Cult News

It is becoming increasingly clear that some groups called “cults” are flexing their muscle through increasing influence within Washington.

The latest example appears to be a provision in a House Bill, sponsored by Rep. Max Burns (R-Ga.) and supported by Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), intended to curtail use of the drug Ritalin, reports Roll Call.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) has pointed out that the legislation is backed by Scientology through an organization it founded called the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR).

He said, “I suspect…that [they believe] all medication for kids with [attention-deficit disorder] is wrong.”

Kennedy is right.

Scientology is not only opposed to Ritalin, but any drug prescribed by psychiatrists and the entire profession of psychiatry itself.

Scientologists essentially see psychiatrists and psychologists as their competition, because they believe that their “technology” alone is the only really effective treatment for the human mind.

What has become increasingly clear in recent years is the power some “cults” now wield in Washington.

Two followers of Rev. Moon, “messiah” of the Unification Church, have recently been appointed by the Bush administration to high-ranking positions in government.

One (Josette Shiner) claims somewhat suspiciously, that she had a religious epiphany and became an Episcopalian conveniently before entering government, after 22 years as a “Moonie.”

Scientology demonstrated the power of its influence previously within the Clinton White House and State Department, in calls to end alleged “persecution” of the organization in Germany.

Rev. Moon exercises considerable media muscle through the Washington Times and United Press International, both under his control.

Scientology and the Unification Church are no longer just fringe groups vying for religious converts. Through their wealth and Washington connections they are political players at the highest realms of American society. And their growing clout on Capital Hill offers proof of this fact.