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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm not sure how seriously one should take this
study when you consider that of three local "sexual assaults" reported at our
near neighbor WSU, all three turned out to be completely without
merit.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>g</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=deco@moscow.com href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">Art Deco</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:57
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] National story with
real local ramifications: Clergyas Sexual Predators</DIV>
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<H5 class=details style="PADDING-TOP: 5px"> </H5>
<H5 class=details style="PADDING-TOP: 5px">September 10, 2009 in
Nation/World</H5></DIV>
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<H2>Sexual advances by clergy not rare</H2>
<H5 class=subhead>One in 33 women is target, survey finds</H5>
<DIV class="details nested grid-8"><SPAN>Jacqueline L. Salmon / Washington
Post </SPAN></DIV>
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<P>WASHINGTON – One in every 33 women who attends worship services regularly
has been the target of sexual advances by a religious leader, according to a
survey released Wednesday.</P>
<P>The study by researchers at Baylor University found that the problem is so
pervasive that it almost certainly involves a wide range of denominations and
religious traditions and a wide range of spiritual leaders.</P>
<P>“Clearly the problem is more than simply a few charismatic leaders preying
on vulnerable followers,” said Diana Garland, dean of the School of Social
Work at Baylor, co-author of the study.</P>
<P>A growing number of denominations have become aware of the problem,
particularly since the Catholic Church’s sex scandal involving its clergy. At
least 36 denominations now have official policies that identify sexual
relations between adult congregants and clergy as misconduct, subject
to discipline.</P>
<P>In Minnesota and Texas, it’s also illegal. The Texas law, for example,
defines clergy sexual behavior as nonconsensual sexual assault if the
religious leader “causes the other person to submit or participate by
exploiting the other person’s emotional dependency on the clergyman in the
clergyman’s professional character as spiritual adviser.”</P>
<P>Baylor used the 2008 General Social Survey, a nationally representative
sample of 3,559 respondents, to estimate the prevalence of clergy sexual
misconduct. Women older than 18 who attended worship services at least once a
month were asked whether they had ever received “sexual advances or
propositions” from a religious leader.</P>
<P>Said Garland: “When you put (misconduct) with a spiritual leader or moral
leader, you’ve really added a power that we typically don’t think about in
secular society – which is that this person speaks for God and interprets God
for people. And that really adds a power.”
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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>Note: Baylor is a Baptist
university.</FONT></DIV>
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