European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 2, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes religion saturday sunday january 1/2,1994 no sex pledge drawing teens from Many faiths new York apr the great american teen age sex out is gathering steam a Campaign urging teens to postpone sex until marriage started by the Southern Baptist sunday school Board As an adjunct to a sex education program has spread rapidly to other denominations and is Well on its Way to a goal of eliciting chastity  half a million teen agers. The a True love Waits Campaign recently received its biggest boost to Date when the nations largest denomination the 59 million member roman Catholic Church came on Board. The National federation for Catholic youth ministry plans to Send to 180 dioceses literature discussing adolescent sexuality including modified chastity pledge cards for Catholic Young people Church officials say the gathering together of some of the nations largest denominations for the program May Herald a new sexual revolution among teens and help convince government policymakers of the value of teaching abstinence to prevent disease and teen age pregnancy. A i Hope it has a Clear signal to society  purity prior to marriage is a viable option for teen incur by David Briggs the associated press unification Church groups in the Baltic Are offering language lessons to attract converts while Hare Krish Nas reportedly now have More members in Hungary than the United states. New religious movements and sects have established footholds in Eastern Europe but their influence May be measured More in terms of the backlash they have engendered than converts won. Traditional religious groups that suffered under communist oppression Are trying to solidify their privileged position in the new Era of religious Freedom. Although conservative Christian missionaries Are reporting the greatest Success in converting Eastern europeans it is religious sects and Cults that have made easy targets for groups lobbying for Laws to limit religious Freedom in several East european countries according to two scholars who have travelled throughout the Region. A the visibility and fear is put on the new religious movements which arc really statistically insignificant a said Eil Een Barker of the London school of economics. A nobody gets any bad Points for attacking Cults. They re really fair  Barker and j. Gordon Melton director of the Institute for the study of american religion in Santa Barbara calif., addressed a recent seminar of the american Academy of religion on new religious movements. Groups from the Church of scientology to Hare Krishna Are trying to. Take advantage of the new religious Freedom to spread their teachings throughout Eastern Europe they said. In a recent trip Barker observed that several groups Are offering people ways to succeed in capitalist ventures As a Means of attracting new members. For example she said Church of scent ology groups offer communication courses and unification Church groups offer language lessons and trips to the West to potential converts in Russia and the Baltic. But while there Are no hard numbers researchers say new movements seem to be having Little Success. Some Eastern europeans Are taking advantage of the classes offered and then arc returning to their traditional religious Homes. And critics of Many new Reli ious movements helped by anti cult organizations rom the West have left Many Eastern europeans forewarned Barker said a on the whole they re not particularly interested a Barker said a they know the Cults Are bad and that a got through to  the groups that Are successful Are evangelical Christian organizations that Are flooding Eastern Europe with missionaries. Researchers report massive revivals Large churches being built and some evangelists in a strategy used successfully in the United states taking to the airwaves. Some 40 million bibles have been distributed in Russia alone Melton said. Among the groups doing Well a u agers and one they arc willing to stand behind a said Jimmy Hester Southern Baptist coordinator of the Campaign. Other denominations and groups that have signed on include the assemblies of god pentecostal Church of god the Fellowship of Christian athletes and Campus crusade for Christ. The Campaign went International in the fall when the evangelical Fellowship of Canada endorsed the program. Campaign officials say one key to the programs Success is teens rebellion against what they see As an unfair portrayal of them in popular culture As a Monolith of uncontrolled libido. Nearly half of the teen respondents to a time Cable news network poll in april said it is wrong to have sex before marriage and two thirds of the respondents Ages 13 to 17 said they were still virgins. Campaign officials do not know How Many teens have signed pledge cards vowing not to have sex before marriage but some initial reports indicate the  is progressing toward its goal of 100,000 chastity vows from Southern Baptist youth and 500,000 pledges Overall. At a summer Camp in Oklahoma More than 13,500 teens embraced the program. Alexy ii patriarch of Moscow and All Russia reviews an Honor guard during a ceremony in Moscow. Orthodox leaders Are battling missionaries from the West Over religious converts. There May be As Many As tens of thousands of Pentecos tals in Eastern Europe he said. Baptists also have been particularly successful. In another sign of the times 3,000 russians became Jehovah s witnesses in a mass baptism. Buthe flood of foreign missionaries is not sitting Well with religious groups who struggled to survive during the years of socialist Rule. Many groups emerged weak disorganized and badly financed and argue members should not be stolen from them by better financed groups from outside. A we should have the first Chance of regaining our faithful is the claim made by faiths native to the Region bark fir said. In Russia russian orthodox leaders have been trying to restore the churches traditional role As one of the main pillars of society. Patriarch  ii head of the Church administered the oath of office when Boris n. Yeltsin was sworn in As russians first president in june 1991, and it has become common practice for the patriarch to bless major political events including praying for Success at  summits. The a turf War Quot is evident in part in legislation that would limit religious Freedom in various stages of consideration in Armenia Russia Hungary Poland and  Campus Abandons forced prayers for athletes from wire reports Pocatello Idaho a a tempest Over religion and football at Idaho state University appears to have subsided with athletic officials apologizing Over mandatory services for players. After a week of accusations from former football players that they were required to attend weekly on Campus devotional meetings and an annual a mandatory Church Day a the University last week said such activities will end. R a we were absolutely wrong. Wholly wrong a said athletic director Randy Hoffman. That appears to be enough for former player Robert Ford an All conference defensive tackle who threatened to go to court. A i have decided not to pursue it a he said. A i accomplished what i set out to do As far As i know. Simply because of what Hoffman  asks Church help Salt Lake City a mayor Deedee Corradini is calling on religious leaders to join in the fight to curb growing youth gang violence. Quot in the last 10 months violence among youths using guns has gone up 100 percent a Corradini told representatives of Utah a mormon Catholic and protestant churches during a recent meeting with Community leaders. She said churches could serve a vital function in helping to identify youth Likely to fall prey to the lure of gangs providing space for anti gang programs Ana by serving As a Pool for volunteers. A if we done to get a handle we May lose our Community a the mayor said. A we have to get the churches  Faith can be a powerful resource Catholic Bishop William k. Weigand said. Quot a was religious leaders we have a lot to offer youngsters through the Church and presence in the neighbourhood Quot he said. With spiritual guidance from Church leaders Weigand said even the most troubled youths can Bifeld self esteem and trusting relationships. Child abuse Law changed Boston a Massachusetts has abolished a religious exemption to its child abuse Laws that a Christian science couple used to fight charges they refused medical treatment for their dying son. The Bill signed into Law tuesday by gov. William f. Weld also made Massachusetts the last state to make child abuse a felony. The Republican governor had fought to keep the exemption that said spiritual Healing is not a form of child neglect. Hawaii and South Dakota have removed religious exemptions from their Laws. Iowa Michigan Minnesota Missouri Maryland Delaware and Kentucky Are seeking to do the same. Massachusetts exemption was cited by defense attorneys in the Case of Ginger and David Twitchell members of the Boston based Christian science Church. The Twitchell were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 1990 in the death of their 2-year-son from a Bowel obstruction. Their conviction was overturned last summer when the state supreme court ruled they weren to allowed to argue that they thought they were within their rights to choose spiritual treatment. Prosecutors did not retry the  Church spared Chicago a a Church that narrowly survived the great Chicago fire in 1871 celebrated another escape a from the wrecking Ball a after donors contributed $2.7 million to renovate it. The first mass in nine years was celebrated a Quot sunday at holy family Church. The 1,200-seat Sanctuary was filled to capacity. K a we Are no restoring a splendid victorian museum. This building is for people a the Rev. George a. Lane told parishioners. In 1984, a Leaky roof and falling plaster forced the Sanctuary to close. Services were held in an adjacent building. Renovations will proceed As donations Are received toward a $3.5 million goal Lane said. Founded in 1857, holy family is one of five Public buildings that survived the 1871 fire. Legend says the Blaze began when a cow kicked Over a lantern in a barn five blocks rom the Church