Court docs allege priest lied about cancer diagnosis, sex addiction therapy and charity projects | Starkville Daily News

Starkville priest is at the center of a criminal investigation involving a string of fraudulent charity efforts that federal agents believe was covered up by church leaders in Jackson.

According to a 37-page affidavit filed Friday by Department of Homeland Security Special Agent William G. Childers in U.S. District Court in Jackson, an ongoing investigation into Father Lenin Vargas-Gutierrez, a pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Starkville, shows the priest is accused of lying about being diagnosed with cancer and soliciting money from parishioners for treatment and other pet projects.

The Catholic Diocese of Jackson on Monday posted to its website, saying federal agents served search and seizure warrants on the chancery office and on St. Joseph Parish on Wednesday, Nov. 7.

Vargas, a native of Mexico, has been in Starkville for roughly five years, according to court records and agents claim, through the use of confidential informants, that Vargas, who was actually diagnosed with HIV in 2014, used the fake cancer claims to solicit tens of thousands of dollars from church parishioners over the last several years.

Court docs allege priest lied about cancer diagnosis, sex addiction therapy and charity projects | Starkville Daily News

Sex offenders can cater to kids under Mississippi law

Foster’s Self-Defense Academy teaches martial arts to adults and to children as young as 3.

The 61-year-old operator, Archie Foster, is a registered sex offender who spent nearly 13 years in a Florida prison after pleading guilty to 29 counts of child pornography. He was released from prison last year.

Foster told the Clarion Ledger that he has never abused a child. “I’m trying to support my family. I’m trying to make a living,” he said. “I spent 13 years in prison for looking at dirty pictures on the internet. I’ve never victimized anybody.”

His wife, Hope, teaches all of the children’s classes, and Foster informs parents of students through a student application form that notes he “has been convicted of a sex offense.”

Like many states, Mississippi restricts where registered sex offenders can live and work with regard to schools, day care facilities and volunteer organizations. But the law doesn’t address sex offenders running businesses that cater to minors.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and Attorney General Jim Hood, likely opponents in next year's gubernatorial race, both support a review of existing laws to keep children safe.

Sex offenders can cater to kids under Mississippi law

Fired Mandeville church staffer surrenders in Mississippi after being accused of abusing boy | Crime/Police | theadvocate.com

The man who was fired over the weekend from his staff position at a prominent Mandeville church has surrendered to police in Mississippi on accusations of sexually molesting an underage boy, authorities said Tuesday.

Travis Bush, 36, of Mandeville, turned himself in after investigators in Bay St. Louis obtained a warrant to arrest him.

Detective Sgt. Rachel Jewell of the Bay St. Louis Police Department said the crime that Bush is accused of committing implies that the victim was 16 or younger, but she declined to release any details.

Jail records show Bush was being held Tuesday in lieu of $100,000 bail and is due to appear in court for a hearing Nov. 16.

Fired Mandeville church staffer surrenders in Mississippi after being accused of abusing boy | Crime/Police | theadvocate.com

Man stabbed woman he met on dating site 119 times after she told him she was transgender | The Independent

A former sailor in the US Navy stabbed a woman 119 times when she revealed she was transgender after they had sex, a court heard.

Dwanya Hickerson, 21, "lost it" after learning Dee Whigham, 25, had been born a man.

Mississippi's Jacksonville Circuit Court heard that he knifed Ms Whigham multiple times in the face.

The pair had been chatting online for two months after making contact through a dating site.
They decided to meet for the first time when Ms Whigham was visiting the city of Biloxi, where Hickerson lived, on July 23 last year.

Man stabbed woman he met on dating site 119 times after she told him she was transgender | The Independent

#17::Monday shooting death update

 

https://transgriot.blogspot.com/2018/07/number-16-rest-in-peace-diamond-stephens.html

As TransGriot notes, "This is why we harp on media and police respecting the pronouns and lives of trans people.   This woman was killed in June, but the community is just now finding out about it because of media and police misgendering."

The investigation of the death of a local man Monday evening is continuing. Authorities were called after a van crashed into a house in the 2200 block of 26th Avenue.

Coroner Clayton Cobler says 39-year-old Jeremiah Stephens [Diamond Stephens], who is known to family and friends as Miles or Miss Diamond, is the victim in the shooting Monday afternoon that caused a van to crash into a house.

Cobler says the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the back of Stephens' head.

"It looked like a single shot from what I could tell without disturbing anything. The body has gone to Jackson for an autopsy and we are just waiting for the investigation to hold there," says Cobler.

Authorities say they're still looking for a motive for the shooting.

Monday shooting death update

Mississippi minister charged with statutory rape, sexual battery

The Vicksburg Post reported that The Rev. Troy Anthony Piccaluga, 48, pastor of the Eagle Lake and Redwood United Methodist churches, was arrested Thursday at his home in the Redwood community.

Piccaluga is accused of having sexual contact with two girls between the ages of 14 and 16. The investigation began after the sheriff's department received information that a juvenile had a sexual relationship with an older male. During the course of the investigation a second victim was identified. The alleged incidents occurred at several locations in Warren County, but Sheriff Pace would not say where.

Mississippi minister charged with statutory rape, sexual battery

Pastor arrested in sex sting

A Mississippi business owner and pastor was arrested in Kentucky as part of an online sex sting operation. 

Michael Shane Cruse, 46, of Columbus, was arrested Saturday in Danville, Kentucky, WCBI reported, and charged with an illegal sex act with a minor and prohibited use of electronic communication system to procure a minor, also a sexual offense.

Cruse is accused of communicating with whom he believed was a 16-year-old boy online and arranging to meet for a sex act. Cruse was actually communicating with an undercover law enforcement agent in Boyle County, Kentucky.

Pastor arrested in sex sting

See also::  Businessman, former local pastor arrested in child sex sting

Church says pastor stole over $300,000 from coffers

A Baptist pastor is accused of stealing more than $300,000 over more than two years.

In an emailed statement, officials with Broadmoor Baptist Church said former executive pastor Riley Brown took $332,000 from the Madison church coffers over a "primarily" 27-month period. The statement was issued in response to questions by The Clarion-Ledger. 

Brown could not be reached for comment. 

The "transactions" were discovered after an internal policy review in September, according to the statement.

"These transactions were undertaken by one individual, Riley Brown, circumventing our existing internal policies and procedures," the statement read.

Church says pastor stole over $300,000 from coffers

Former pastor pleads guilty to sex crime charges in Hancock County | The Sun Herald

A former pastor at a Pearl River County church is facing jail time after pleading guilty to two sex crime charges in Hancock County.

The Sea Coast Echo reports that David Matthew Thorne, 35, of Picayune, on Monday pleaded guilty in Hancock County Circuit Court to one count of sexual battery and one count of touching a child for lustful purposes. He will be sentenced Sept. 25.

Thorne was arrested in March 2016 for molesting a 15-year-old girl in a church van while he was the youth pastor at Goodyear Baptist Church in Picayune.

Former pastor pleads guilty to sex crime charges in Hancock County | The Sun Herald

Mississippi bill: OK to refuse services, licenses related to same-sex marriages – LGBTQ Nation

State officials, private business owners and others who provide services to the public couldn’t be punished for acting on religious beliefs that marriage should only be between a man and a woman, under a bill advancing in the Mississippi Legislature.

Representatives on Friday voted 80-39 to pass House Bill 1523, which also specifies people couldn’t be punished for acting on beliefs that only married couples should have sexual relations and that a person’s gender identity is set at birth.

The bill was held for the possibility of more debate before it goes to the Senate.

Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, an attorney and Baptist minister, said the bill wouldn’t undo last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide but would balance that decision with people’s First Amendment right to act on their own beliefs.

Mississippi bill: OK to refuse services, licenses related to same-sex marriages – LGBTQ Nation

UPDATED::Ex-preacher molested girl for 3 years at church | SunHerald

UPDATE:: Ex-preacher gets prison for sexual abuse of child

A former Stone County preacher is going to prison for 22 full years for molesting a girl over a three-year period, starting when she was 11 years old.

Carlos Smith, 55, of Saucier, was sentenced Monday in Harrison County Circuit Court in Gulfport.

Smith sexually abused the girl in church and in a family member's home, according to testimony at his recent trial.

Judge Roger Clark ordered Smith to serve his prison term day for day without eligibility for probation or parole. Clark also ordered lifetime registration as a sex offender.

_

A former Stone County preacher has been found guilty in the sexual battery of a girl at the church he previously led, District Attorney Joel Smith said.

Carlos Smith, 55, of Saucier, was pastor of Unity Baptist Church and the girl was 11 when the sexual abuse began in 2011 and continued for three years, said the DA, no relation to Carlos Smith.

A Stone County jury delivered a guilty verdict Friday after deliberating about two hours.

Ex-preacher molested girl for 3 years at church | SunHerald

UPDATED::Murderer of Mississippi Trans Teen Mercedes Williamson May Face Hate Crime Charges | Advocate.com

UPDATE::  Mississippi man indicted in transgender teen's bludgeoning death with hammer

A documented member of the Latin Kings street gang used a hammer to beat to death a transgender teen who once considered him a boyfriend, officials say.

A George County grand jury indicted Joshua "Josh" Vallum on a charge of murder in the killing of Mercedes Williamson, a 17-year-old Theodore, Ala., resident whose birth name was Michael Christopher Wilkins. At the time of her death, Williamson was an aspiring cosmetologist living in a $50-a-week apartment.
,,,
"This investigation is still ongoing and I cannot comment on what additional charges, if any, will arise out of that," he said.

Investigators have, however, been looking into whether the killing was gang-related, drug-related or a hate crime.
The U.S. Department of Justice has been involved in the investigation, which the George County Sheriff's Department is heading up.

http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2016/01/josh-vallum-charged-in-mercedes.html

__

George County Sheriff Department Capt. Ben Brown told the Sun Herald Tuesday that he and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force have been giving the trans teen's death "a thorough investigation to bring justice to the victim's family."

"We are trying to determine whether [the killing] is drug-related, gang-related or a hate crime," he said. "These cases take time to work, and we are working on it as diligently as we can." Brown identified Williamson by her male birth name and did not mention that she was transgender, notes the newspaper.

Once the investigation into her death has concluded, prosecutors will present evidence to a Mississippi grand jury, which will then decide whether to indict Vallum. District Attorney Tony Lawrence told the Herald that the grand jury is able to indict under the state's hate-crime statute. However, the statute does not refer to crimes committed against perceived gender identity, but rather "gender" — meaning the grand jury would have to interpret this provision to include a victim's transgender status.

Vallum's motives still remain unclear, but the Herald has uncovered documentation indicating that he is a member of the Latin Kings street gang, as well as the fact that he lived near where Williamson shared a one-bedroom camper with 41-year-old roommate Jeanie Miller.

Murderer of Mississippi Trans Teen Mercedes Williamson May Face Hate Crime Charges | Advocate.com

Bond set at $1M for Wayne County pastor - Clay Center Dispatch On-Line: State

 

http://www.wdam.com/story/31034458/bond-set-at-1-million-for-wayne-county-pastor

Beam remains jailed on five counts of lustful touching of a child and five counts of enticing a child under 18 years of age with an electronic device for sexual purposes. It was unknown if he has an attorney who could comment on the case.

Beam was the pastor of the Evergreen Baptist Church in Shubuta. Wayne County Schools Superintendent Bobby Jones says Beam was also a substitute teacher and school bus driver.

Bond set at $1M for Wayne County pastor - Clay Center Dispatch On-Line: State

CASE WATCH::Mississippi Teacher Calls Atheist Student a “Fool,” Humanist Group Intervenes

In a letter sent to officials and attorneys at Rankin County School District in Flowood, Mississippi, the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center decries a teacher’s unconstitutional and disparaging remarks about atheists.

Sent on behalf of a parent whose child attends Northwest Rankin High School, the letter describes a history teacher who frequently made disparaging remarks about atheists and promoted Christianity during class. The teacher, also a pastor of Rehobeth Baptist Church, recently announced to his class, “Atheists are throwing a fit because they don't have their own day. They do have their own day; it’s called April Fools’ Day, because you are a fool if you don't believe in god.” The letter states that, as atheists, the student and parent feel unwelcome in the district because of the teacher’s insults.

This is not the first instance of the school district endorsing religion. In 2013, a former student and the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit challenging the district’s practice of holding religious assemblies. The judgment, favoring the American Humanist Association, included a consent decree requiring the district to stop the assemblies. In July 2015, a United States District Court granted a motion for contempt filed by the American Humanist Association’s legal center, which ruled that the district defied the consent decree by sponsoring an award ceremony with Christian prayers and by permitting Bible distribution in an elementary school. The court’s order states that the district will be fined $10,000 for each future infraction.

Mississippi Teacher Calls Atheist Student a “Fool,” Humanist Group Intervenes

‘Peeping preacher’ case comes to TV

 

Incriminating video that three years ago helped land a former Southern Baptist evangelist in prison for video voyeurism aired on national television Oct. 15.

Thursday’s installment of Crime Watch Daily, a syndicated investigative news magazine series that debuted in the United States and Canada on Sept. 14, opened with the story of Sammy Nuckolls, a once-popular speaker at youth events including LifeWay Christian Resources’ FUGE summer camps. He is now serving 10 years in prison for planting hidden cameras to spy on women in a bathroom at his home in Olive Branch, Miss.

The broadcast, shown in two parts, includes clips shown at his sentencing hearing in September 2012 of Nuckolls setting up spy cameras to capture video of female houseguests as they got undressed to shower. Victims testified to feeling shame and violation of trust with descriptions including “video rape.”

“From the first time that I ever entered their home, that was his objective of our friendship,” Ashley Fisher, one of a few of Nuckolls’ victims who has spoken publicly about the crimes, told Crime Watch Daily.

Her husband, Adam Fisher, a youth pastor and worship leader who once looked up to Nuckolls as a role model and mentor, said he had to put their friendship aside when confronted with the revelation that they and other couples like them were being manipulated and abused.

“Looking back, I see there were a lot of different red flags I could have noticed but just kind of threw to the side, because he was a traveling evangelist,” Fisher admitted. “I mean, you can trust those guys.”

Nuckolls was arrested, subsequently indicted, and found guilty after a bench trial of 13 counts of video voyeurism, defined in the Mississippi Code as the act of “photographing or filming another without permission where there is expectation of privacy.”

‘Peeping preacher’ case comes to TV

See also:   When Pastors Prey: Baptist perv Sammy Nuckolls

Stone County priest accused in sexual battery of boy in Jones County | Biloxi | The Sun Herald

Rev. Jose Vazquez, a priest in Wiggins, has been arrested in Jones County on a sexual battery charge involving a 12-year-old boy.

The Jones County Sheriff's Office reported his arrest in a press release, saying Vazquez was at a family's home in west Jones County on Wednesday when the boy's father called to report inappropriate behavior between Vazquez and his son.

Vazquez, 36, is the pastor at St. Francis Xavier in Wiggins and at St. Lucy Mission in Lucedale.

Vazquez was still at the boy's home when deputies arrived, and deputies interviewed the boy.

During Vazquez' interview, he confessed to several sex acts with the boy, including the act in Jones County and incidents in other jurisdictions, the press release said.

Vazquez was deemed a flight risk at his initial court appearance Thursday and the judge imposed a $100,000 bond.
,,,

His first parish appointment after ordination was as parochial vicar of Immaculate Conception Parish in Laurel in 2009. He moved to Sacred Heart Parish in Hattiesburg in 2011.

Vazquez became pastor of St. Francis Xavier and St. Lucy Mission on Jan. 15, 2014.

As a deacon, he served at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Biloxi and assisted in Hispanic Masses at Holy Family Parish in Pass Christian and St. Charles Borromeo in Picayune, and sometimes at St. Aphonsus in Ocean Springs and St. John the Evangelist in Gulfport.

Stone County priest accused in sexual battery of boy in Jones County | Biloxi | The Sun Herald

High School Marching Band Benched over Christian Hymn | Todd Starnes

The only losers are are the children,,,

According to Todd "I never distort the truth" Starnes,

There was no halftime show under the Friday night lights at Mississippi’s Brandon High School — the marching band had been benched.

The band was ordered off the field because the Christian hymn “How Great Thou Art” was a part of their halftime show — in violation of a federal court order.

Starnes does mention the prior court proceedings that led to the decision.  What he fails to mention,

In a statement Friday evening, the Rankin County School District said, "A Federal Court Order was recently issued to the Rankin County School District.

"The order states: 'Defendants are permanently enjoined from including prayer, religious sermons or activities in any school sponsored event including but not limited to assemblies, graduations, award ceremonies, athletic events and any other school event. That means administrators, teachers and staff of the Rankin County School District may not participate in any religious activity, or solicit or encourage religious activities at school or while performing duties as a RCSD employee.'"

And, as Hemant Mehta noted, the appearance of state sanctioned religious expression has been an ongoing issue for this school district.

This is a District where a school held a religious assembly during the school day, only to be exposed by one of the students, then held another one a year later. This is a place where another school in the District held a Gideon Bible giveaway. And this is a place where the Superintendent blocked the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance. Because of all this, a judge ruled that any future violations of church/state separation would result in an automatic $10,000 fine.

Now whether this possible violation was intentional, remains to be seen.  There obviously was miscommunication,

Harrell said that he met with RCSD officials and all of the school principals near the end of July so they understood the order and the restrictions the district is operating under. But he didn’t find out about concerns regarding the band performance until the Friday before the game after a school employee brought it to his attention.

But to have to scrap an entire half-time show because of one piece does make one wonder how central a theme it was.  [I was never in marching band, so my notion may be off with the reality of what it is like.]  And I do question the musical piece chosen for logistical reasons.  How the hell do you march to "How Great Thou Art"?  I see it more of a stage band or orchestral piece.

In the end it really is the kids that suffer.  Learning any piece of music is difficult and takes time and practice.  Learning the marching routine adds another level of dedication.  Whether the administration over reacted, I'm not sure.  As one comment notes, and it does raise an interesting question,

The principal cannot say a prayer over the intercom during school hours. This is a situation where no one is given a choice to participate. However, a school can have an organized elective class that studies religion. Or, teaching the bible as literature is permissible. If you take sacred music out of history's repertoire, there would not be much left.

It is the position of The National Association for Music Education that the study and performance of religious music within an educational context is a vital and appropriate part of a comprehensive music education. The omission of sacred music from the school curriculum would result in an incomplete educational experience.

but again the performance venue and presentation is questionable. 

Don't get me wrong, I am all for kids learning these iconic pieces of sacred music and how they influence our current music.  I am all for learning music history and theory,  BUT ",,,being careful to avoid another lawsuit,,,, is what I want government officials to do with my tax dollars.”
 

High School Marching Band Benched over Christian Hymn | Todd Starnes

Transgender Teen Killed In Mississippi - BuzzFeed News

Police in George County, Mississippi, have charged a suspect with murder in the death of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson, whose killing marks the ninth confirmed homicide of a transgender person in the United States this year.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections is holding Josh Brandon Vallum, 28, on $1 million bail, police told BuzzFeed News.

A memorial page on Facebook said Williamson was stabbed.

“We don’t have a clear motive yet, and we are getting conflicting reports,” Shonna Pierce, a spokesperson for the George County Sheriff’s Office, told BuzzFeed News.

Among the outstanding questions, Pierce said, was whether Vallum knew Williamson was transgender. “Some say he did, and some say he didn’t. We are getting to the bottom of that,” Pierce said. Police have heard the two knew each other before the homicide, she said, but it was not clear for how long or what the nature of their relationship was.

It was also unclear when the homicide occurred, but police first heard of the case on June 2.

Transgender Teen Killed In Mississippi - BuzzFeed News

Starkville, Mississippi Mayor Makes Brave Stand For LGBT Equality, Vetoes Repeal Of Gay-Rights Measures: VIDEO| Gay News | Towleroad

Starkville, Mississippi Mayor Parker Wiseman is standing up to bigoted and spineless members of the city's Board of Aldermen who are intent on repealing historic gay-rights initiatives approved last year.

Starkville, which has a population of 24,000 and sits adjacent to Mississippi State University, became the first city in the state to approve a statement of support for LGBT equality in January — and the first to extend benefits to the domestic partners of employees in September.

WynnBut those policies have been under fire ever since from anti-LGBT members of the city's Board of Aldermen, who initially voted to repeal domestic partner benefits two weeks later — claiming they didn't realize the new insurance policy they approved had included them. After Wiseman vetoed the repeal, Alderman Lisa Wynn (right) walked out of a meeting, leaving the anti-LGBT coalition one member short of the five-vote supermajority needed to override the mayor's decision.

Now Wynn reportedly has flip-flopped again — joining a 5-2 majority that voted last Tuesday to repeal both policies during a three-hour closed door meeting with no public input, scrutiny or record of how members voted. In a letter vetoing the latest repeal effort on Friday, Wiseman called out the aldermen, listing how they voted and eloquently defending the policies.

Starkville, Mississippi Mayor Makes Brave Stand For LGBT Equality, Vetoes Repeal Of Gay-Rights Measures: VIDEO| Gay News | Towleroad

Neo-Confederates want Mississippi voters to proclaim Christianity as official religion

A former beauty pageant winner is leading an effort by Confederate sympathizers to designate Christianity the official religion in Mississippi and promote white, southern culture.

The Magnolia State Heritage Campaign is gathering signatures to put a ballot initiative before voters in November 2016 that would change the state constitution to promote Christianity, the English language, and Confederate symbols.

The activist group – which is promoted by 1986 Miss America Susan Akin, former Republican State Rep. Mark DuVall, and self-published novelist Julie Hawkins – must gather more than 107,000 signatures by October 2015 to place Initiative 46 on the ballot.

If they succeed, voters will decide whether to amend the state constitution to acknowledge “the fact of her identity as a principally Christian and quintessentially Southern state, in terms of the majority of her population, character, culture, history, and heritage, from 1817 to the present.”

The measure would also establish Christianity as the official state religion – which plainly violates the establishment clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

___

Well this is a sure-fire way to motivate the base for an election 2 years future, manufacture a false controversy.  Remember what I touched on in my post about Frank Turek?  The false belief that laws passed via referendum are superior to ordinary laws, and are thus beyond judicial review.

It seems that the Magnolia State Heritage Campaign is essentially daring a judge to strike "Initiative 46" down so they can bait the vultures a la Bryan Fischer, who believes that the First Amendment only protects Christians.,-

I have contended for years that the First Amendment, as given by the Founders, provides religious liberty protections for Christianity only. Most attorney types, befuddled by years of untethered Supreme Court activism, think it covers any and all religions you can name.

and that a state would be well within its rights to establish a state church.

The First Amendment applies only to Congress, as its very first word makes plain. The states were allowed to regulate religious expression any way they chose. Since it’s never been amended, the First Amendment means today what it meant then, which means that if a state government wants to recognize Satanism or Islam, it can. If it doesn’t want to, it doesn’t have to.

Counter to what Fischer asserts, Jefferson wrote in regards to the debate in the Virginia General Assembly:

Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word "Jesus Christ," so that it should read, "a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination.

Rob Boston of Americans United has this to say:

OK, where to begin? For starters, this is a huge slap in the face to anyone living in Mississippi who is not Christian. The clear implication is that Christians who love the “Holy Bible” are the real, bona fide residents of the state. Everyone else is just some kind of lesser, second-class citizen who will be tolerated – maybe.

Secondly, this is the sort of embarrassing thing that keeps a poor state like Mississippi mired in the 19th century and does nothing to address the real issues facing the state. Really, folks, the country is changing. There is a lot of religious diversity out there. Many of us consider this a good thing and celebrate the fact that our Constitution established a framework for freedom of conscience that has sparked an amazing array of religions and philosophies. All of this talk about your Christian heritage, culture and traditions is just more pining for the bad old days when governments enforced theology. It’s kind of pathetic.

Finally, there is no way to proclaim – even in a quasi-official manner – an official state religion without running afoul of the U.S. Constitution. If the people of Mississippi are foolish enough to pass this monstrosity, there’s little doubt it would be immediately challenged in court. And the state will lose.

Neo-Confederates want Mississippi voters to proclaim Christianity as official religion