Who would have guessed.

[borealis]

Conservative laestadionism is under pedophilia scandal. So far the researcher have found 70-100 individual child molesters, which is of course the tip of the iceberg. Part of them are preachers. One can only guess the number of the victims.The Central Committee of Conservative Laestadian Congregations have admitted the cover up of pedophiles.

Nobody seems to be very surprised. Child molesting is very commonly known to happen in closed laestadian circles. As does individual 'repent sessions' between preachers and young women behind closed doors. But of course, if you ask about them, no evil happens among the God's chosen people.
Conservative laestadians have the same confession rule than catholics, except that you can confess your sins to not only preast, but any other laestadian. And this other laestadian has to forgive the sins, and after that he/she can't talk about them to anyone, or else those sins become his/her sins and he/she is the one who's going to hell. This of course have lead to some nasty situations, when a pedophile confess his sins to the victim (for abusing the victim), the victim has to forgive and can't tell to anyone. Some of the most arrogant pedophiles have even told the victim that he/she 7-year-old child has sinned for seducing the pedophile

It's not long ago when laestadionism was in headlines because Human rights league was investigating if conservative laestadian rule of no contraception violates women's rights. Seriously? Isn't it all women's biggest wish to carry and deliver 15 babies against their own will? Remembering that laestadian logic counts "saying no to your husband when he asks for sex" also as contraception = sin.

I don't understand why Dawkins never mentions conservative laestadians in his speeches, I think it's more fucked up religion than all the other lutheran movements together. And it's happening here, in welfare scandinavian states.

Thank you my elder relatives for resigning this fucked up sect

[FBM]

Holy shit. Never heard of them before, but what a bunch of freaks...Thanks for the education, borealis...

[Feck]

Religion , it's fucked up . I don't see why it should be tolerated .

[Geoff]

I'd never heard of them either. Yeah, even more fucked up than most religions.

[borealis]

I'm glad to educate you about this religion

You haven't heard of it because it's mostly in Northern Finland and Sweden area. It's part of lutheran church although they are the chosen people who go to heaven, not the lutherans. The rules are simple: everything fun is sin and prohibited. It means things like alcohol, rhythmical music (also gospel), dancing, make up, earrings, dying hair, premarital sex/kissing/touching, dating, TV, contraception (even if mother's life is in danger), abortion of course (even if mother's life is in danger), women's preaching, refuse to have sex when husband asks for it, movies, masturbation etc.
There are usually somewhere between 8-15 children in a family, children are learned to be ashamed of their existence in very young age, they learn how sinful they are and how they must repent so that they don't go to the "lake of fire" for eternity. Brainwashed children are very easy to talk to anything. Community is usually very closed and all the friends are laestadians too, so if you leave the movement, there's a risk that you get totally abandoned and have no supporters. In a small town where everybody are laestadians, it might mean you have to leave the whole town. Luckily, not all the laestadians are as strict, there are other branches of Laestadianism too. The most liberal one's might even accept watching football in the tv. But still, laestadians make the normal lutherans look like superliberal and intelligent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Laestadianism

There's a book and a movie made in the 70's, "The earth is a sinful song". I should watch it again.

[FBM]

They sound like wonderful people. I'd bet a few hookers and a case of Jack Daniels could wipe that religion right out in weekend.

[Hermit]

I'm glad to educate you about this religion

You haven't heard of it because it's mostly in Northern Finland and Sweden area. It's part of lutheran church although they are the chosen people who go to heaven, not the lutherans. The rules are simple: everything fun is sin and prohibited. It means things like alcohol, rhythmical music (also gospel), dancing, make up, earrings, dying hair, premarital sex/kissing/touching, dating, TV, contraception (even if mother's life is in danger), abortion of course (even if mother's life is in danger), women's preaching, refuse to have sex when husband asks for it, movies, masturbation etc.
There are usually somewhere between 8-15 children in a family, children are learned to be ashamed of their existence in very young age, they learn how sinful they are and how they must repent so that they don't go to the "lake of fire" for eternity. Brainwashed children are very easy to talk to anything. Community is usually very closed and all the friends are laestadians too, so if you leave the movement, there's a risk that you get totally abandoned and have no supporters. In a small town where everybody are laestadians, it might mean you have to leave the whole town. Luckily, not all the laestadians are as strict, there are other branches of Laestadianism too. The most liberal one's might even accept watching football in the tv. But still, laestadians make the normal lutherans look like superliberal and intelligent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Laestadianism

There's a book and a movie made in the 70's, "The earth is a sinful song". I should watch it again.

Try and find a copy of Babette's Feast, while you're at it. Though set in Denmark, it deals with a similar background. The best part of it is that it also does - in a very gentle, beautiful and convincing way - what FBM suggested.