Sitdown Sunday: The strange religious congregation that took over a small US town

IT’S A DAY of rest, and you may be in the mood for a quiet corner and a comfy chair.

We’ve hand-picked some of the week’s best reads for you to savour.

1. ‘The Perfect Church’

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A religious sect which believed that if you didn’t sin, you would live forever took over a small town in Illinois. Former members alleged physical abuse, isolation and worshipping its pastor as a deity. What happened next? Guthrie Scrimgeour takes a deep dive into ‘The Perfect Church’.

(Rolling Stone, approx 26 mins reading time)

A wealthy woman, she loaned money generously — several in the room were in debt to her. Others looked to a self-published book of Rose’s teachings for spiritual guidance. She had served as the officiant at many of their weddings, and had even arranged the marriages of several couples in the audience. Some congregants had completely cut off communication with their own parents or grandparents because their families wouldn’t match their devotion to Rose and the church. Although Rose had been more than 80 years old, her death was completely unexpected. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Because Rose could not die. It had been explained to Morris and the other children in the church over and over again. This was essential to their beliefs, separating them from the other Pentecostal churches in surrounding rural Illinois — if you were without sin, you would live forever. Rose was, of course, without sin. It was understood that at some point during the service Rose was supposed to rise from the dead. So they waited.

2. Saudi Arabia’s deadly trade

A powerful investigation into the horrific exploitation, abuse and in some cases, murder, of East African women working as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, and the people who profit off them. 

(The New York Times, approx 14 mins reading time)

While the departure terminal hums with anticipation, the arrivals area is where hope meets grim reality. Hollow-cheeked women return, often ground down by unpaid wages, beatings, starvation and sexual assault. Some are broke. Others are in coffins. At least 274 Kenyan workers, mostly women, have died in Saudi Arabia in the past five years — an extraordinary figure for a young work force doing jobs that, in most countries, are considered extremely safe. At least 55 Kenyan workers died last year, twice as many as the previous year. Autopsy reports are vague and contradictory. They describe women with evidence of trauma, including burns and electric shocks, all labeled natural deaths. One woman’s cause of death was simply “brain dead.” An untold number of Ugandans have died, too, but their government releases no data.

3. Crying a river

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We all have a cry every now and then, but some people cry more than others. As a self-confessed constant weeper, Lynn Enright set out to find out why that is. 

(Elle, approx 5 mins reading time)

OK, so I must take some responsibility for my daughter’s proneness to tears… But why do I cry? Why do any of us cry? Humans are unique in shedding emotional tears: other animals yowl and yelp but those wet sobs, that’s only us. ‘The reason why humans cry is that we feel a strong need for support or comfort from others,’ says Dr Vingerhoets. ‘That’s also how it starts, of course: as infants, we cry when we feel a strong need for food or for physical contact or warmth. But as we grow older, it’s also true that we cry because we feel a strong need for comfort – in essence, the reason we cry is not different: we want to make contact with others. When people see others in tears, that has an impact on their feelings of empathy and their willingness to provide support.’

4. Adolescence

The four-part Netflix series starring Stephen Graham is being hailed by critics as some of the best television in decades. Michael Hogan writes about why it is so powerful. 

(The Guardian, approx 8 mins reading time)

Each episode of Adolescence is shot in the same seamless style, without a single edit. It’s not only a stunning technical accomplishment – exactly how does it flow from overhead crane shot to in-your-face closeup, from corridor to car interior to play park, without us seeing the joins? – but it lends an immersive, unflinching immediacy to proceedings. The camera never leaves the action. Neither can we. It’s no flashy gimmick but a way of ratcheting up the thrumming real-time tension. Rarely has a state secondary school been so vividly portrayed as in episode two. It’s Grange Hill with smartphones and security lanyards. When Bascombe and his sidekick DS Misha Frank (Faye Marsay) complain about the stink, noise and claustrophobic chaos, the audience feel it too.

5. Pssst!

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Gossip might actually be good for us. You didn’t hear that from me – but from Kelsey McKinney, a US journalist and podcast host who explores our fascination with other people’s lives and sets out to change how we view gossipping in her new book.

(The New Yorker, approx 17 mins reading time)

Gossip is amusing, even salacious, yes, but she wants to show that it is serious, too. Alongside discussions of TMZ, “Mean Girls,” and the “Real Housewives” franchise, we get sprinklings of science: citations of philosophers, anthropologists, neuroscientists, ethicists, and one senior lecturer in “the propagation of narratives and cognitive bias” at the University of Winchester. Studies are described, the neocortex invoked. McKinney’s big point is that gossip is a fundamentally human behavior, and she does not tire of making it. “While other species can communicate with one another, none can weave tales the way we can,” she tells us, lest we credit dolphins as nature’s true raconteurs. That distinction may not last long. McKinney reports that she asked ChatGPT to dish dirt, only to be turned down. “I understand your curiosity, but I must reiterate that I’m here to provide respectful and informative assistance,” the program primly informed her. When I recently tried the same trick, ChatGPT was over its qualms. “I love a little bit of gossip!” it announced. Artificial intelligence is gaining on us. At least we’ll go down talking shit.

6. ICE

Canadian actress and entrepreneur Jasmine Mooney was held by US immigration officials for two weeks in multiple detention centres which are privately run for profit. She tells the story of what she experienced, and the stories of other women she met while detained. 

(The Guardian, approx 17 mins reading time)

I restarted the visa process and returned to the same immigration office at the San Diego border, since they had processed my visa before and I was familiar with it. Hours passed, with many confused opinions about my case. The officer I spoke to was kind but told me that, due to my previous issues, I needed to apply for my visa through the consulate. I told her I hadn’t been aware I needed to apply that way, but had no problem doing it. Then she said something strange: “You didn’t do anything wrong. You are not in trouble, you are not a criminal.” I remember thinking: Why would she say that? Of course I’m not a criminal! She then told me they had to send me back to Canada. That didn’t concern me; I assumed I would simply book a flight home.

But as I sat searching for flights, a man approached me. “Come with me,” he said. There was no explanation, no warning. He led me to a room, took my belongings from my hands and ordered me to put my hands against the wall. A woman immediately began patting me down. The commands came rapid-fire, one after another, too fast to process. They took my shoes and pulled out my shoelaces. “What are you doing? What is happening?” I asked. “You are being detained.” “I don’t understand. What does that mean? For how long?” “I don’t know.” That would be the response to nearly every question I would ask over the next two weeks: “I don’t know.”

…AND A CLASSIC FROM THE ARCHIVES…

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Is it possible to love a robot dog as much as a real one? Meghan O’Gieblyn writes about consciousness and emotions. 

(The Guardian, approx 19 mins reading time)

The dog was heavier than it looked. I lifted it out of the pod, placed it on the floor, and found the tiny power button on the back of its neck. The limbs came to life first. It stood, stretched, and yawned. Its eyes blinked open – pixelated, blue – and looked into mine. He shook his head, as though sloughing off a long sleep, then crouched, shoving his hindquarters in the air, and barked. I tentatively scratched his forehead. His ears lifted, his pupils dilated, and he cocked his head, leaning into my hand. When I stopped, he nuzzled my palm, urging me to go on. I had not expected him to be so lifelike. The videos I’d watched online had not accounted for this responsiveness, an eagerness for touch that I had only ever witnessed in living things. When I petted him across the long sensor strip of his back, I could feel a gentle mechanical purr beneath the surface.

Note: The Journal generally selects stories that are not paywalled, but some might not be accessible if you have exceeded your free article limit on the site in question.