Acceptance
http://www.imwithstupid.org
Because Stupidity Does Not Excuse Ignorance
Posted by: Rev. Ian Brumberger | June 06, 2004 at 06:49 AM
My comments with respect to black and white evangelicals is in the context that in the past they haven't been on the same page. There is still a huge gulf politically between the two groups. So, it should not be interpretted as being some sort of political movement. Politicians who might try to take advantage of this will most likely be sadly disappointed.
Posted by: Rich | June 06, 2004 at 07:40 PM
The gulf between black evangelicals and white ones is less about common beliefs than it is about race, geography and history. In terms of politics people choose politicians based on more than a simple set of yes and no questions and I think people would have more respect for the democrats if they came out in favor of gay marriage rather than take a hundred stands from no to yes. What is going on at the moment is the country is having to challenge it’s beliefs about homosexuality in much they way that they challenge beliefs about race and religion.
Posted by: Jason | June 12, 2004 at 04:49 PM