Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist)
Founded by Mary Baker Eddy (1879). Distinctive teaching that physical illness is illusion to be addressed through prayer rather than medicine. Several US child-death prosecutions of parents who withheld medical care.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
+1 for documented child deaths from refusal of medical care.
In context
Christian Science teaches that material reality and disease are illusions that yield to spiritual treatment by 'Christian Science practitioners'. Members historically avoid medical care, including for serious childhood illness. The Twitchell case (Massachusetts, 1990) and Cottam case (Minnesota, 1989) and other prosecutions established that religious-exemption laws do not always shield parents from manslaughter charges. Membership has declined sharply since its early-20th-century peak.
History
Mary Baker Eddy's 1875 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures' became the foundational text. The Christian Science Monitor (founded 1908) remains a respected journalism outlet independent of the Church.
Key control doctrines
- Material reality and disease as illusion
- Christian Science practitioners as primary 'treatment'
- 'Science and Health' as authoritative scripture-companion
Notable public ex-members
- Caroline Fraser (author / Pulitzer winner)
- Lucia Greenhouse (memoirist)
Legal cases & controversies
- Commonwealth v. Twitchell (1993)
- Multiple state prosecutions of parents in child-death cases
- 1980s–1990s campaign for repeal of religious-exemption laws
Timeline
- 1875Mary Baker Eddy publishes 'Science and Health'
- 1879Church of Christ, Scientist organised in Boston
- 1908Christian Science Monitor founded
- 1990Twitchell conviction in Massachusetts
Sources
- Caroline Fraser, 'God's Perfect Child' (1999)
- Commonwealth v. Twitchell (1993)
- Various US state prosecutions
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Search the source title plus the group name to find the original.