Thursday, November 10, 1033 I.A ..I W M V r : II l1 . J- University of Nebraska-Lincoln Vol. 83 No. 53 71 i Tin riff?) T) By Christopher Galea ; . .. ?- This is the first article in a series about non-traditional religions. In today's article, sociology professors, epelscsnssa from main stream reunions .and a Etate senator give their .opinions on eo-called "cults." Subse-.-qncnt articles will chre the icw3 cf leaders of two non-traditional religions and of a UNL student ;. who said she had to be depro grammed after joining such a group.' " . "Congress shall make no law respecting an estab lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" . ;.: :- . -jz. ' The First Amendment While Americans have always cherished their religious freedoms, seldom has the right to practice a religion been disputed as it is today, with many new denominations having sprung up outside the traditional bounds of mainstream religions. Many, branded as "cults," conjure images of fanat- ics following a demi-god in search of something more than salvation and indoctrinating susceptible young believers. The whole issue of what is legal and legitimate and what is dubious and dangerous can present a dilemma to sociologists, lawyers, clergy and most of all, the American public. "A cult technically is a religious belief system that is different from mainstream religions," said Hugh Whitt, a UNL sociology professor who has re searched religious trends. "There is a kind of deep paranoia in this society about these religious groups," he said. Because most people in the United States regard themselves as followers of some religious tradition, the growth of unconventional and unfamiliar new denominations has many people 'confused and frightened, Whitt said. Also, because the influence of "mainstream" churches is dropping, new denominations can greatly appeal to certain types of people, he said. This is especially true of people raised in a religious W7 1 ' ma & A . ' ; - - ! ' ' ' :- ""' if;-. ',- y . . CHURCH , "N" HSusSrs.'on by E!y EhsJfsr SUN. senators givetesti ;tB::pFdpose( mony cl hi Xy Jaaa IlySeler : : : ; - . Following last week's decision to research specific areas of proposed budget change, ASUN members presented ' testimony to the ; Academic Planning ' ;: .Committee after their meeting Vednesday.V;- Cir - Agriculture College Sen. John Langemeier spoke on the proposed cutting of funding for teaching laboratories and intercollegiate' judging teams. ''. - Since apiculture h an applied science, Lan- . racier said that laboratory exercises are essential to , the quality of applied education. ... AFC member Kevin Geidstein asked if monitor labs, which show labcrctory activity on film or iizo tape, would adequately replace current labs. Lar meisr replied that teaching laboratories wouldn't be o beneficial without hand3-cn experience. - . y lie al:o said that intercollegiate judging teams are. -crucial for building leadership. The program f ives students the opportunity to express what they have learned and to j-jeiify their reasons in' a ccrr.petitive atrrterpIiere.TT.u cvcr.t" . re.""s in stream araai euppert, Laa.":mc!:r zzi ile added that meet ccn- -tz'S are funded by freati and f'Jts. Arts cr.i Ceier.cci Cen. Andy Crethers iafarmcd the ATC tbaut fUl?3 cppeeltien to the prepe::! to -reduce the Ctate llaeeum rceearch budget ty 3 m&ez cn&nges percent. Carothers said that the proposal is inaccu rate in stating that the museum is entirely research oriented. He found that the museum currently sup ports 10 curators, which accounts for 64 percent of their total budget. Actual research takes up 53 per cent cf their time, he said. Iliia other 47 percent of a curator's time is spent in teaching, public relations type activities and the care and collection of speci mens, a according -'to' Carothers. flndin'gs,;. r .. :. ' In regard to this, Carothers questioned the state ment that the museum reduction would not impair ether university programs. He said that State Muse um's collections are used directly by 13 university The proposed budgetary reduction also states museums are infrequently associated with universi ties. Carothers said he found that over 50 North American universities have natural history muse-.? urns, includir.1 Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas and llieeourL Tks IU State Museum h ranked among the tcp fve university cc"?ctior.3 in the country. , "Over the part 112 years . . . , it (the museum) has md2 many diveree teieattflc contributions to the wcrii cf feicr.tie thought," Csrothers seid. "The raae ;i::r. z:.:o family who turned away from religion, only to fad something missing. v "They're ready for a return of religion in thek lives," Whitt said. "These other religions can give them a sense of community and meaning." Charles Harper, a sociology professor at Creighton University in Omaha, has researched "cults" in Nebraska. "America has always had lots of exotic religious groups," Harper said. "Now they're becoming more popularized, with more attention focused on them. Something happened and it became a large issue." That "something" probably is the number and type of persons entering new faiths apart from the mainstream, he said. "Historically, they have recruited marginal per sons, from the fringes of society," he said. "Now, it's more young middle-class people, whose parents become outraged when they find out." 'Many people who enter cults do so because they want to, but some may be misled. Those groups that take people out of the mainstream are the most controversial" Charles Harper, , sociology professor at Creighton University Harper said there is a tendency to lump all ! : unconventional religions into a group and call thexn- cults, which he said is a prejudiced stereotype. f "We've developed this public image of them that is really malevolent " he said. ; One of the, main reasons for this poor image is the idea that new religions brainwash and depersonal ize their adherents, removing their individuality as : they take them from what is considered a "normal" lifestyle, Harper said. "Many people who enter cults do so because they want to, but some may be mislead," he said. "Those groups that take people out of the mainstream are the most controversial" - Because many of these denominations do repres ent a drastic and sudden change in lifestyle, espe cially for young people, parents perceive this con version as a rejection of their values and the resulting hurt motivates them to act, Harper said. "They believe their child has been brainwashed, so they want to deprogram him," he said. Whitt said a negative bias definitely exists against non-traditional religions and sociologists debate the methods some of them use to recruit new followers. "Some say it's brainwashing, others don't," he said. "There's no doubt most such methods work and as long as they respect the dignity of the person, you might as well use them." One person who questioned some of the recruit ment tactis used is Mark Randall, director of Wesley House, a Christian, ministry of UNL sponsored by United Ministries and Higher Education. Continued cn Pans 3 ' T"" : ' --nil in - - """"? "T" ii I J Inside James Evans, chairman of the board of the Union Pacific corporation, speaks on railroad deregulation;-.'.'. . ." .V. .v.. ffv.'.- Pap3 8. UNL could loss its two major cultural out lets if budget recommendations go through ....... . . . ...... . . .......... . . . . . . Pa-3 12 Ticket officials, students offer opinions on basketball lottery .... . . . . , . . . . . . . . 1 3 Index Arts and Entertainment. . .... . . . ..... . . 12 - Classified .......... '13 Crossword 13 Editorial . . . . . . .'. . . . . . .................. 4 Off The Wire 2 Sports ..............J........... 13 '1 1 J I f f ' ' ,' 1 J