Posted on 08/23/2007 10:01:45 PM PDT by Coleus
Nybass.com is an anglers Web site typically trafficked for its tips on hidden watering holes and the best bait to use. But fishing enthusiasts logging onto the message boards last week proved they have a thing or two to say about First Amendment religious freedom, as well. Veering from the usual bait-and-tackle discussions to a debate about whether a group of immigrant Buddhists should be allowed to perform an ancient ritual is not as far a leap as one might expect.
It all began Aug. 12 when a little-known Buddhist group from New York released a colony of eels, frogs and turtles into the Passaic River as part of an annual ritual. Arguably with the purest of intentions, members of this sect, called Amitabha, believed that the creatures purchased at a Chinatown market contained the souls of human beings who had sinned in past lives. Releasing the animals into the river not only saved them from becoming ingredients in savory soups, but also put them back on the path to being reincarnated as human beings.
But there are more pressing, earthly concerns when performing such a ritual. Introducing non-native species can wreak havoc on the delicate balance of an ecosystem. Also, if the critters even survive the precarious waters, they could be carriers of parasites and diseases. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is currently trying to track down members of the Buddhist group, who committed a civil violation by releasing the animals without a permit, and face up to $1,000 in fines.
Enter the anglers. After an article about the incident was posted on nybass.com, the debate began. One member, going by the Internet handle "Buttlesdog," describes himself in his profile as a 30-something professional from lower Westchester County, N.Y. He posted the following response: "Pluralistic Society= Civilization in decline. Some way left group will defend this as freedom of religion, they will get off scott free and somewhere Buddha will be smiling as usual ..."
Comments ranged from suggestions on how the group could perform the ritual in a more eco-friendly way to whether it was an "oscar-loving quasi-religious group." After two days the site's moderator closed the discussion stating, "This whole thread is getting too political." It's not entirely surprising that a group of fishing enthusiasts would take interest in this incident, which affects the health of their rivers.
The debate highlights a growing issue in communities around the country. In backyards, at neighborhood temples and along riverbanks, the boundary between religious freedom, the law and respect-thy-neighbor tolerance is being tested. In South Florida, followers of Santeria, an Afro-Caribbean religion, are upsetting neighbors in an upscale neighborhood for performing a backyard ritual that involves sacrificing goats and chickens.
Police officers and television cameras disrupted a group of Santeria followers in June during a sacrifice in a member's Coral Gables home, according to an article in the Miami Herald. Group members say their constitutional rights of religious freedom have been violated. Local authorities said they were concerned about safety and health issues with the dead animal carcasses. Legal precedent is on the side of the Santeria group. A landmark 1993 Supreme Court ruling stated it was unconstitutional for a city in Florida to create a law that specifically targeted a Santeria group and made ritual animal sacrifices illegal.
A federal law followed, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed in 1993. Under the law, First Amendment religious freedoms override any law created by the government, unless the government can prove compelling state interest, according to James Standish, director of the International Religious Liberty Association, an advocacy group founded by Seventh-Day Adventists. In addition, the government must create the law in the least restrictive means possible to the religious group. If the New York-based Amitabha Buddhists were to seek religious accommodation to perform their ritual, they would likely not have a good defense, said Standish. The group has not been formally charged with any violations and authorities have not been able to locate the members. But hypothetically, the state could prove the necessity of enforcing the law against introducing non-native species into a river, said Standish.
The incident is part of a trend where the boundaries of religious freedom and tolerance for cultural differences are being tested, said Standish. "We are seeing an incredible amount of immigration, and as we get that diversity, we are going to see new issues arise," said Standish. Historically, religious freedom litigation involved Christians and Jews, said Standish, but today the government will need to adapt to the growing diversity in religions. In a recent case on Staten Island, a Liberian woman is facing criminal prosecution for allegedly smuggling smoked monkey meat into America through Kennedy Airport.
The woman asserts that eating the African bushmeat is part of a religious ceremony. A New York law firm is representing her pro-bono, and a Harvard Divinity School professor is testifying on her behalf, according to an article in the New York Sun. In another recent case in New Mexico, the Supreme Court decided in favor of a Brazilian religious group that used an illegal hallucinogenic plant to make tea.
Oh, snap!
“”The woman asserts that eating the African bushmeat is part of a religious ceremony.””
One of you sickos will probably make a joke about this, that even Rosie O’Donnell would not think funny.
THe people who run the organization Hackensack Riverkeeper are completely pissed off about what the Buddhists did. THe Riverkeepers do volunteer work to manually remove tons of invasive plant species along the Hackensack river every year, and have been the main non profit in fighting off introductions of invasive animal species in the rivers. http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org/
The Buddhists have in the past used the Hack. river to dump their Asian species into the ecosystem.
The Buddhists have no moral or religious foot to stand on here, their are not saving life, their are not returning balance, their are not doing good deeds. Buddha is omniscient, his followers who do this are myopic and selfish fools who refuse to see the ecosystem as a whole. They are worse than the “eco warriors” who break into mink farms and release 1000’s of minks into a local ecosystem, these “Buddhists” try to hide their crimes against the environment behind perverted and religiously schismatic doctrine that falls outside of the concept of religious protections in this country.
There are over 2 dozen endangered species in the Passaic River, over 10 endangered species that would be prey/food for the invasive species these criminals illegally stocked in the river. If any fisherman or pet fish owner was found to have done the same thing, they would be fined AND arrested.
Considering it’s the Passaic River, it should be considered cruelty to eels.
************
Are you serious?
““”The woman asserts that eating the African bushmeat is part of a religious ceremony.””
As Rosie would say, Oh heck yes.
Well, it appears that none of the “sickos” here has taken the bait.
Last night I couldn’t come up with a joke that I thought was clean enough to post, so I posted the joke in separate pieces, figuring that the freepers could put the parts together on their own, I evidently didn’t do a very good job of it.
envirocrimes bump
I see. Kind of.
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