In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law

[KamaAina]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/business/dealbook/in-religious-arbitration-scripture-is-the-rule-of-law.html

But when his family sued Teen Challenge in 2012 hoping to uncover what had happened, they quickly hit a wall. When he was admitted to the program, at age 20, Mr. Ellison signed a contract that prevented him and his family from taking the Christian group to court.

Instead, his claim had to be resolved through a mediation or arbitration process that would be bound not by state or federal law, but by the Bible. “The Holy Scripture shall be the supreme authority,” the rules of the proceedings state.

For generations, religious tribunals have been used in the United States to settle family disputes and spiritual debates. But through arbitration, religion is being used to sort out secular problems like claims of financial fraud and wrongful death.

Customers who buy bamboo floors from Higuera Hardwoods in Washington State must take any dispute before a Christian arbitrator, according to the company’s website. Carolina Cabin Rentals, which rents high-end vacation properties in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, tells its customers that disputes may be resolved according to biblical principles. The same goes for contestants in a fishing tournament in Hawaii.

zOMFG!!1!!11!1!!11!! Shari'a law is coming to 'Murka! Oh, wait a minute, this is Christian, so everything's hunky-dory.

[smirkymonkey]

1. I don't see how this can be forced if you are running a business. Aren't you beholden to state and

federal commerce laws?

God, I am so sick of these fundie idiots trying to take over the country!

[KamaAina]

2. Apparently it's in the fine print of the contract you sign

the same way credit card companies, cell carriers, etc. get you.

[smirkymonkey]

3. So I guess you could just refuse to do business with them and not sign their contract.

[hifiguy]

7. I am a lawyer, a well-educated one, and

I wouldn't trust myself to go through a multi-page - sometimes 20-30 in the case of credit cards - contract printed in 4 point type.

[smirkymonkey]

8. Ok, this is getting scary.

I guess it is going to start becoming really important to get to know whom you are dealing with VERY well.

[Solly Mack]

4. Oh, they don't want the competition (of Sharia Law).

Might interfere with their profitable Christian theocracy.

[theboss]

5. Orthodox Jews do this all the time

It's the main argument against the Sharia fear-mongering. We've been allowing "religious courts" to function for centuries.

[hifiguy]

6. This shit has got to stop, and now.

"Contracts of adhesion" as these sorts of things are referred to by lawyers, were once virtually banned. They have one purpose - to deny a signatory access to a fair and unbiased court system. That they drag religion into what should be a legal proceeding under the law of the state in question makes them all the more revolting.

But corporations love them, and what the oligarchs want the oligarchs get. And then the little fish copy the big ones, dragging the imaginary skydaddy in to further fuck up the process.

This kind of shit should be illegal as of yesterday. Somehow, each day, I find something that makes me abhor religulon a little bit more.

[spanone]

9. in other words, don't spend a single cent at Higuera Hardwoods in Washington State.

or any other christian-law company.