I want to start with an update on an older story. Rachel “Reverend Magdalen” Bevilacqua, a Subgenius who has gone through nearly two years of custody battles, is making a final push to ensure the legal system is no longer used against her arbitrarily by her ex-husband. Bevilacqua has endured a truly bizarre chain of events that included defending her involvement in adults-only Subgenius events.

“We’ve made it so far from the days when I lived in a 10 by 12 box apartment crying myself to sleep every night, never knowing how my son was, never knowing if I would ever get him back. We’re so close to being free from the threat of being compelled to return to Orleans County, which has hung over our heads since my son was a baby. All we need is $2,500 to get started, with a full retainer of $5,000. Of course, if things go badly, it could run into another $80-$100,000, but I’m focusing my slack waves on the thought that this new Judge Griffiths is going to be reasonable and let us go. If everyone who receives this email donates just $10, it would easily cover Mr. Goewey’s fees. I realize this is the worst possible time to ask for money again, with gas prices and food prices and unemployment the way they are, but I can’t raise more than about $1,500 on my own, not by September 26 anyway. I’m forced to once again appeal to you, who’ve helped our family so much in the past, or one more push to finally get free.”

I recommend reading the exhaustive run-down of this case at Modemac’s The High Weirdness Project: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Cases like this are indicative of the struggles faced by parents who are adherents to minority religions. As more parents use religion as a “wedge” in custody battles, Reverend Magdalen’s case threatens to become a mere statistic in a larger trend of parents having to defend their faith in court.

Tim Harford at The Financial Times looks at the economics of witch-hunts and (unsurprisingly) finds that hard times often translate into dangerous times for people who live on the margins of society.

“Edward Miguel, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of Economic Gangsters, a book about the economics of crime, corruption and war, has studied the Tanzanian situation. He argues that there is a direct economic motive for the attacks. Tough times in a Tanzanian household may well result in starvation, and the elderly – especially women – are at risk of being sacrificed to free resources. As evidence, Miguel points out that victims of witch attacks in Meatu district – almost all old women – tend to be from the poorest households. The murders are much more common during years of drought or flood.”

Harford also notes the research of Emily Oster, who ties the European witch-hunts to extremely cold weather during the “Little Ice Age”. So if economic hard times translate into witch-hunts, what is the solution? A more robust social safety net.

“If the problem truly is an economic one, the solution might be, too. One possibility is to give the elderly generous pensions. Witch-killings all but stopped in South Africa’s North Province after such a pension scheme was introduced in the early 1990s.”

In other words, the more secure people feel, the less likely they are to look for a suspicious neighbor to persecute.

Jeffrey Weiss at the Dallas Morning News religion blog mocks the inflated growth estimates for Wicca touted in the book “Generation Hex”, calling it the “least plausible” claim for fastest growing religion he’s ever heard.

“2012 is, hm, four years from now. Wicca currently represents, hm, less than 0.3% of Americans. For that prediction to come true would take some serious magic.”

Weiss turned to the Pew Forum’s landmark U.S. Religious Landscape Survey for data instead of uncritically using the conclusions of Steve “Hour of the Witch” Wohlberg, as the book’s authors did. For more on “Generation Hex”, check out this post.

Did you know that most Wiccans don’t actually practice Witchcraft? So says The News Herald’s Ryan Young.

“Liars and practitioners of the “dark arts” have given Wicca a bad image. Most wiccans don’t practice witchcraft and the ones who do have a firm belief in using magic only for good or to survive.”

I suppose I should appreciate the sentiment instead of pointing out that Wicca is religious Witchcraft, or that the term “Wicca” is an antecedent of the word “Witch”.

Conservative commentator Bob Parks apparently had nothing better to talk about on Saturday, so he decided to mock Pagan supporters of Barack Obama.

“I am so glad Republicans aren’t this messed up. I wouldn’t be able to show my face in public.”

I hope no-one clues him in on the “messed up” beliefs of Sarah Palin’s co-religionists and supporters or else he would have to go into isolation. A friendly tip: never underestimate how weird “your side” can be, it will save you considerable heartache in the future.

In a final note, volunteers are gathering to re-chalk the famous Cerne Abbas giant.

“Britain’s most famous fertility symbol is having a makeover of epic proportions. Volunteers have been drafted in to re-chalk the 180ft tall (55m) Cerne Abbas giant, after accusations that he had become the invisible man … conservationists became concerned the naked figure had disappeared under a mass of grass and weeds, after an unusually wet summer and lack of grazing sheep from local farms.”

20 tons of chalk will be used to spruce the giant up. The efforts should be done in ten days, and locals have arranged for 50 sheep to temporarily graze the land. After all, we wouldn’t want one of Britain’s most famous fertility symbols to fall into disrepair.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/pagan-news-of-note_15.html/feed 1 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/02/religion-and-custody-battles.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/02/religion-and-custody-battles.html#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:42:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/02/religion-and-custody-battles.html The New York Times reports on the recent increase of custody cases that are centering around religion. While at one time custody arrangements were often fairly simple, with the mother of the child usually gaining custodial duties, nowadays more and more parents are battling it out in court and issues over religion are being used as a wedge to prove unfitness. A trend that is making many judges uneasy.

“Judges do not want to take on custody disputes rooted in religion, said lawyers like Gaetano Ferro, who until recently served as president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Mr. Ferro said, “How will a judge say in any rational fashion that Islam is better than Buddhism, Catholicism better than Judaism, or Methodism better than Pentecostalism?” As a result, more and more states have tried to keep custody disputes out of court by mandating mediation. But the effect has been piecemeal, and religious disputes have proven to be among the most difficult to resolve, lawyers said.”

A consequence of this trend is that custodial parents who belong to a religion that may seem strange or “cultish” to an outsider are getting their rights challenged more often, and in some cases losing custody to the parent who belongs to a more “normal” faith.

“We were easy targets because we were made to look like cultists,” Mrs. Snider, 36, said. “I think whether anyone admits it or not, almost all of the ruling had to do with religion. Nothing I had done was called into question except that.”

This trend has had reverberations within the larger modern Pagan movement. Several recent custody hearings have had the parents adherence to a Pagan faith factor into the case. One of the most notable being the infamous SubGenius custody battle, in which a mother lost custody of her son, and didn’t get it back until the biological father was imprisoned for drunken driving, she had racked up over 100,000 dollars in court costs, and was forced by a judge to remove all materials relating to the Church of the SubGenius from her home. Even after all that, she still only has “temporary” custody.

“Magdalen still does not have permanent custody of her son. Judge Punch took the case back and, for whatever reason, he has only given her a temporary custody order. This means that when Jeff gets out of jail, he could (in theory) take up the legal reins and continue harassing her once again.”

So how do we solve these problems over faith, divorce, and custody? Some states are hoping that increased mediation will help solve some of these problems.

“Some states like California and Connecticut have taken innovative steps to get parents to resolve custody issues outside court. In Connecticut, for example, those seeking a court order have to meet with a family-relations specialist in an effort to negotiate. If that fails, they attend a daylong session to settle their differences before a panel that includes a lawyer and a mental health professional.”

Meanwhile, some lawyers are pressing to give the children in such cases greater autonomy at ever younger ages.

“If Julie Ann Bergmann (the mother) and her supporters win this case it could create a legal precedent in which a minor as young as 13 could choose their own religious life despite the wishes of the parents. The ramifications for modern Paganism are immediately clear. A child who converts to a modern Pagan faith could refuse to attend Christian Church or be forced into a school that inhibited his or her religious choices. It would also help protect Pagan parents from custody challenges brought by Christian relatives (so long as the child expressed a preference for modern Paganism).”

Neither solution has made much headway in the legal system, and it seems likely that these sorts of cases will happen more often as religious minorities, and non-mainstream variations of the dominant monotheisms, continue to grow. Eventually, one of two roads will have to be taken. Completely leave out matters of faith from custody battles, or directly involve faith communities and experts on religion in the custody process. Neither path will please everyone, but our current system seems far too whimsical and uninformed to make wise decisions involving children and religions outside the mainstream.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/02/religion-and-custody-battles.html/feed 2 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/bizarre-twist-in-subgenius-custody-case.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/bizarre-twist-in-subgenius-custody-case.html#comments Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:45:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/bizarre-twist-in-subgenius-custody-case.html Earlier this month I thought I had posted the last chapter in the ongoing custody case involving a SubGenius mother and her son. Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua, who had her affiliation with the satirical Church of the SubGenius used against her in court, had lost her appeal for custody and was awaiting a hearing on visitation rights so she could see her son. Then, a week ago, some truly bizarre events took place that would shake up this new status quo and has (temporarily) given custody of her son back to her.

“For legal reasons, I obviously can’t go into too many details, because there are other parties involved in this. Basically, some time last week, Jeff was in a car accident involving a brick wall, a lot of alcohol, and another passenger – NOT MAGDALEN’S SON, praise “Bob.” Because of past incidents involving him and at least one other DUI, he is now facing at least two felonies, a misdemeanor, and three traffic charges – which, combined, could land him in jail for up to eleven years. All of this means that, due to the sudden extreme circumstances, Magdalen has temporary custody of her son at this time. There will be a new custody hearing in the middle of August. Jeff’s criminal hearing will be in September, but that is an entirely different matter.”

Even stranger is the fact that the judge on the new custody hearing is none other than Judge Punch, the same judge who recused himself after coming under fire for his fixation with the Church of the SubGenius and for calling Bevilacqua a “mentally ill” pervert. But it seems like Punch is looking at things a bit differently this time around.

“He literally took the case out of Judge Adams’ docket and inserted himself in. He is now handling the case once again, however because of everything that has happened, he is apparently viewing the case in an entirely different light.”

At this point Bevilacqua is hoping to pursue both this new custody case and appeal the ruling that keeps her from having SubGenius materials in her home (except for a locked “office”). But to do that she’ll need more funds, so if you are interested in supporting her in either case you can donate to her cause, here (or here to donate directly through Paypal). Considering all this recent craziness perhaps a certain pipe-smoking divine figure has been invoked after all. Needless to say more updates will follow as I get them.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/bizarre-twist-in-subgenius-custody-case.html/feed 0 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/subgenius-mother-loses-son.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/subgenius-mother-loses-son.html#comments Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:11:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/subgenius-mother-loses-son.html A heartbreaking custody case that has been in litigation for years has ended in tragedy. Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua’s son was absconded while on a visitation to the child’s father, and subsequently she was barred from all contact with her son after photos of her at an adults-only Subgenius event were submitted by her son’s father as proof that she was an unfit parent. The original judge in the case called Bevilacqua “perverted” and “mentally ill” before stepping down under a growing scrutiny of his actions, and the father drew out proceedings for as long as possible in hopes of wearing Bevilacqua down. Now an appeals judge has ruled against Rachel Bevilacqua, giving custody to the father.

Rachel Bevilacqua with her son.

It is unclear what will happen at this point, Bevilacqua is mired in over 70,000 dollars in legal bills (click here if your interested in helping her out with those bills), and she may not be able to afford appealing to a higher court. No official statement by Bevilacqua has been made at this time.

Whatever the final outcome, this case has been emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases. Often what a judge doesn’t understand (or approve of) will be used against a parent in court, leading to situations like Bevilacqua’s. The only real recourse in cases like these is to slowly educate the public, form coalitions, and fight like hell to be given equal treatment under law. Until then, we are left with mockeries of justice like this custody case, where a mother in punished for her associations.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/07/subgenius-mother-loses-son.html/feed 11 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/03/subgenius-custody-case-continues.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/03/subgenius-custody-case-continues.html#comments Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:28:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/03/subgenius-custody-case-continues.html The fallout from the Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua custody case continues. Modemac, who has been covering this case from day one, lets us know that the issue of money in the case has become critical.

“Rachel Bevilacqua (a.k.a. Reverend Mary Magdalen) lost custody of her son after a conservative custody judge was outraged at the fact that she is a member of the Church of the SubGenius. As a result of appearing in a adult-rated parody of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” custody of her son was taken from her and awarded to the boy’s father (the couple was never married). Rachel and her husband have fought a long, expensive battle to win custody of their son, while her ex-boyfriend’s legal costs have been entirely been handled by a pro-bono lawyer (who is a friend of his). Legal costs have exceeded $70,000 as of March 2007.”

As typical in cases of this nature, the one parent tries to draw out legal proceedings until financial situations force the other parent to drop out. Suffice it to say, justice won’t be done by such a situation. That fact that Bevilacqua’s affiliation with the Church of the Subgenius was (and still is) used against her is emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases.

Here is what Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua has to say about the current legal situation involving custody and visitation for her son.

“Basically, although I did win the case, it’s now going to appeal. Orleans County has, of course, offered to pay all the expenses for my ex’s appeals case, while I still have to pay for my appellate lawyers, which it turns out are different from regular lawyers and require a new $10,000 retainer to hire. I’ll still be represented by the same firm, Lipsitz, Green, Scime, Cambria, but a different individual will be handling the case. We go before the Fourth Circuit Appellate Division on June 2, and then they will make their decision within 30 days of that. I am cross-appealing to ask that the parts of the decision forbidding me to make or keep SubGenius art inside my home, travel with my husband for his job, and homeschool my son, be struck down. Until then, my son has to stay with my ex, though I am supposed to get ‘extended visitation.’ So far, I have not yet been able to actually access that extended visitation, as my ex says it will take a court order in writing to make him comply, and all we have is a verbal order. I hope that will be straightened out soon.”

If you have the means, why not donate to her legal fund:

“I just got the call from my lawyer that the appeals court judge has granted a Stay of the order granting me custody. I never actually got to enjoy that custody during the 30-some hours it was in effect, because the school let Jeff take [my son] and hide him overnight. The Stay is conditional on the case being heard at the earliest opportunity, which is in May 2007. Until that time, Jeff’s order of Temporary Sole Custody issued by Judge Punch on December 23, 2005 in an ex-parte hearing of which I was not informed, remains in effect. The appeals court judge did order expanded visitation for me, so that it will be the standard every-other-weekend visitation rather than the restricted 8-hours per week I’ve been living with.”

Yet another twist in this hugely unjust case. If you have the means I suggest donating to her legal fund. Further updates as warranted.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/01/subgenius-custody-case-update.html/feed 0 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/01/subgenius-mom-regains-custody.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/01/subgenius-mom-regains-custody.html#comments Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:35:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/01/subgenius-mom-regains-custody.html Modemac at The High Weirdness Project reports that after a year involving court battles, isolation from her child, the original judge recusing himself, and stalling tactics by the child’s father, Rachel “Reverend Magdalen” Bevilacqua has regained custody of her son.

“Just wanted to give you a heads up that the custody decision will be in my hand Monday! [01/08/07] My lawyer has it right now, and he called to tell me that I won and I get to pick my son up Monday! I can’t believe it!! Thank you all sooooo much for all your help and everything and I’ll write more when I can!”

Rachel Bevilacqua with son Kohl

The case made my top ten stories of 2006, and remains a chilling example of how belonging to the “wrong” religion (even a satirical postmodern religion) can ruin your life and tear your family apart. I’m sure Bevilacqua is still looking for donations to her legal fund, information about donating to help pay her legal bills can be found, here. Congratulations to Rev. Magdalen, I wish you and your family the best.

ADDENDUM: Modemac writes with breaking news, it seems the father has (illegally) grabbed his son from school and is hoping that a last-minute appeal goes his way.

“[My son] and Jeff were missing until this morning, when Jeff returned [my son] to school. It was the most frightening night of my life. The reason Jeff did all this is that there is a Stay hearing today… Basically, Jeff has asked an Appeals Court judge to stay the order of Judge Adams, and they are going to decide on that this afternoon. For some reason, Jeff thought that this Stay hearing gave him the right to do what he did, or so he claims. He is wrong, of course, but he still got away with it. The police looked for them all evening and didn’t find them. The Stay hearing starts at 3 PM and I’m fighting to have [my son] with me at that time, because I’m afraid that if the stay is denied, Jeff may take off with [my son] again just like last night.”

Further updates as I get them.

Previous coverage:
12.30.2006 Religious News 2006 (Part 2)
3.28.2006 Judge Recused in Subgenius Custody Case
3.16.2006 SubGenius Mother Silenced by Activist Judge
2.25.2006 Update on SubGenius Custody Case
2.21.2006 It Is Happening Again
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/01/subgenius-mom-regains-custody.html/feed 0 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2006/12/religious-news-2006-part-2.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2006/12/religious-news-2006-part-2.html#comments Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:29:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2006/12/religious-news-2006-part-2.html Yesterday I wrote about what the mainstream press thought were the top religion stories of 2006, and today I present the first part of my top ten news stories that involve or affect modern Paganism. A ongoing theme this year seems to be legal issues and discrimination, but there were some interesting quirks and stories that fall outside the issue of litigation. 2006 has been an eventful year, and it was difficult narrowing it down to just ten stories, but I think I have picked the ones that had the greatest impact now and for the future. What follows are my picks for the bottom six stories of 2006, the top four will follow tomorrow.

10. The Rachel Bevilacqua custody case. What happens when your religion is used against you? Rachel “Rev. Magdalen” Bevilacqua was barred from all contact with her son after photos of her at an adults-only Subgenius event were submitted by her son’s father as proof that she was an unfit parent. The original judge called Bevilacqua “perverted” and “mentally ill” before stepping down under a growing scrutiny of his actions. The case is still in litigation (for nearly a year now) as the biological father’s lawyers keep trying to delay a final decision on custody. This case is emblematic of the ongoing issues Pagans and other minority religions face in divorce and custody cases. Part of this problem is the fact that many adherents of minority faiths don’t have the money to hire decent lawyers, while often facing the combined wealth of the Christian families on the opposing side.

9. Supreme Court allows entheogenic tea. In a unanimous decision the Supreme Court ruled (full opinion, here) that members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal may legally import and use the entheogenic tea hoasca. The tea which contains traces of DMT is banned by the Controlled Substances Act. This is seen as a blow to the Bush administration who has been actively fighting this case for years. The court ruled that the government has failed to supply a “compelling interest” to limit the religious practices of the group, Justice Roberts said that the government was taking a “zero tolerance approach.” This is widely seen as a triumph of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and could also open the doors to other religious groups who feel that the ritualized use of entheogenic substances are an important part of their practice.

8. Religious Right tactics backfire in favor of Pagans. We are used to different factions of the Religious Right fighting to put Christianity “back” into schools and other government-funded areas, but this year we witnessed this tactic backfire (at least) twice and the true ramifications of their actions become more clear. First the Brunswick County Board of Education in North Carolina tried to approve a new policy that would allow the disbursement of religious tracts in their schools. But after Llewellyn publications offered to disburse free Pagan books through local groups, the board got cold feet, tabled the vote, and spawned one of my favorite news photos of the year. Then later this year Falwell’s Liberty Counsel threatened an elementary school in Charlottesville with legal action if it didn’t allow two children to distribute Bible-school flyers, the school board fearing legal action started allowing religious material which opened the way for a local Pagan group to advertise their Yule event (much to the chagrin of local Christians). Do you think that since their fingers have been singed they will have learned their lesson?

7. Growing freedoms for Pagans outside America. This year saw all sorts of positive news for Pagans outside of America. Greek Pagans were allowed the right to perform public rituals and legally exist in the Orthodox-dominated country, Romania has officially recognized Witchcraft, and Iceland has increased the number of Asatru priests who can perform legal ceremonies. Meanwhile, a recent examination of census data makes modern Paganism the fastest growing religious category in Australia. It looks like the re-birth of Paganism is growing strong roots just about everywhere it exists.

6. American teens are experimenting with Wicca/Witchcraft in ever-growing numbers. The evangelical polling organization The Barna Group found in three national studies of over 4000 teens that an overwhelming majority of (73%) have participated in “psychic or witchcraft-related activity, beyond mere media exposure or horoscope usage.” This was so remarkable that the organization listed it as one of their most significant findings of the year. It may not be a “phase” either. The recently released Baylor study on American religion found a “surprising level” of paranormal belief and experience amongst adults as well. Figures that could signify a continuing growth of modern Pagan faiths.

5. First imprisoned modern Pagan executed. Michael Lenz, an Asatruar on death row for the killing of a fellow inmate was executed in July of this year. Reporters examined the Asatru faith in and out of prison, and Asatru bloggers tried to explain their theology to a press that seemed to not “get” their religion.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the top 4!
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2006/12/religious-news-2006-part-2.html/feed 0