AUTHOR
T. Riggs Eckelberry
When I was growing up, we lived everywhere, and to this day I can number my friends from school on one hand. I have served as a commercial ship captain, wine importer, film production manager, and above all, technologist. Today, I’m the CEO of a public company that licenses a unique technology for treating water. I believe that technology has the potential to save the world, but also to undermine our rights and our independence. The many people working in the spiritual arena are the vital counter-balance, and I’m proud to be one of these, with my wife, Sigrid.
INCLUSION & RESPECT
When they do this, corporations are creating beachheads of tolerance and respect that then play out in the community at large.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
Churches today recognize that they are often the last haven for those in need.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
At the time, 97 percent of Americans believed in God. By 2014, that number had shrunk to 63 percent. Does that mean Americans are abandoning spirituality? The answer is a resounding “no.”
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Courageously, former supermodel and fashion entrepreneur Kathy Ireland made the Yezidis her cause. According to the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation: “As this horrific genocide unfolded, Kathy not only lobbied Congress to respond, but responded herself by supporting women-led initiatives to rescue Yezidis and address the hatred and prejudices that created an environment where such atrocities could occur. To this day, almost 3,000 Yezidi women and children remain missing and almost 300,000 Yezidis still live in displacement camps in northern Iraq.
MEDIA & ETHICS
Reading the dramatic daily headlines, it seems as though things are falling apart. But it’s not usually as bad as it seems. It’s important to remember how modern press was built—on creating alarm.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Like many Americans, I tend to take for granted that we have religious freedom in this country.
RELIGIOUS LITERACY
Today we think of apartheid’s end in 1994 as inevitable. But it took the concerted efforts and sacrifice of many for 50 years, both inside and outside South Africa.
ANTI-RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA
In early March, the TV Academy hired a consulting firm, ostensibly to address issues of equality head-on. Under the banner of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the company will analyze “staff and member composition, attitudes and perceptions regarding DEI, opportunities for improvement, and expansion of current practices.”
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Enforcing lack of religious dress is intolerant in its own right, and most often happens in democracies. “Europe had the most countries where women’s head coverings were restricted by the government, with instances in 21 of 45 countries,” reports Villa.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The designation holds a special significance. According to Gayle Manchin, Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Nigeria is the first secular democracy that has been named a CPC, which demonstrates that we must be vigilant that all forms of governments respect religious freedom.”
