Pagan Community Notes: Environmental Statement, Kenny Klein, Indiana RFRA and more!

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[Public Domain]

Over the past seven months, a large group of people came together to craft a “Pagan Community Statement on the Environment.” The idea was born after Covenant of the Goddess issued a similar statement in August 2014. John Halstead led the charge, coordinating the discussions within this “working group.” However, the statement itself was created wholly by the coalition of diverse voices from various communities, religious practices and regions.

Near the end, the statements reads, “We hold that living a fulfilling and meaningful life, and allowing the same for future generations, is only possible if the entire Earth is healthy. We will therefore strive as individuals, as groups, and as members of a global society to promote the current and future health of our entire Earth…”

Presented in draft form, the statement can be read at a newly launched website, where the public is invited to make comments and suggestions. Organizers add, “The Statement will be published in its final form on Earth Day, April 22, 2015, when it will be made available for electronic signature.”  They add, “The statement only represents you if you sign it.” 

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Nearly a year after news of his arrest rocked many Pagan communities, Kenny Klein has still yet to be heard in court. Charges were filed in June but the process has been stalled with hearings scheduled each month, but then postponed for a variety of reasons.

For Klein’s ex-wife, Tzipora Katz, and her children, the delays have been difficult  and increasingly frustrating, as they are all seeking closure. Katz recently said, “The arrest and the past year have, needless to say, dredged up many old wounds and reawoken our collective PTSD. This has manifest differently for each of us, but the common themes are: second guessing decisions (especially about interpersonal relationships), feelings of low self-esteem or self-worth, nightmares and inability to separate past from present emotions, and feelings that we are on trial again as we have had to defend our statements of what did happen to us. And of course, an utter disdain for the slowness of the judicial system.” The next scheduled hearing is for the end of April.

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Indiana-StateSeal.svgIndiana’s newly signed RFRA has taken center stage in the national spotlight, as well as in Pagan and Heathen communities. John Halstead published a blog post regarding the legislation. In “A Pagan Lawyer’s Take on Indiana’s “Religious Right to Discriminate Law,” Halstead writes, “The law allows Hoosiers who are sued for discrimination to cite their religious beliefs as a defense in a private discrimination suit.” Last week, thousands marched in protest and tweeted in outrage, including celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, George Takai, Ashton Kutcher, Ellen Degeneres, the NCAA organization and others.

Indiana will be joining the Federal Government and 19 other states, who all have similar “religious freedom” legislation. Over the past two years,The Wild Hunt has reported on a number of these laws or proposed bills, including those in Georgia and Arizona. Every state RFRA must be read carefully as they are all worded differently. As a result, each one raises different levels of concern and corresponding public reaction. For those interested in following the issue more closely, Americans United provides regular updates on the debates and actions specific to each state’s bill or legislation.

20 states with RFRAs as of March 27, 2015 [Graphic by: PiMaster3]

20 states with some form of RFRA, as of March 27, 2015 [Graphic by: PiMaster3]

In other news:

That is it for now. Have a nice day!


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7 thoughts on “Pagan Community Notes: Environmental Statement, Kenny Klein, Indiana RFRA and more!

  1. Thank you for giving us an update on Kenny Klein’s case. I was just thinking about it a few weeks ago as the anniversary loomed, and I was frustrated in my attempts to find if anything had happened as a result.

  2. The RFRA is going to be a doubled edge sword for business owners looking to take advantage of it. Discriminating against gays and atheists may prove difficult as you can’t generally tell them apart from Adam, but discriminating against, say, Muslims will certainly land them in hot water. Then there’s the fact that Pagan and LGBTQ business owners will now be allowed to choose who they want to serve. But again, discriminating based on religion (assuming they retaliate by refusing service to Christians) could prove costly. What this is ultimately coming down to is a proverbial high wire act without a safety net. One wrong move and there’s nowhere to go but down.

  3. They say “the statement only represents you if you sign it”, and yet the title clearly implies that it is a statement by the “Pagan Community”. That seems more than a little disingenuous. Nobody reading that thing in a year or three will know about that disclaimer.

  4. The popularity of state RFRAs goes back a ways and arose out of a wish to make, for example, city planners give extra care about removing a tree on the grounds of a church. I doubt if all nineteen of those state RFRAs are de facto BGLTQQIA-phobic; that’s a very new wrinkle. Those states should be shown separately on the map or, if that’s not available, overprinted with year of adoption; that should show a clear divide.

    • The other 19 state laws are modeled on the 1993 Federal legislation which protects an individual from Federal discrimination due to religious beliefs. The 1991 case was brought before the court because a Native American boy wanted to wear long hair at school for spiritual reasons. These laws are not about private individuals and businesses being able to deny services or goods based on religious belief.

      • No, the 1993 Federal RFRA was enacted in response to the SCOTUS decision regarding Employment Division v. Smith, which was a drug related case.

        It wasn’t about federal discrimination against religion, it was about exemption, based on religion, from certain generally applicable laws.

        And, yes, the Indiana law was specifically written to protect a private business from discrimination claims for denying services, because of this wording from the law:
        “regardless of whether the state or any other governmental entity is a party to the proceeding.”

        That was written in there in response to Elane Photography v. Willock in New Mexico, where the business owner’s defense was rejected because the government wasn’t a party to the suit.

        http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/what-makes-indianas-religious-freedom-law-different/388997/