SECT RULES INCLUDE NO TV, MOVIES OR READING NEWSPAPERS

NORTH CAROLINA
Associated Press

BY MITCH WEISS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPINDALE, N.C. (AP) — Newcomers to the Word of Faith Fellowship live by a list of strict rules for daily life, which sect leader Jane Whaley says God revealed to her, former members say. They include:

– Followers are banned from celebrating birthdays and religious or secular holidays, including Christmas, Easter and the Fourth of July.

– Congregants are prohibited from watching television and movies, reading newspapers, or eating in restaurants that play music or serve alcohol.

– Men and women must swim with shirts covering their upper bodies and cannot take the extra clothing off in public – not even in their own backyards.

– Men cannot grow beards.

– Followers are not allowed to enroll in college without permission and, if permission is granted, can attend only alongside other members so their behavior can be monitored. Whaley also picks their majors, and they must work for the church or a business owned by church leaders once they leave school.

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