The Church’s abuse of Irish children 23 May 2009 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RplWGisGoXY&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1] That’s one country. How about all the others? I have heard so many stories… Religion
Freedom Phobosophy 14 Aug 201714 Aug 2017 As everyone knows, philosophy comes from the two Greek words philo and sophos, and means, roughly, the love of wisdom, although as everyone also knows, Socrates declared his wisdom was his knowledge that he knew nothing. In recent years (by which I mean increasingly since the 1970s), there has been… Read More
Australian stuff On tribalism 25 Sep 201424 Nov 2022 Humans evolved in tribes, our species’ equivalent of the general primate troop structure. This meant that members of the tribe benefited from shared resources, the protection of the group and the inherited knowledge of the tribe. It also meant that we will natively and naively defend our group against others,… Read More
Evolution Conference on religion as an evolutionary byproduct 18 Apr 2011 If you are in the UK, and if you are a postgraduate, there will be a conference on religion as an evolutionary byproduct (the “spandrel” account of religion) at the University of Birmingham on 17 May. They will cover the travel costs of graduate speakers. Contact Naomi Thompson (nxt915@bham.ac.uk) by… Read More
In Canada, the government set up residential schools to “aggressively assimilate” the children of aboriginal populations. These schools were run by churches–mostly the Catholic church, but the Anglican, Presbyterian and United churches were also involved. The mental and physical abuse that happened in those schools, and the destructive affect this has had on aboriginal societies, is still felt to this day. See this FAQ at CBC:http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-residential-schools.html
Not just the natives either (though that’s arguably the larger national disgrace). The same bunch now being implicated in Ireland also ran a branch plant operation in Newfoundland: http://www.mountcashelorphanage.com/ The fallout from both these sordid episodes has been popping in and out of the news for the past 20 years or so, as one or another inquiry or compensation suit proceeds.
Canada, at least, closed the schools and offered an official apology from Parliament and some monetary compensation. There is still much to be done. The Roman Catholic Church continues to cover up. I’ve updated my link to your site. Please consider adding mine to your blogroll. Thanks.