Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Family Values
When I did undercover investigation of Christian Right property-rights groups in the 1990s, one of the oddities I encountered was a hostility toward not only sex education in the public schools, but also talking circles used by elementary school educators to acquire indications of any children that might be experiencing sexual abuse in the home. Given the Christian Right philosophy of male-led hierarchy, where his wife and children are considered property, this concern about exposure of some ugly truths was understandable.
While it's commonly understood that psychological abuse of children is rampant in the Christian Right, the horror of sexual abuse in this religious society was rarely discussed by media. That has now changed.
In his article The Christian Right & Child Sex Abuse, Frederick Clarkson shines a light on not only the hypocrisy of the conservative Catholic Bishops in covering up sex offenders in their predatory clergy, but also examines the American poster child of family values, the Southern Baptist Convention.
While it's commonly understood that psychological abuse of children is rampant in the Christian Right, the horror of sexual abuse in this religious society was rarely discussed by media. That has now changed.
In his article The Christian Right & Child Sex Abuse, Frederick Clarkson shines a light on not only the hypocrisy of the conservative Catholic Bishops in covering up sex offenders in their predatory clergy, but also examines the American poster child of family values, the Southern Baptist Convention.
