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posted by CoolHand on Monday April 06 2015, @05:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the better-than-sacramental-wine dept.

AlterNet reports

In a classic case of "unintended consequences", the recently signed Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in Indiana may have opened the door for the establishment of the First Church of Cannabis in the Hoosier State.

While Governor Mike Pence (R) was holding a signing ceremony for the bill allowing businesses and individuals to deny services to gays on religious grounds or values, paperwork for the First Church of Cannabis Inc. was being filed with the Secretary of State's office, reports RTV6.

Church founder Bill Levin announced on his Facebook page that the church's registration has been approved, writing, "Status: Approved by Secretary of State of Indiana - "Congratulations your registration has been approved!" Now we begin to accomplish our goals of Love, Understanding, and Good Health."

Levin is currently seeking $4.20 donations towards his non-profit church.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Monday April 06 2015, @07:42PM

    by nitehawk214 (1304) on Monday April 06 2015, @07:42PM (#167126)

    Putting the state in charge of what is and is not a "valid" religion is the best way to automatically violate Free Exercise Clause. This results in the state having to accept any religion no matter how flaky it sounds.

    This is no problem... You can call yourself pastafarian or canabisian all you want, as long as you abide by the same laws the rest of us do. Then someone passes a law saying "religions have some special right that nobody else has." Boom, suddenly religions everywhere.

    --
    "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @08:15PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @08:15PM (#167148)

    Somebody register the Church of Atheism...

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @08:22PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @08:22PM (#167153)

    The major way that the state gets involved is by denying tax-exempt status.

    The movie out right now that unmasks Scientology has folks in Progressive Media talking about how that "church" got people inside the IRS as employees to gather data which was used for blackmail and insurgency.
    IRS finally just surrendered.

    Even when the gov't tries to censor and exclude, a determined and completely immoral foe can kick its ass.

    -- gewg_

    • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Monday April 06 2015, @10:16PM

      by hemocyanin (186) on Monday April 06 2015, @10:16PM (#167212) Journal

      Scientology is like any religion really:

      1) Crazy made up story? check
      2) Fervent followers? check
      3) Revenue generator? check

      These are the basic elements of all religions -- the only handicap Scientology has is that it is newish compared to the others. Anyway, either they should all -- and by that I mean ALL: cults, slug worshipers, baptists, whatever -- all should get tax-exempt status or none should.

      (Yes, I get that Scientology uses the courts and copyright law. I'm not saying that Scientology deserves respect, just that different sects do or have done dreadful stuff: beheading people, shunning people, drowning people, and I'm sure Scientologists didn't invent suing people either. I'm just not willing to segregate Scientology from the the other woowoo groups.)

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2015, @02:05AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 07 2015, @02:05AM (#167286)

        Clearly, you don't know much about Scientology.
        What other "religion" has prison camps?
        What other "religion" requires followers to give extremely detailed accounts of their activities which are recorded and used later for blackmail when those folks want to leave the "religion"?

        -- gewg_

        • (Score: 2, Informative) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday April 07 2015, @04:42AM

          by nitehawk214 (1304) on Tuesday April 07 2015, @04:42AM (#167321)

          What other "religion" has prison camps?

          This. [wikipedia.org]
          And this. [dailydot.com]

          What other "religion" requires followers to give extremely detailed accounts of their activities which are recorded and used later for blackmail when those folks want to leave the "religion"?

          You have to be kidding, right? How may people are cut off from their families for coming out as gay or athiest? If that is not blackmail I don't know what is.

          --
          "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
        • (Score: 3, Informative) by hemocyanin on Tuesday April 07 2015, @05:06PM

          by hemocyanin (186) on Tuesday April 07 2015, @05:06PM (#167500) Journal

          Christianity?

          I'm thinking of sodomy laws in certain US states which while no longer effective, were only a short time ago. There's Alan Turing in the UK, surely you've heard of his ordeal. Apostasy laws in many Muslim countries that can get you killed, which is arguably worse than being imprisoned.

          Or how about this: 30 years in prison for a miscarriage in El Salvador: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/19/1358721/-Young-Woman-Serving-30-Years-For-A-Miscarriage-Receives-No-Pardon# [dailykos.com]

          The US is so progressive, a miscarriage in Indiana will net you the modest sentence of of 20 years in prison: https://news.vice.com/article/indiana-sent-a-woman-who-claims-she-had-a-miscarriage-to-prison-for-20-years-for-killing-her-fetus [vice.com]

          ---

          I think I understand why Scientology is so popular to hate in the geek world. It isn't socially acceptable to point out the faults of the major bullying religions, so we pick an easy target. The truth is though, there is very little net positive that religions bring to the world at this stage of our existence -- that's true whether it's a fringe religion or a major, and that's why I view them all equally.

          • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Tuesday April 07 2015, @05:08PM

            by hemocyanin (186) on Tuesday April 07 2015, @05:08PM (#167501) Journal

            Just so it is clear -- feticide laws are a by product of the pro-life movement which is almost entirely religious in origin. The Christian Church in America doesn't need it's own prisons because it has access to the state funded prison network.

  • (Score: 1) by budgenator on Monday April 06 2015, @10:34PM

    by budgenator (1529) on Monday April 06 2015, @10:34PM (#167216)

    The State usually doesn't validate religions, it merely recognises their tax exempt status. such as

    Exempt Purposes - Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)

    The exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3) are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals. The term charitable is used in its generally accepted legal sense and includes relief of the poor, the distressed, or the underprivileged; advancement of religion; advancement of education or science; erecting or maintaining public buildings, monuments, or works; lessening the burdens of government; lessening neighborhood tensions; eliminating prejudice and discrimination; defending human and civil rights secured by law; and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency. Exempt Purposes - Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) [irs.gov]

    I'm assuming that the registry with Illinios SoS is more of a tax formality than anything.
    Remember Church of Jesus Christ–Christian [wikipedia.org] is described as "first truly nationwide terrorist network" in the US, so being a church isn't a validation of "goodness".

    • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday April 07 2015, @04:36AM

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Tuesday April 07 2015, @04:36AM (#167320)

      And this is why I am against churches (or things calling themselves churches) having a tax exempt status. This is how you have "churches" like scientology spring up in order to make money.

      But again, the government has to decide which ones are valid enough to get tax exempt status.

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh