Remember how I said a couple days ago that the entire process that led to South Carolina’s “I Believe” license plates being ruled unconstitutional was haunted by Pagans? It turns out that I’m not the only one who thinks so. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is currently running to become the state’s next governor, released a video two days after the license plate ruling to decry the imagined assaults on “freedom of religion” in his state stemming from the Great Falls Darla Wynne case.

“In Great Falls, we had a Wiccan witch, a Wiccan high priestess, who brought a lawsuit…the ACLU brought a lawsuit for her because they were opening the meeting at Great Falls – the Town Council – with a prayer, which typically included Jesus, a prayer to Jesus. And they said that was unconstitutional,” McMaster says in the video. “So, we got involved in the case. And we told them that we would fight for them,” says McMaster. “As I have said, under the Constitution, you are allowed to pray the way you want to pray. If you want to pray to Jesus, which of course many people do, then that’s the way that you ought to be allowed to pray.”

McMaster then offers to defend anyone in the state who is “on the receiving end on an ACLU lawsuit”. That this invoking of uppity Wiccans to win votes is tied to the recent “I Believe” ruling is pretty apparent. McMaster was reportedly “utterly disappointed” at the ruling, and was well-known to be an ardent supporter of the license plates, attending pro-plate rallies that featured a greatest-hits reel from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ”. But for all his bleating on the subject, there is little, legally, he can do at the moment. His current role as Attorney General prevents him from appealing the case, so no doubt his message that he’ll “support” and “defend” anyone in a lawsuit most likely means that he’s looking for someone to get litigious regarding the plates, or public sectarian prayer, so he can get in their corner (and win votes).

What’s troubling is that we don’t know what this will do to Darla Wynne, or other Pagans living in South Carolina. If “Wiccan witches” are being lumped in with the ACLU (one of the great Satans of conservative Christianity), how long will it be before people start blaming us for the perceived slights against their “religious freedom”? Is McMaster invoking something he can’t ultimately control, something that may end up harming the lives of innocent Pagans, just to win an election? I’d hate to think that such a man may soon be governing the entire state, a state that includes many modern Pagans (and several other religious minorities) who are just as concerned about their own religious freedom and safety as any Christian.

Before we head into the holiday weekend, here are a few quick news items I’d like to share with you, starting off with a very sympathetic (with some slight inaccuracies) article from the Charleston City Paper about being Pagan in South Carolina.

“…one of the problems with being a spiritual minority in America, especially in a culturally conservative state like South Carolina, is that you and your religion are frequently misunderstood by the population at large. Pagans and Wiccans, one of the many groups in this broad religious category, have long been associated with casting spells, riding broomsticks, and otherwise committing godless mischief. From Macbeth to Bewitched to Charmed, they have been the source of terror and spoof — as well as the object of ridicule and persecution. For that reason, many local Pagans remain undercover, or — to use the Wiccan vernacular — they choose to stay in the broom closet.”

They go on to interview several local Pagans, the chair of the Lowcountry Council of Alternative Spiritual Traditions, and even touch on the saga of South Carolina resident Darla Wynne, who successfully sued the town of Great Falls over the matter of sectarian invocations (and garnered 32 votes in her bid for a seat on the Town Council in 2008). Nice to see a journalist go to several sources and local groups to get a broader journalistic picture of modern Paganism.

Meanwhile, in New York, park rangers and the head of a local watchdog group are freaking out about animal sacrifices in Queens. Filled with your usual cult-hysteria sensationalism, the topper is the inclusion of an incident that seems to have nothing at all to do with Vodou, Santeria, Satanism, or the occult.

“Geoffrey Croft, who runs the watchdog group New York City Park Advocates, said he has stumbled upon gruesome examples of animal sacrifice in at least five city parks … “It’s a public-health issue, it’s disgusting, and it freaks people out with the whole voodoo thing,” said Croft … In another grisly discovery, Croft said he once found the dead carcass of a dog that was shot and eaten by a man.”

What does that have to do with animal sacrifice? Seemingly nothing, but why should that stop “journalists” James Fanelli and Rich Calder from throwing it in there anyway. Why let things like context and responsible journalism get in the way of a good guy-eating-a-dead-dog story? It goes without saying that no-one who knows anything about African diasporic religion or the occult were quoted or consulted for the story.

In a final, and more positive, note, today is the start of the massive three-day Faerieworlds festival right in my back-yard of Eugene, Oregon. Expected to draw thousands, it is a celebrations of all things mythic and magical.

“In just seven years, Faerieworlds has become the premiere mythic music festival on the West Coast. Featuring world renowned fantasy artists, Grammy-award winning musicians, spectacular performances and entertainers, an amazing arts and crafts vending village, thousands of fans from around the globe travel each year to Eugene, Oregon to experience the magic of Faerieworlds. We believe that the revitalizing, healing and transforming spirit of faerie is alive and moving actively in our lives: faerie inspires and provokes, heals and reveals, illuminates and transcends. At Faerieworlds, we invite you to enter the Realm as your magical self and release the beautiful, magical faerie spirit that’s inside you!”

Yesterday U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie issued a preliminary injunction halting the issuing of the Christianity-endorsing “I Believe” license plates in South Carolina. The matter will now have to be resolved in court before the plates can adorn the cars of Christian believers. The move was hailed by Americans United head the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, whose organization is sponsoring the pending litigation.

I don’t see why non-Christians would have a problem with this.

Supporters of the cross-emblazoned plates have argued that they are legal since any religious group can sponsor similarly biased tags, an argument that quickly falls apart when you speak to local officials about what exactly counts as a religion.

“In South Carolina, Baptists wanted the tag on cars here and pitched the idea to Republican South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer’s chief of staff. State Sen. Yancey McGill, a Kingstree Democrat, got the bill passed in a couple of days without even having a public hearing or debate. “It’s a great idea,” McGill said Tuesday, calling it an opportunity to express beliefs. “People don’t have to buy them. But it affords them that opportunity. I welcome any religion tags.” What about Wicca, commonly referred to as witchcraft? “Well, that’s not what I consider to be a religion,” McGill said.”

That sentiment doesn’t just apply to Wiccans of course, Muslims are right out too.

“Asked by a reporter if he would support a license plate for Islam, Rep. Bill Sandifer replied, ‘Absolutely and positively no… I would not because of my personal belief, and because I believe that wouldn’t be the wish of the majority of the constituency in this house district.’”

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, who is expected to release a written opinion concerning the injunction on Monday, is no stranger to protecting the rights of minority religions. In 2003 the judge ruled in favor of Darla Kaye Wynne, a Wiccan, who was battling against exclusively Christian invocations in the town of Great Falls. There is no word if Currie will also be overseeing the actual trial (though we can all hope). Whomever presides, this case will most likely be litigated for quite some time. South Carolina has become a “hot zone” for battles over church and state issues, and things are just getting warmed up.

Few could have envisioned that when Wiccan Darla Kaye Wynne first filed suit against the small South Carolina town of Great Falls in 2001, that it would spark a seven-year judicial and legislative odyssey that threatens to escalate into a full-blown national legal battle over public prayer. Yet, with this (initially) small suit over sectarian prayer at governmental meetings, that is exactly what happened. A slow-brewing conflict that has now spawned a legislative strategy designed to silence future Darla Wynnes, and will soon face legal challenges as the “South Carolina Public Invocation Act” shortly becomes law.

“The South Carolina General Assembly unanimously passed a bill Wednesday that provides guidelines to public bodies within the state regarding their right to open a meeting with prayer. The bill, which adopts a version of the Alliance Defense Fund’s model invocation policy, now awaits a signature from Gov. Mark Sanford to become law. Sanford has already indicated his intention to sign it.”

The Alliance Defense Fund’s “model invocation policy” was designed after two cases involving Pagans and sectarian prayer earned national attention. South Carolina is their first big test of the policy, which intentionally creates “constitutional confusion” over sectarian prayer and places legal roadblocks intended to dissuade future lawsuits. Needless to say, the ACLU is readying itself to challenge the law. The ACLU national board recently took over the local South Carolina chapter, after it became clear there was a crisis of leadership and fundraising hindering it from addressing these upcoming issues.

“If there is one state that can ill afford an ineffective chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union it arguably is South Carolina … in recent years [the SC ACLU chapter] been hampered by ideological squabbling among its board members, staff leadership turnover, lackluster membership and fundraising numbers and a virtually nonexistent media presence. Aware of the problems for some time, the national ACLU board has decided to step in and try to right the ship.”

At stake are the religious freedoms of religious minorities in South Carolina, and ultimately, all over this country. Those who live in smaller towns, rural areas, and states unfriendly to the sort of diversity we represent. The ones who aren’t lucky enough to live in the Bay Area, Salem, or Paganistan. A small prayer to Jesus may not seem like a big deal, until your realize that without the promise of a secular government, our rights to an equal place at the table are jeopardized, and we are ultimately afforded second-class status due to our non-Christian allegiance. Which is why Hindu, Buddhist, and Native American groups have lined up in the past to support Pagans fighting against “Judeo-Christian” sectarian prayer.

“As adherents of non-Judeo-Christian religions, Hindu Americans, Buddhist Americans, and Native Americans have a direct interest in this [Cynthia Simpson's] case. They, like all Americans, are guaranteed religious freedom by the religion clauses of the First Amendment. The ability of these minority religious groups to take part equally in American civic life, a fundamental freedom protected by the religion clauses, is threatened by the Fourth Circuit’s holding that the Establishment Clause does not prohibit governments from excluding non-Judeo-Christian clergy from eligibility to offer legislative invocations.”

So expect a big legal fight in the near future (which, once again, pits the ACLU against the Alliance Defense Fund), one that could very well head to the Supreme Court, and don’t expect too many South Carolina lawmakers to come out in support of religious minorities. South Carolina is a place where even Democrats don’t believe Wicca is a real religion. A loss here will mean similar prayer laws sprouting up anywhere the Alliance Defense Fund has enough pull (places like Texas and Oklahoma, for example).

If you were ever looking for proof that the small legal battles Pagans get involved in matter, or that issues over sectarian prayer are important, look no further than South Carolina, and the small town of Great Falls. Where a single Pagan stood up and fought for a local legislative body that worked for all its citizens, not just the Christian ones.

A hot-button issue in conflicts concerning the separation of church and state is sectarian prayer before a governmental body. Since Darla Wynne’s final legal victory in 2005 forcing the South Carolina town of Great Falls to abandon sectarian prayers to Jesus, conservative Christian opponents in the state have been looking for a way around the ruling. Last year, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, state legislators introduced a “Public Prayer and Invocation Act”. A law designed to circumvent sectarian restrictions, and make it harder for litigation against sectarian prayer to win.

“It becomes clear from reading the bill that its authors are trying to navigate the legal waters created by two cases involving Wiccans and public prayers: Darla Wynne (a resident of South Carolina who won her case against Great Falls) and Cynthia Simpson (a Virginia resident who ultimately lost hers). In other words, they are trying to bring back prayers to Jesus at government meetings without the lawsuits … if this bill becomes law, the Darla Wynnes of this world can’t sue the local city council for exclusively praying to Jesus without bringing litigation against the entire state. Its clear that the authors are hoping that their emphasis on context will win over content (ie Jesus), and in turn create a legal fog of what can or can’t be allowed.”

Now that bill has made it through the South Carolina senate, and is heading to the house.

“The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would allow prayers before public meetings. In 2001, a Wiccan priestess sued the town of Great Falls, claiming it violated the separation between church and state when “Jesus Christ” was used in prayer. The town lost the lawsuit. This legislation says public bodies can adopt policies to let members take turns giving an invocation, elect a chaplain, or create a pool of speakers from faith groups to offer the prayer. The bill also calls for the state attorney general to defend public bodies if they face constitutional challenges. The public prayer bill now heads to the House.”

Since the Republican party in the South Carolina House of Representatives has a commanding 22-member majority, it seems very likely this bill will soon head to governor Mark Sanford’s desk. Sanford, while occasionally displaying a libertarian streak, tends to make conservative Christians happy and is likely to sign the bill into law. If this happens, the resulting legal mess could take decades to untangle, all to the benefit of Christians wanting to re-introduce sectarian prayers to Jesus.

“It intentionally gives no direction on whether a prayer can mention a deity, instead suggesting boards seek local legal advice on that. “I think this might actually add to the constitutional confusion,” said professor Josie Brown of the University of South Carolina Law School.”

In short, South Carolina is trying to undo Darla Wynne’s victory, reinstate Christian prayer through a legal fog, and make it extremely difficult for litigation to be brought against a local legislative body (since any such case would instantly be taken up by the state). This is all part of a larger plan instituted by Christian conservative groups to chip away at the legal victories won by religious minorities and secular groups in the last thirty years.

Student speech “protection” laws, ordinances banning psychics, attempts to dominate chaplaincy positions (in prisons and the military), arbitrary laws concerning animal sacrifice, a rigorous defense of evangelists who cross the line, battles over public religious displays, and the enshrinement of Christianity as the official faith of America all point to a larger trend of fighting and rolling back advances religious minorities have made in the name of their “religious freedom”. Killing real religious freedom and full access of all faiths to the public square with a thousand tiny cuts instead of single mighty stroke.

Darla Wynne’s Political Aspirations: Wiccan priestess Darla Kaye Wynne was not successful in her run for a seat on the Great Falls Town Council. Wynne, who famously sued the town over sectarian prayers back in 2001, garnered only 32 votes.

“A dozen candidates ran for office in this year’s town election, including a former mayor, a school resource officer and the Wiccan priestess who sued the town in 2001, claiming Great Falls violated church and state separation by using the name Jesus Christ in prayers.”

Wynne was in a three-way race for a vacated seat. Todd Smith won the seat with over 130 votes, while fellow contender Donna Bryan came in second with 61 votes. Meanwhile, speaking of Pagans running for political office, Sacramento, CA mayoral candidate Muriel Strand has a blog up espousing her views on various issues.

The Theological Necessity of Goats: The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has filed an appeal on behalf of Jose Merced, a practitioner of Santeria who sued the city of Euless, Texas over the issue of animal sacrifice.

“Why is it okay to butcher a deer in Euless, but not a goat?” said Lori Windham, legal counsel at the Becket Fund, a Washington-based civil rights law firm that defends all religious faiths against government interference. “The issue of Santeria and animal sacrifice has already been decided by the United States Supreme Court. I’m pretty sure the Constitution of the United States still applies in Euless, Texas.”

The appeal will be heard by the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Depending on the outcome there, it is very likely this could go to the Supreme Court. For more on this development, see the Houston Chronicle’s article on the appeal.

Vancouver Sex Cult: I originally blogged about this story way back in 2006. It involves a Pagan man who was denied a chauffeur’s permit by the Vancouver police due to unfounded accusations that he would use his position to “recruit” people into an imaginary S&M “sex cult”. Since then, the Vancouver Police Department has been trying to block the case going to a B.C. Human Rights Tribunal, a course of action that has been stuck down by the courts.

“A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal can investigate sexual practices involving “bondage, discipline and submission, sadism and masochism” to determine whether the Vancouver Police Department discriminated against a self-described pagan, the B.C. Court of Appeal says. For the past two years, the department has wasted our tax money trying to prevent the human rights watchdog from investigating a complaint from Peter Hayes, a Vancouver man refused a chauffeur’s permit. The province’s highest court said it would be wrong to interfere with the tribunal’s process at this point and that the objections of the police force were premature.”

A preliminary ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal two years ago stated the case had merit and should go forward. The VPD had argued that BDSM-activities weren’t an “orientation”, and therefore not protected by Canada’s human rights laws, a waters-muddying exercise the courts didn’t accept as valid. Hearings will now resume unless a settlement is reached.

Will Amazon Hurt Small Pagan Publishers: In a final note, news about Amazon’s move to monopolize the Print-On-Demand market (and why that is bad news for small Pagan publishers) has continued to spread. For further Pagan commentary relating to this issue, check out Lupa’s journal (particularly this post), and The Spiritual Eclectic’s Amazon-related posts.

“We have always lived by our convictions and if not submitting to the monopoly that Amazon.com is trying to create-not just over bookstores and publishers but over the entire publishing industry-means we never sell another book on Amazon.com, then so be it. We sell primarily through our websites as it is, and we will find other alternatives to Amazon.com.”

For an extensive overview of this matter, check out the WritersWeekly Amazon BookSurge Information Clearinghouse, anything you could need to know about Amazon’s coercive tactics to seize control of publishing’s “Long Tail”.

The involvement of Pagans in electoral politics continues to grow. You have a Pagan running for Sacramento mayor, and now Darla Wynne, who successfully sued the Great Falls Town Council in South Carolina over sectarian prayer, is aiming for a seat on the body she once litigated against.

Darla Kaye Wynne

Wynne is one of three candidates running to finish the term of Jack Taylor, who resigned from the Town Council in the wake of a controversial firing decision. Wynne is in favor of cutting taxes, greater accountability from the police, putting a greater focus on youth activities, and eradicating political corruption.

“I would have no problem shaking the tree to see how many snakes fell out of it to ensure that our local government was acting in the best interest of the people of this town, not their own or those of their ‘buddies.’ If you want to shake up the council, electing me would do exactly that and put them on notice that you are tired of the way things are going and being done.”

Can a Wiccan who caused as much local controversy and outrage as Wynne get the votes she needs in this tiny town of 2,200 people? While scandal may have caused four members to either resign or not seek re-election, this is still a very conservative and Christian town, and any Pagan running for office would face an uphill battle. Then again, one of the candidates only recently registered to vote, and several are first-time candidates, so who knows how this may end?

Elections will be held tomorrow, on Tuesday, April 8th. I’ll post an update here once results have come in.

South Carolina is making the news for a bill focusing on public prayer that has been advanced in its Senate. The South Carolina Public Invocation Act, originally introduced by Republican Senator Chip Campsen (with guidance by the ultra-conservative Alliance Defense Fund*), would give state-wide “guidelines” for allowable forms of public prayer.

“The legislation now headed to the Senate Judiciary Committee gives local governments three possibilities for legal prayer: Elect a chaplain, let each member of the board pray on a rotating basis, or invite local religious leaders to put their name on a list to pray and schedule them on a first-come, first-serve basis.”

It becomes clear from reading the bill that its authors are trying to navigate the legal waters created by two cases involving Wiccans and public prayers: Darla Wynne (a resident of South Carolina who won her case against Great Falls) and Cynthia Simpson (a Virginia resident who ultimately lost hers). In other words, they are trying to bring back prayers to Jesus at government meetings without the lawsuits.

“‘The content of the prayer is not important as long as it’s not used to proselytize,’ said Mike Johnson, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a national group that aims to defend the First Amendment. ‘Don’t come to the podium and make an altar call.’ … Sen. Larry Martin, a co-sponsor of the South Carolina Public Invocation Act, said he hopes the measure prevents school boards and city and county councils from receiving “blanket demands of, ‘If you pray, I’ll sue you.’” … “Too often they’re browbeaten and intimidated, and they throw their hands in the air,” [Chip] Campsen said. ‘Little towns don’t have the legal staff we have.’”

In short, if this bill becomes law, the Darla Wynnes of this world can’t sue the local city council for exclusively praying to Jesus without bringing litigation against the entire state. Its clear that the authors are hoping that their emphasis on context will win over content (ie Jesus), and in turn create a legal fog of what can or can’t be allowed.

“Joyce Cheeks, interim director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, opposed the measure as the state government sanctioning and supporting prayers before public meetings. The bill also directs the attorney general’s office to keep up with court cases that could add to or change the possibilities. It intentionally gives no direction on whether a prayer can mention a deity, instead suggesting boards seek local legal advice on that. “I think this might actually add to the constitutional confusion,” said professor Josie Brown of the University of South Carolina Law School.”

It seems pretty obvious that this move isn’t to secure religious “rights” for all citizens, but to allow a predominately conservative Christian state to keep invoking Jesus before meetings. The press in this case seem to be uncritical about assertions that the ACLU wants to eliminate public prayer, when instead its been well-established that they are asking for non-sectarian prayers (or no prayers at all if such a compromise can’t be reached). One wonders, if this bill becomes law, how long before Great Falls uses the new blanket protection to destroy everything Darla Wynne endured and worked for.

If you live in a town where the vast majority are Christians, public invocations of Jesus before any public event don’t have to be “altar calls” to establish a quasi-official hierarchy of belief. How seriously do you think a Buddhist, Wiccan, Hindu, or Muslim will be taken at a government meeting that asks for the guidance and blessing of Jesus?

* You may remember the Alliance Defense Fund as the group who is representing The Street Preachers’ Fellowship in a suit against Grand Rapids Michigan after they were ordered to stop harassing a local Pagan gathering.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports on a lawsuit between the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina (along with Americans United) and Forsyth County over their policy concerning prayer at county board meetings.

“The lawsuit challenges prayer practices at public meetings of the county board of commissioners. Commissioners invite various leaders to lead an opening invocation at their meetings twice a month. They do not dictate what speakers can and cannot say. In many cases, Christian leaders pray to Jesus or Jesus Christ.”

The article points out that two cases decided by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals involving Wiccans and public prayer are crucial to understanding how this case will most likely resolve itself. The first was the Cynthia Simpson case, in which a Wiccan tried to obtain equal access to a rotating panel of religious leaders who gave sectarian prayers at local board of supervisors meetings.

“The Fourth Circuit says it’s constitutionally mandatory for a public school to give students proselytizing Christian flyers, yet it’s constitutionally okay for a local government to refuse to hear nondenominational prayers from denominations its board members dislike. In other words, potential discrimination against a Christian evangelical group is verboten, but outright and public discrimination against a Wiccan, offering up nondenominational prayers, is perfectly fine. Common sense dictates that these two decisions cannot be sustained simultaneously – especially if equality is a principle of value.” – Marci A. Hamilton, law professor and author of “God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law”

In that case Chesterfield County was able to “win” by changing the prayers from sectarian to nonsectarian during the litigation process. The 4th Circuit ruled that so long as the prayers remained nonsectarian the list of religious leaders was inclusive enough and did not have to include Simpson.

The second case involved Darla Wynne, a Wiccan who faced incredible persecution when she asked that city council prayers in Great Falls, South Carolina either include other non-Christian faiths or become nonsectarian.

“Now keep in mind, I am still going to the meetings and dealing with their nonsense over my bumper stickers. Then one day, I stop bowing my head and the council waits for me to bow my head. They point out that some people won’t participate in the prayer and of course, everyone turns to look at me and comments are made such as, ‘Satanist. If you don’t like things the way they are leave. We don’t want your kind here.’” – Darla Wynne

In that instance the 4th Circuit ruled that prayers had to be nonsectarian. Great Falls tried to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court and lost, forcing the city to switch to nonsectarian prayer.

So it look very likely that Forsyth County will either have to become fully inclusive with their sectarian prayer (thus opening it to Wiccans or anyone else), or will have to switch to nonsectarian prayer. A legal situation that could only have happened because modern Pagans stood up for full religious equality under the law.