In connection with Rick's question, you might want to look around your
campus for posters/signs with headlines like "Stop Psychiatric Abuse,"
and for tables with banners like "Stress Management" or "Stress
Reduction." Also, this story -- Andy Newman, "Bumping Up Against
Subway Regulations, New York Times, March 29, 2005 -- may be
instructive. (Of course, I may be particularly sensitive to this sort
of thing because I teach at an institution that obviously has a
pastoral mission with respect to its students.)
Rick Garnett wrote:
Dear all,
In the course of looking into something having nothing to do with
law-and-religion, I came across a web page, provided by Stanford
University's Office for Religious Life, entitled "A Word of
Warning." Here is a link:
http://religiouslife.stanford.edu/sar/warning.html
Here is the text:
A Word of Warning
Maintaining and nurturing your spiritual
life during college and graduate school is one of the best ways to keep
perspective on your studies and to avoid the isolation that is too
often
a part of scholarly pursuits. The Deans for Religious Life and
members of SAR are committed to providing opportunities for spiritual
growth, rewarding friendships and intellectual inquiry into matters of
faith in a supportive environment.
Unfortunately, not every religious group has your best interests at
heart. Groups to avoid have some or all of the following
characteristics.
Pressure and Deception: They use high-pressure
recruitment
tactics or are not up-front about their motives when they first
approach
you. SAR members are required to identify themselves on all News and
Publications and to be clear and forthright about their motives.
Totalitarian Worldview: They do not encourage critical,
independent thinking. The first goal of higher education is to enable
you
to think for yourself. Be aware of groups or leaders who try to control
your life or who claim to possess the truth exclusively.
Alienation: They want to choose your friends for you.
While
all religions have moral guidelines, watch out for groups that
encourage
you to sever ties with close friends and family who are not members.
They
are manipulative and extremely dangerous.
Exploitation: They make unrealistic demands regarding
your
time and/or money. If participation in a group takes away from your
study
time, beware. A group or leader that cares about you understands that
your studies-your future-are your first priority as a Stanford student.
SAR members are strictly forbidden to require dues from student
participants.
If you feel you are being pursued aggressively or manipulated by a
group
or leader, contact any of the Deans for Religious Life or call
723-1762.
* * *
Now, it strikes me as reasonable and appropriate for a University like
Stanford to provide (perhaps) paternalistic guidance to students on all
sorts of matters involving their "personal" lives, including
involvement with religious groups and activities. (I would hope
that a University's willingness to provide "warning[s]" to
students about the dangers posed by some religions to "critical,
independent thinking" would indicate a willingness to warn about
similar dangers posed by, say, political or identity-related
groups). I imagine that reasonable people will disagree about what,
exactly, "counts" as "claim[ing] to possess the truth
exclusively" or "[dis]courag[ing] critical, independent
thinking," but put that problem aside. I wonder, do any
members of this list have any thoughts or views on how, if at all, the
First Amendment would constrain the issuance by a state-run university
of
a "warning" like Stanford's? Or, approaching the matter
from a broader, "religion and liberal democracy" perspective,
what would we think about this "warning"?
Best,
Rick
___
To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private. Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
___
To post, send message to Religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private.
Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can
read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the
messages to others.
