Religion on the Internet
Religion can be a very controversial topic. There are so many different types of religion and different people who practice and believe in these religions. Some people don’t believe in any, some have their own, some have one, but don’t practice it, and some people even have multiple religions. Religion is not a topic you bring up while having a cup of coffee with some friends, unless you are all of the same religion. Usually discussing different religions it causes nothing but problems and arguments. There is even a country music song that is titled, "Politics, Religion, and Her." The singer goes on in the song to say how he never likes to discuss any of these three topics with anyone and how they only cause problems. When you type "Religion" into Net Search on the Internet, you find there are over 300,000 matches to that search.
Obviously, religion is all over the internet. The World Wide Web allows people to get their opinions out to millions of Internet surfers. Some sites offer on-line help to religious practitioners with questions about their particular religion. Other sites are just plain fact giving information and explaining a particular type of religion. Then there are sites that try to lure you into joining their religion, and even some cults that are trying to gain new, vulnerable members. With the different ways that they present these sites, it is very easy to get caught up in them and possibly even join. The way they present them to the viewer doesn’t make them seem bad or not even close to being a cult. The sites on factual and on-line religion services don’t seem to be a problem, and I will discuss their presence on the web later on in this paper. I would now like to talk about the iss...
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...le, web browsers, these cults are attracting more and more people. The internet is one of the largest growing industries right now, but it is also growing many trouble spots. The web has to create some sort of laws and rules about what’s allowed on the net. These cult sites must be monitored regularly, so as to make sure they are not endangering the welfare of the common web surfer.
Works Cited
The Appeal of the Cults, http://www.serve.com/larryi/appeal.htm, (24 March 1997).
Creating a New View of God:, http://www.com!duke.den!conv.lynx.htm, (22 March 1997).
Cult Recruiting Techniques, http://www.serve.com/larryi/recruit.htm, (24 March 1997).
Cult-Think, http://www.alt.religion.scientology.htm, (22 March 1997).
Lefevre, Greg, The Internet as a god and progaganda tool for cults, http://cnn.com/TECH/9703/27/techno.pagans/index.html, (24 March 1997).
It was intended to punish serious or violent repeat offenders so alternatives would apply to non-violent, petty offenders. The first alternative is rather simple in that the law could allow prosecutors to consider whether a defendant’s “background, character and prospects” placed him or her outside of the “spirit” of three strikes (Bazelon, 2010). This plea for leniency has been used in appeals to prevent minor offenders from life sentences. It could also be used in cases with mitigating circumstances involving the offender such as mental retardation, child abuse, or mental illness (Bazelon, 2010). Norman Williams was a homeless drug addict in 1997 when he was sentenced to life under the law after he stole a floor jack. A few years later his case was reviewed during which it was discovered that Williams grew up with a mom who was a binge drinker who pimped him and his brothers out to men that she knew. As a result of the abuse, Williams became a cocaine addict as an adult living on the streets of Long Beach, California. This information was had not been introduced at trial but after much effort he was released in 2009 (Bazelon,
One of the most controversial laws in the efforts to reduce crime has been the "three-strikes" laws that have been enacted. This law, which is already in twenty-seven states, requires that offenders convicted of three violent crimes be sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole. The law is based on the idea that the majority of felonies are committed by about 6% of hard core criminals and that crime can be eliminated by getting these criminals off the streets. Unfortunately, the law fails to take into account its own flaws and how it is implemented.
Today there is a growing awareness of repeat offenders among society in reference to crime. Starting around 1980 there was noticeable increase in crime rates in the U.S.. In many of these cases it was noted that these individuals were in fact repeat offenders. So, on March 7, 1994 California enacted the Three-Strikes and You’re Out Law. This laws and other laws like it are currently being utilized today all around the Untied States. This law was first backed by victim’s rights advocates in the state to target habitual offenders. The reason California holds the most importance on this law is due to the fact that it has the largest criminal justice system in America, and it has the most controversy surrounding this law in particular.(Auerhahn, p.55)
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Donald, C. & Robbins, T. (1982). The New Vigilantes. Deprogrammers, Anti-Cultists, and the New Religions (Book Review). Retrieved from: Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Mar82, Vol. 21 Issue 1, p80-81, 2p.
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Dolan, Sean. Everything You Need to Know About Cults. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2000.
"Ghana." Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption. Index of Economic Freedom, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. .
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