Followers of Christ (Oregon church)

The Followers of Christ is an unorthodox fundamentalist Christian denomination based in the U.S. state of Oregon. The church has attracted controversy for its practices of faith healing and of shunning members who violate church doctrine, including those who seek medical care. According to authorities in Oregon and other places where church members are found, numerous children have suffered premature deaths from treatable causes due to their parents' refusal to seek medical care. Church members and others have argued that parents should have the right to select whatever methods of healing they deem appropriate for their children; and that public policy which requires use of conventional medicine over faith healing constitutes a violation of freedom of religion.

The church

The Oregon church was founded in the early 20th century by the Reverend Walter White, a "powerful, charismatic preacher" who led a congregation which broke away from a Kansas church of the same name in the 1940scite journal|title=Faith Or Healing? Why the law can't do a thing about the infant-mortality rate of an Oregon sect|author=David van Biema|date=1998-08-31|journal=Time Magazine|accessdate=2008-03-24|url=http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/fhkiler2.htm] cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989006,00.html|title=Holy Orders|author=Justin Bishop|publisher=University of Oregon|date=1999|accessdate=2008-03-24] White and his congregation moved to Oregon, and built a house of worship in Oregon City, then a largely rural timber and farming community, now a suburb of Portland. White died in 1969, and the church has functioned without a minister since then.cite news|title=Doubt, secrecy circle Followers of Christ|author=Mark Larabee|date=1998-06-28|publisher=The Oregonian|accessdate=2008-03-24|url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/foc/foc1.html] In addition to the denomination's Oregon City church building, the Followers of Christ also own a cemetery in nearby Carus, where deceased church members are routinely buried.

Estimates of the church's membership range from 1,200 to 2,300cite news|title=Child's death may put faith law to test|publisher=The Oregonian|authors=Jessica Bruder and Dana Tims|date=2008-03-22|accessdate=2008-03-24|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1206156310185280.xml&coll=7&thispage=1] Members of the church are known to live as far away as Alberta, Canadacite news|title=Alberta couple gets mixed verdict in case of son who died of diabetes|date=2000-06-09|publisher=Sympatico Newsexpress|accessdate=2008-03-24|url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/foc/foc17.html] ; and a congregation of approximately 500 members is found in Caldwell, Idaho [cite news|title=Followers' roots reveal numerous splinters|author=Mark Larabee and Peter D. Sleeth|date=1998-07-06|work=The Oregonian|url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/foc/foc5.html|accessdate=2008-03-24] though the bulk of the church's membership lives in the northern Willamette Valley.

The church is Pentecostal in origin, and believes in a literal interpretation of Scripture, including in the power of faith healing--in the context of Pentecostal Christianity, the use of prayer and laying on of hands to cure illness. Unlike many other churches which include faith healing as part of their doctrine, the Followers refuse all forms of medicine and professional medical care. The church practices shunning of those who violate or challenge church doctrine, including those who seek medical treatment; it has been alleged that many Followers clandestinely see doctors and dentists in defiance of church teaching. The church is also known for legalism [cite web|url=http://www.wfial.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=archives.index|title=Watchman Fellowship Index of Cults and Religions|publihser=Watchman Fellowship|accessdate=2008-03-24] and a male-dominated society. The men of the church frequently greet each other with kisses on the lips ; members of the church are often pejoratively referred to as "kissers" by others in Oregon City, and in other communities where large concentrations of Followers are found.

Since the death of White, members of the church have increasingly isolated themselves from the community at large. The church no longer recruits or admits new members. According to church members, children raised in the church attend public schools, but don't socialize outside the church once reaching middle-school age. [cite web|title=Faith healing raises questions of law's duty|work=positiveatheism.org|url=http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/deadbabies.htm|accessdate=2008-03-24]

Controversy

During the latter part of the twentieth century, the church began to attract attention from authorities in the state of Oregon due to an unusally-high mortality rate among its children. Larry Lewman, a former medical examiner in the state, alleges that during a ten-year period twenty-five children perished due to the lack of medical intervention -- a death rate 26 times higher than among the general population. An investigation by "The Oregonian" claimed that 21 out of 78 minors found to be buried in the church cemetery died of preventable causes, including simple infections which would be easily treated with routine antibiotics. The high death rate among church children attracted national media attention, including coverage of the church by "Time" magazine, ABC News' newsmagazine "20/20", [cite news|publisher=ABC News"|work=20/20|title=Taking Faith Healing too Far?|date=1999-01-06|accessdate=2008-03-24|url=http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/fhkiler1.htm] and the PBS program "Religion & Ethics Newsweekly". [cite journal|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week233/cover.html|title=Faith Healing|work=Religion & Ethics|date=1999-04-16|issue=233]

Prior to 1999, authorities in Oregon were largely powerless to combat these deaths. Like many states, Oregon has laws protecting from prosecution parents who practice faith healing. The laws in Oregon at the time were especially liberal in the protections granted to parents; granting immunity from manslaughter charges to parents whose children perished due to an alleged reliance on faith healing over traditional medicine. The widespread immunity granted by the state was opposed by many in the medical community, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. The opposition was also supported by several former church members, including parents whose children had died from causes believed to be preventable; these parents have reported being ostracized from the church as a result of their advocacy.

On the other side of the debate were other faith-healing churches and civil liberties groups, who argued that parents' freedom of religion was paramount, and outweighed the state's interest in protecting children from harm. Christian Science, a religion which practices spiritual-healing [cite http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/marybakereddy/scienceandhealthonline.jhtml] , also works with law-makers to ensure that every citizen is entitled to a choice in health care. In addition, many wished to ensure that the law differentiated between parents who acted in good faith, and parents who were genuinely abusive to their children. [cite news|url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/foc/foc16.html|title=Balancing rights makes faith-healing bills thorny|author=Mark Larabee|date=1999-06-28|accessdate=2008-03-24|work=The Oregonian] The debate in Oregon mirrored other debates concerning faith healing which have occurred throughout the United States; many of which have eliminated religious immunity laws for homicide. [cite news|url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/foc/foc3.html|title=The battle over faith healing|work=The Oregonian|author=Mark Larabee|date=1998-11-28|accessdate=2008-03-24]

In January 1999, a bill was introduced in the Oregon Legislature to repeal the "religious beliefs" defense to charges of manslaughter, homicide, and child abuse. [cite news|title=Bill aims to lift all Oregon religious shields|author=Mark Larabee|work=The Oregonian|date=1999-01-22|url=http://www.rickross.com/reference/foc/foc8.html|accessdate=2008-03-24] After much debate, a modified version of the law was subsequently passed later that year.

An Alberta, Canada couple who were members of the church were successfully prosecuted by authorities there when their child died under similar circumstances; the law there did not provide the same faith-healing exemptions that were found in Oregon.

In March 2008, controversy was renewed when a 15-month old church toddler, Ava Worthington, died of pneumonia; the first known death to occur under circumstances potentially covered by the 1999 law. Authorities in Clackamas County, Oregon have recently filed charges of manslaughter against the parents in the case. Just three months later, on June 18, 2008, Ava's 16-year-old cousin Neil Beagley died from an easily treatable condition (a longterm bladder blockage that forced urea into the bloodstream). [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008004259_webprayer18m.html Local News | Teen from faith healing family dies at Ore. home | Seattle Times Newspaper ] ] [ [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-neil-beagley-080619-ht,0,1320141.story NEIL BEAGLEY: Neil Beagley's death may not be criminal - chicagotribune.com ] ] In neither case did the families seek medical help.

References