I've been hearing on the news over the past couple weeks about what happened and is happening in relation to the Yearning for Zion Ranch.
Wikipedia article
I finally got fed up with the un-indepth-ness of the coverage and looked on Wikipedia to find out more about the cult. Many in the media keep referring to it as the "polygamy sect" or "polygamy cult" (which, sadly, doesn't narrow things down very much, given the contents of the most popular holy books). Granted, I haven't been following it intently, but I don't think I've ever once heard them referred to as a Christian or Mormon sect, when they are in fact both ("Christ" is right in the name of their denomination--Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--, and they believe in the Book of Mormon).
I have a feeling that if it were a Satanist cult, we would be hearing "Satanist" in every report in addition to, or instead of, "polygamy". If it were a bunch of Atheists, we would certainly hear about that. But instead the media focus nearly exclusively on the word polygamy, which most Americans oppose even though it is in their holy books.
If nothing else, the main reason for the raid, from my understanding, is that they were forcing young girls to have sex and marry. One could argue that forcing minors to do such things is a graver offense than having more than one wife. If the media are going to choose a non-religious term to refer to the group, they should be saying "child abusers" at least as often as "polygamy".
So why the focus on the word "polygamy" instead of the focus on the cause (Mormonism, Christianity, the Book of Mormon, the Bible, etc.) or the victims (child abuse) of the case? It doesn't seem right to me. Is it because if people look closely enough at the books and/or doctrines of Mormonism and Christianity, they will see that it isn't this cult's interpretation that is crazy, but the texts themselves?
Wikipedia article
I finally got fed up with the un-indepth-ness of the coverage and looked on Wikipedia to find out more about the cult. Many in the media keep referring to it as the "polygamy sect" or "polygamy cult" (which, sadly, doesn't narrow things down very much, given the contents of the most popular holy books). Granted, I haven't been following it intently, but I don't think I've ever once heard them referred to as a Christian or Mormon sect, when they are in fact both ("Christ" is right in the name of their denomination--Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--, and they believe in the Book of Mormon).
I have a feeling that if it were a Satanist cult, we would be hearing "Satanist" in every report in addition to, or instead of, "polygamy". If it were a bunch of Atheists, we would certainly hear about that. But instead the media focus nearly exclusively on the word polygamy, which most Americans oppose even though it is in their holy books.
If nothing else, the main reason for the raid, from my understanding, is that they were forcing young girls to have sex and marry. One could argue that forcing minors to do such things is a graver offense than having more than one wife. If the media are going to choose a non-religious term to refer to the group, they should be saying "child abusers" at least as often as "polygamy".
So why the focus on the word "polygamy" instead of the focus on the cause (Mormonism, Christianity, the Book of Mormon, the Bible, etc.) or the victims (child abuse) of the case? It doesn't seem right to me. Is it because if people look closely enough at the books and/or doctrines of Mormonism and Christianity, they will see that it isn't this cult's interpretation that is crazy, but the texts themselves?
