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Baptist Perry Backer Calls Mormonism a 'Cult'

John Johnson — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:03:10 CDT

Rick Perry spoke today at the conservative Values Voter Summit, but the guy who introduced him seems to be stealing all the headlines. That would be Robert Jeffress, a Baptist pastor of a Dallas megachurch who told reporters later that Mormonism is a "cult" and that evangelicals should therefore pick...

Some Russians Worship Putin— Literally

Mark Russell — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:49:05 CDT

At the Chapel of Russia's Resurrection, in a village 250 miles east of Moscow, the parishioners pray to a most unusual patron saint—Vladimir Putin, who they consider a reincarnation of St. Paul, reports Der Spiegel . The church was founded by a woman who calls herself "Mother Fotina" and claims...

Haggis: I Ditched Scientology Because It's Anti-Gay

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 04:45:06 CST

More from the New Yorker's 26-page Scientology takedown: Screenwriter Paul Haggis finally broke with Scientology after years in the cult because of its stands against homosexuality, he has revealed. "I was in a cult for 34 years. Everyone else could see it. I don't know why I couldn't," he tells...

'Suicide Cult' Leader Held for Psych Probe

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 07:46:01 CDT

The head of a southern California cult police feared planned to commit mass suicide is being held in a locked-down mental health ward for psychiatric evaluation. Reyna Marisol Chicas, 32, was taken into custody after she and 12 members of her group, including as many as eight children, were found...

Cops Hunt 'Cult,' Suspect Suicide Mission

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:54:43 CDT

California cops are hunting a breakaway religious group they call "cult-like" after five adults and at least eight kids went missing last night—leaving behind deeds, cellphones, final notes that referred to "going to heaven," and the strong indication they were on a mass suicide mission, reports the LA Times....

Cops Nab Woman Suspected of Leading of Killer Cult

Kevin Spak — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:21:00 CDT

A high school teacher has been detained in Kenya, after a self-confessed serial killer said that she told him to kill 100 people for good fortune. Philip Onyancha, 32, has confessed to killing 17 people, mostly women, and says he did so because teacher Elizabeth Wambui inducted him into her...

WikiLeaks Founder Shares His Secret Past

Kevin Spak — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:04:56 CDT

Julian Assange is a paranoid man. The WikiLeaks founder believes he is constantly under surveillance, and that his site has enemies in governments around the world. Several members of his team are known by initials only, and the site's complex server system is “vastly more secure than any banking network,...

Russia Bans Scientology Texts

Rob Quinn — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:27:11 CDT

The works of L. Ron Hubbard are no longer welcome in Russia. Officials say they intercepted a shipment of books and recordings by the Scientology founder and decided that they should be banned as extremist literature that "undermines the traditional spiritual values of the citizens of the Russian Federation." Prosecutors...

Island Cult Worships... Prince Philip?

Kevin Spak — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:32:06 CDT

To most of the world, Prince Philip is the Queen of England’s gaffe-prone husband, but on the tiny island of Tanna in Vanuatu, he’s the messiah. Philip’s never actually been to the island, but he and the Queen did visit Vanuatu in 1974, and that’s probably when the islanders decided...