WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.
More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.
The analysis is based on a Pew Research Center survey of 742 American adults conducted April 14-21. It did not include analysis of groups other than white evangelicals, white non-Hispanic Catholics, white mainline Protestants and the religiously unaffiliated, because the sample size was too small.
The president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Leith Anderson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The survey asked: "Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?"
Roughly half of all respondents -- 49 percent -- said it is often or sometimes justified. A quarter said it never is.
The religious group most likely to say torture is never justified was Protestant denominations -- such as Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians -- categorized as "mainline" Protestants, in contrast to evangelicals. Just over three in 10 of them said torture is never justified. A quarter of the religiously unaffiliated said the same, compared with two in 10 white non-Hispanic Catholics and one in eight evangelicals.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tearful Suspect In California Girl's Slaying Appears In Court
(CNN) -- A California woman accused in the rape and murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu fought tears Tuesday as a judge read the charges against her in a brief court appearance.
Wearing red jail scrubs over a white T-shirt, Melissa Huckaby, 28, flinched at the mention of Sandra's name. She is charged with killing Sandra, who was a friend of her own daughter.
The Sunday school teacher's lip quivered and a single tear rolled down her cheek as the judge read special circumstances alleged against her -- that the murder was committed in conjunction with a kidnapping, the performance of a lewd and lascivious act upon a child, and rape by instrument.
Huckaby did not enter a plea or speak during the appearance. Public defender Ellen Schwarzenberg, who appeared in court with Huckaby, said she would not enter a plea at that time, adding she had spoken with Huckaby "very briefly."
The matter was continued for arraignment on April 24.
Schwarzenberg requested a gag order be imposed in the case, but the judge put off that matter until April 24 as well. Huckaby will remain in the San Joaquin County Jail without bond.
Huckaby is undergoing a medical evaluation as part of another case, an alleged petty theft being handled in a mental health court, Willett said.
Asked whether that would affect the murder case, he said, "Obviously, any mental health issues would have an effect on this case."
Schwarzenberg said she hopes people will not rush to judgment in the case until all the facts are known.
If convicted as charged, Huckaby faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole, San Joaquin County District Attorney James Willett told reporters after the hearing. A decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made later, he said.
Sandra's body was found April 6, stuffed into a suitcase and submerged in a pond at a dairy farm. Huckaby was arrested Friday night after questioning by police.
Sandra was last seen alive March 27 in the mobile home park where she lived with her family -- the same mobile home park where Huckaby lives with her own 5-year-old daughter. The two children were close friends and played together frequently, police said.
Huckaby is the granddaughter of Clifford Lane Lawless, pastor of Clover Road Baptist Church near the mobile home park, and she taught Sunday school at the church, police said. The church was searched as part of the investigation into Sandra's disappearance and death.
Before her arrest, Huckaby acknowledged to a newspaper reporter that she owned the suitcase that contained Sandra's body. But Huckaby said the suitcase had been stolen.
Willett declined to comment on any of the evidence or allegations in the case, saying evidence would be presented in court.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
40 NH Christian Center Homes Burn On Easter Sunday
ALTON BAY, New Hampshire — A massive fire damaged or destroyed dozens of wood-frame buildings, mostly unoccupied summer homes, at a 146-year-old Christian center on Easter.
The fire erupted at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, when Christians were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the season hadn't begun yet at the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center on Lake Winnipesaukee, and state Fire Marshal William Degnan said no injuries to civilians had been reported.
"Fortunately, it was at this time of year," he said. "During the summer, it's full."
The fire was under control by about 8:30 p.m. It was cold and windy Sunday, and Degnan said the strong winds off the lake, the state's biggest, helped spread the flames through the many cottage-style homes at the center, about 30 miles northeast of Concord.
One firefighter was hurt when a propane tank exploded. Others were treated for smoke inhalation or exhaustion.
The center's Web site says its purpose is to change lives in part by "encouraging commitment to Jesus." It says it tries to accomplish this through evangelism, encouragement of believers and equipping Christians to be effective leaders.
The center, founded in 1863, is on the southeastern corner of the lake.
The chairman of the center's safety organization, Russell Sample, was with Degnan as crews from numerous surrounding towns worked on the fire.
"A tremendous amount of history has been destroyed," Sample said.
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