FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 10-SEP-2005

The National Coalition of Human Rights Activists held a press conference on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC last week, urging religious tolerance.

As the number of harmless religious cults continue to increase in membership, the necessity to defend the right of people to worship as they please, as long as they do not harm others [0], is also increasing. Religious bigotry stems mostly from ignorance, fear, and spiritual competition. None of these are valid reasons for engaging in religious intolerance and bigotry.

"One has no right to perform any wrongful act against a person or group based only upon that person's or group's religion, religious beliefs, or lack of religious beliefs. The default is if they cause no harm, leave them alone," said NCHRA President David Rice.

"Note that harmful actions caused in the name of a church, religion, or religious belief are certainly open to criticism: it is not being intolerant or bigoted to castigate criminal, unethical, and immoral behavior. Indeed, it is a human being's duty to oppose criminal acts regardless of who commits them. Crimes committed in the name of religion are still crimes, and must therefore be denounced."

The best available example of crimes and human rights abuses, under the false pretense of "religion," is the sinister Scientology business. Top management of the Scientology Corporation, which claims to be a "church" merely for tax-exemption status, were convicted of various felonies including the infiltration and theft of documents from a number of prominent private national and world organizations, law firms and newspapers; the execution of smear campaigns and baseless law suits to destroy private individuals who had attempted to exercise their First Amendment rights to freedom of expression; the framing (of crimes) of private citizens who had been critical of Scientology, including the forging of documents which led to the indictment of at least one innocent person; violation of the civil rights of prominent private figures and public officials; the burglary of Government offices; the theft of Government property; the interception of private Governmental communications; the obstruction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Grand Jury investigation into those burglaries; thefts, and electronic "buggings" of government offices and private citizen's residences and business offices; the harboring and concealment of a fugitive from justice; and the making of false declarations to the federal Grand Jury. [1] None of these criminal activities are worthy of "toleration," even if Scientology were a religion and if the Scientology business were a church.

"The three basic reasons why some people object to other religions" added Mr. Rice, "are based upon the false notion that they alone have the right to arbitrate spirituality. That just is not true. Religious bigotry is never justifiably."

The three basic reasons for religious intolerance, according to the NCHRA, are:

IGNORANCE. Discriminating against someone for their harmless religious beliefs (or lack of religious beliefs) out of ignorance is probably the second greatest "reason" religious discrimination and bigotry occurs. People may believe they "know" something about a church, religion, or religious belief that they do not in fact know; what they believe they know may be inaccurate. It is often the case that the only sure way to know what a religion actually teaches is to watch how members actually behave: if they do no harm, and do not cost non-participants their time, money, and other resources, then ignorance is not a valid excuse for intolerance and bigotry. If the community is not being harmed by a church, one must ignore that church.

FEAR. People trust what they know, and distrust that which they are not familiar with. If one encounters an unfamiliar church or religion, it is only fair, ethical, and moral to withhold judgment for or against that church or religion until it has demonstrated itself worthy of fear--- which the vast majority never do.

SPIRITUAL COMPETITION. The worse offenders against religious tolerance are members and leaders of competing religions. This is a shame, as those who are religious bigots have failed to understand the fact that to be accepted themselves, they must accept others.

[0] Molko v. Holy Spirit (46 Cal. 3d 1092; 762 P.2d 46; 1988 Cal. LEXIS 236; 252 Cal. Rptr. 122) to wit: "However, while religious belief is absolutely protected, religiously motivated conduct is not."

[1] USA Vs Mary Sue Hubbard et al, Criminal Case No. 78-401