As reported by the Associated Press, on Friday, Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg issued a decision ruling that the State of Minnesota had demonstrated a “compelling state interest” in preserving the life of Daniel, a 13-year old boy, that was sufficient to override constitutional rights of both the parents and Daniel to the free exercise of religion. Daniel has Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and several respected doctors provided testimony that, considering the stage and type of tumor, Daniel could have at least an 85% chance of surviving with chemotherapy but that without therapy he is certain to die of his disease, except if a very rare spontaneous remission of Hodgkin’s occurs.
Already, the ruling has sparked outcry from religious groups and conservative commentators. But what isn’t widely-reported is that the religious belief is based upon Nemenhah, an internet-based religion whose website requests a $250 “Spiritual Adoption” donation and whatever subsequent monthly financial contribution a believer wish to make. The leader of Nemenhah is a white man who describes himself as a naturopath and Native American “healer” with cures for AIDS and cancer. Surely freedom of religion is cherished in this country, but common sense dictates caution when a religious leader has his hand in your pocket while promising a miraculous cure. While professing to be adherents of Nemenhah’s tenets, supposedly derived from Native American traditions, Daniel’s parents and Daniel are not of Native American ancestry. As pointed out by NAFPS, because Native American teachings are transmitted face-to-face, any supposed Native American traditional teachings in touted books or on websites are simply “not authentic.”
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