The March edition of the CUUPS Bulletin talks with David Green, the consulting minister for the Amarillo UU Fellowship, in the wake of several stories on the Christian militant group Repent Amarillo. The Christian “soldier group” have targeted the fellowship on their “warfare map” for being a haven to Pagans, and according to Green, have already been protesting Pagan events there.

“They have protested at Pagan events at the Fellowship. Repent Amarillo is apparently a very small organization whose members also use the name “Raven Ministries.” Their respective websites are fairly clear on their agenda, but their efforts have had the unintended effect of drawing positive attention to our Fellowship; many of our newer members and guests learned of the Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship due to Repent Amarillo’s well-publicized activities and website.

While we might keep a wary eye on Repent Amarillo, they have not prevented us in the least from growing and moving forward into an exciting future. We’ve discovered that plenty of folks in the Amarillo area are seeking a place to share a progressive, tolerant, and welcoming religious experience.”

So it looks like their intimidation tactics haven’t been as effective, and may actually be backfiring, in regards to the UU Fellowship and the Pagans who call it home. As Green points out, this doesn’t mean there is no threat, or that we shouldn’t be watchful, only that they haven’t found the same traction in attacking the religious “other” as they have with swingers and strippers.

Meanwhile, Rachel Tabachnick at Talk To Action examines Repent Amarillo’s origins and affiliations, and gives a history of the spiritual warfare technique known as “spiritual mapping” that these groups engage in.

“Repent Amarillo’s spiritual mapping and militant spiritual warfare tactics have drawn attention, but they are not much different than those being practiced by “prayer warriors” all over the country.  The spiritual mapping techniques are the same as those introduced by C. Peter Wagner and other New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) leaders.  Pastor Bohn actually appears to disagree with much of the NAR theology but, like many aggressive ministries, has adopted their unorthodox methods nevertheless.”

It’s an interesting essay, and Tabachnick is quick to warn us against complacency simply because groups like Repent Amarillo tend to be small and isolated, pointing out that these warfare groups are spreading quickly, and she predicts a rise in “spiritual” Christian vigilantism in the years to come.

Top Story: New York City Councilman (and out Pagan) Dan Halloran, despite attending a Tea Party event looking for challengers to Congressman Gary Ackerman in November, and gaining some vocal grass-roots support, has decided to not run a new campaign so soon after gaining political office.

“I’m flattered and grateful they think I’m that caliber of a candidate,” Halloran said. “But right now I’m worried about running the district. I just came off a cycle in a bitter election, so I’m not ready to run another race.”

Of course, like any good politician, he did leave the door of opportunity open just a crack, in case the situation changes.

“I’ll sit down and talk to [local party leaders], but I’m not inclined to run … I haven’t ruled it out, but Gary Ackerman has tremendous financial and political resources. My big picture right now is the state of the city and that our district gets its fair share of money.”

So if Ackerman should experience a scandal, or a big drop in popularity, he might change his mind (but then, so might a lot of other people). In the meantime, I think it’s smart of Halloran to demure from attempting to jump from City Councilman to Congressman so quickly, it shows that he’s thinking about the long-term future, and his constituents.

In Other News:

Mambo Racine on Max Beauvoir: Vodou “supreme chief” Max Beauvoir has been getting the lion’s share of press attention as the voice of Vodou in post-earthquake Haiti. That’s certainly been true here, as much as anywhere else, due to the lack of press attention to divergent opinions and groups inside Haiti (with the occasional exception). Now Mambo Racine, from the Roots Without End Society, gives her take on the enigmatic leader that has captivated the press.

“Max Beauvoir is a Houngan. He is the head of a secular organization of Vodouisats called KNVA, of which most Vodouisants are NOT members. He keeps making these power grabs, he thinks if he proclaims himself the “head of Vodou” enough times, people might believe him. He is a sexual predator. He takes money from people with AIDS, when he knows he can’t cure them. I don’t think highly of him … It is courageous of him to speak out against violence against Vodouisants, even though it was cowardly of him to threaten Haitian President Rene Preval with “death wanga” a year or so ago when Max was not given the post on the Electoral Council that he wanted. And it is idiotic and inflammatory for him to call for “open war”, instead of “self-defense”. He’s a real mixed bag, and I think we need to recognize that he is a man like any other man, not a god, not the “Pope of Vodou”, not the head of all Vodouisants in Haiti, but a man.”

So if his power base is so small, as Mambo Racine hints, why does he get so much attention? Partially it comes from his willingness to seek out reporters and talk to them, but it also come from the status accorded to him by the New York Times, who dubbed him “Vodou’s Pope” and the “supreme master” of Haitian Vodou. There’s nothing a busy reporter likes more than a centralized leader who can speak for a whole faith or class of people. Interestingly, both Racine and Beauvoir, in their own ways, are outsiders who converted to Haitian Vodou and now hold positions of authority. Their non-Vodou pasts, willingness to self-promote, and familiarity with Western media, may go a long way towards explaining how they became two of the most well-known Vodou practitioners in North America.

A Pagan Military Wife: Alison Buckholtz writes an appreciation of military wife blogs for Slate.com, including Just Another Snarky Navy Wife, a blog written by a Pagan.

“My favorite blogger, Just Another Snarky Navy Wife, is based in Monterey, Calif. After bitching about TriCare, the military insurance system, which “sucks the balls of hairiness” because it declined to pay for her anesthesia during a gum graft, she writes about the difficulty of living a double life. “It’s hard being a liberal Pagan milspouse,” she confesses. Like many of these bloggers, she prefers to stay anonymous for her husband’s sake: In this case, “He’s shouldering enough just being a liberal service member with a penchant for logical thought in socio-political discussions.” But her problem, in a nutshell, is that members of the nondenominational, otherwise open-minded church she joined to find community off the base are giving her the stink eye for being married to the military. She wants to tell the hippies who founded the church that she has more in common with them than they think, but she’s furious with them for judging her harshly based on the fact that her husband is a service member.”

I can imagine it’s hard to be a “liberal Pagan milspouse”, especially when it comes to finding community, so let’s give her some appreciation and love. Add her to your blogroll, subscribe to her feed, and leave some supportive comments. You may also want to thank Alison Buckholtz and Slate.com for including a Pagan military voice in their article.

In Defense of that Wiccan Altar in Shop Class: The DesMoines Register features a guest editorial by college student Kat Fatland that chastises the closed mind of Dale Halferty, industrial arts teacher at Guthrie Center High School, who’s been suspended for refusing to allow a Wiccan student to build an altar table.

“If Dale Halferty, the Guthrie Center teacher who banned his student from creating a Wiccan altar in shop class, actually believes his own words, that “this witchcraft stuff… is terrible for our kids. It takes kids away from what they know, and leads them to a dark and violent life,” then Halferty should not be a teacher.”

I can only agree, and Fatland’s editorial may be prophetic if Halferty decides to turn this issue into a stand-off.

More on Repent Amarillo: Since my spotlight article Wednesday on the anti-Pagan militant group Repent Amarillo, the word has continued to spread throughout the blogosphere. This Christian cult is so extreme that Little Green Footballs calls them the “Texas Taliban”. Meanwhile, local citizens are starting to organize against them as the hate-organization picks a new target.

“They showed up at Cheetahs, a local strip club, to tell people they were going to hell … They told the manager, who is a mother of 3 that she is going to hell and they used their PA system and mega-phone to tell people going into the business. The Amarillo cops were called, but they did nothing.”

Such brave Christian soldiers. You have to wonder how many of them were, or are, patrons of that same establishment when they aren’t busy protesting it. I wish the locals every bit of luck in fighting this disturbing group, and will continue to monitor their activities here at this blog.

That’s all I have for now, but before you head out, let me second Chas Clifton’s recommendation that you check out the Pagans for Archaeology interview with Australian Pagan scholar David Waldron, author of “Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay: A Study in Local Folklore“. Lot’s of great insight into folklore, pagan survivals, and dogs.

Have a great day!

A story in last week’s issue of the Texas Observer is drawing attention across the blogosphere to a militaristic Christian organization called Repent Amarillo who are dedicated to eliminating anything they deem anti-Christian through the use of intercessory prayer (aka “spiritual warfare”) and witnessing “soldier groups”. Their first successful mission was harassing a private married-couples-only swingers club out of existence.

Repent Amarillo became an almost-constant presence, shouting through bullhorns, blasting Christian music, haranguing club members, following swingers in vehicles and sticking video cameras into people’s faces. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has been called out twice. Police records show that nearby businesses have called frequently with noise complaints. Repent even showed up on occasion when the Route 66 building was rented out for non-swinger events. “They have been here every time we open our doors, regardless of what kind of functions we have, whether I’m down here doing maintenance, cleaning, whatever,” Mac says. “They don’t have a life. Well, I guess we are their lives. We’re their blood. At three or four in the morning, we’ll open the door, and there they are. They come waddling out of their vehicles with their cameras.”

Lives and livelihoods were destroyed, and local officials took a decidedly “hands off” approach to their borderline legal tactics. So with this “victory” under their belt, who are they going after next? It’s hard to say since they have so many targets. But in a television interview from last year, it’s clear that their leader, David Grisham, has a special obsession with Paganism.

If you look at their “warfare map”, you’ll see a whole category dedicated to “Occult Witchcraft”, which includes a local nature center, a UU church, palm readers, and shops that sell Pagan “paraphernalia”. So expect a campaign against a relatively defenseless target, maybe a local psychic, sooner rather than later.

This sort of active militancy isn’t unique. Colorado’s New Life Church (formerly headed by disgraced pastor Ted Haggard), during its ascension into power, orchestrated a cleansing of Colorado Springs, driving Witches and New Agers from their homes with tactics very much akin to Repent Amarillo’s.

“He move the church to a strip mall. There was a bar, a liquor store, New Life Church, a massage parlor. His congregation spilled out and blocked the other businesses. He set up chairs in the alley. He strung up a banner: SIEGE THIS CITY FOR ME, signed JESUS. He assigned everyone in the church names, taken from the phone book, they were to pray for. He sent teams to pray in front of the homes of supposed witches -- in one month, ten out of fifteen of his targets put their houses on the market. His congregation of “prayer-walked” nearly every street of the city.”

Repent Amarillo is a fringe group, but the New Life Church was once a fringe group. We once dismissed the rabid prayer-warriors that clustered together in a New Apostolic Reformation (born in Colorado Springs) , until we saw one of their number gain the Republican vice presidential nomination. We can no longer ignore these militaristic “prayer warriors” simply because their numbers are small, that just empowers them to pick off weak targets (like the swingers) and grow in status and power.

That doesn’t mean we need to out-militant them, but it does mean that Pagan communities, especially small and vulnerable Pagan communities, need to prepare for the coming storm. They need to come out of the “broom closet” now to their employers and family before they are outed by these “soldiers”, they need to be prepared when the faux-military trucks and loud-speakers roll up to their events, they need to know the law and how to use it, and they need to be ready to network with the larger Pagan community and other sympathetic minority faiths so we can get the word out, show solidarity, give aid, and withstand these bully tactics. They may have come for the swingers first, but if we show no shame, and stand up, it can end with the Pagans.

Top Story: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has released a new study, entitled “Religion Among the Millennials”, that tracks the beliefs and views of the generation born after 1981 (and who largely came of age in the year 2000, hence the name).  The report asserts that Millenials are far more “unaffiliated”, religiously speaking, than the previous two generations, and less concerned about “culture war” issues like gay marriage and abortion than their predecessors.

“Young people are more accepting of homosexuality and evolution than are older people. They are also more comfortable with having a bigger government, and they are less concerned about Hollywood threatening their values. But when asked generally about morality and religion, young adults are just as convinced as older people that there are absolute standards of right and wrong that apply to everyone. Young adults are also slightly more supportive of government efforts to protect morality and of efforts by houses of worship to express their social and political views.”

As for Millenials and modern Paganism, 2% of adults aged 18-29 adhere to a Pagan, New Age, Unitarian-Universalist, or “eclectic” faith (the “other faiths”). Outstripping adherence to Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and roughly tied with Judaism and Mormonism. Further, Millenials are about tied with Baby Boomers in adherence to an “other” faith, with Generation X making up the demographically largest grouping. You can download the entire report, here. You may also want to take a look at Pew’s 2007 Religious Landscape Survey, something I’ve covered in depth here, which much this data is culled from.

What does it all mean? It could certainly mean a more tolerant world, as an overwhelming majority of this generation believe there is more than “one true way”, and that the Bible isn’t the literal word of God. Less than half even believe that religion is important. Millenials, along with Generation X, represent a sea-change in attitudes that have so bitterly divided previous generations. A “post-Christian” future, one where Christianity is only one voice among many, seems ever more likely. A world where religion may be female-dominated and largely private. Sounds like a future I’d like to stick around for.

In Other News:

Did the Founders Mean Pagans Too? The Newsweek/Washington Post religion site On Faith features an editorial from Dr. Barbara McGraw, Director of the Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism at Saint Mary’s College of California. In it she addresses the now-infamous WallBuilders amicus brief in McCollum v. California that argues the Constitutional religion clauses only applied to monotheists.

“…perhaps Richard Henry Lee put it best when he said in 1787: “It is true, we are not disposed to differ much, at present, about religion; but when we are making a constitution, it is to be hoped, for ages and millions yet unborn . . . .” In other words, those who differ about religion in ages and among millions yet unborn are included in the protections of the Constitution. What is especially sad about the narrow way that Barton wants to interpret the founding era is that Barton’s approach obscures the real contribution of Christianity to America: support for a political system that protects the individual’s relationship with the Divine (however understood) … genuine Christianity supports religious rights for all. Christianity was not at the founding, nor is it now a monolithic “ism” that justifies the domination and suppression of others–not even Wiccan/Pagans.”

I’d recommend reading all the various quotes she offers, building the case that the founders meant for religious freedom to apply to all Americans, at all stages of its existence, no matter what that future may bring. You can expect to hear a lot more about Patrick McCollum’s case in the near future, when I spoke to him at Pantheacon it was clear that a lot of attention and interest is building in this case. Expect things to break out into the mainstream media very soon.

Anti-Pagan Smears: WorldNetDaily, where no nutty conspiracy theory goes unloved, touts the new book by its managing editor David Kupelian, entitled “How Evil Works: Understanding and Overcoming the Destructive Forces That Are Transforming America”. Along with the usual stuff, Obama is a Marxist, Hollywood is bad, public schools are turning boys into big sissies, mental illness is a scam, etc, we get a whole section on the dangers of Paganism and the “New Age”.

“Why are neo-pagan and New Age religions like Wicca becoming so popular? (America’s increasing disillusionment with Christianity has created a giant cultural and spiritual vacuum, into which alternative religions are being drawn.)”

Now, I’ve covered WND’s anti-Pagan stuff before, but I usually just ignore it nowadays. However, since Kupelian’s new book is being promoted by a major publisher, and he’s making the publicity rounds with conservative heavyweights like Sean Hannity, I thought this deserved a bit of attention. It matters in this instance, because the folks who like to gobble up those pop-journalism partisan books (from the left and right) that burn up the bestsellers lists will be getting a bit more than political opinion. They’ll also be getting anti-Pagan talking points. It’s not very pretty when political populism starts mixing with intolerant religious ideologies, so we should keep our eyes open.

Bob Barr Recants Recanting His Anti-Pagan Views: If you all were wondering what conservative/libertarian politician-turned-pundit Bob Barr thinks about the Air Force Academy building a Pagan worship area, wonder no longer!

Top Story: The Amarillo Globe-News reports on a freshman choir member who is sitting out two Christian-specific songs at her school’s Christmas concert, and the church-state issues concerning religious songs being sung at secular schools.

“Fifteen-year-old Katarina Keen won’t sing along to “Silent Night” or “Listen to the Stars,” two Christian songs planned for her choir’s upcoming Christmas concert at Borger High School. But she will sing “Jingle Bells” and “A Carol in Winter.” Katarina and her family are Wiccan. The Borger High choirs have given a concert every December, with traditional religious Christmas songs, but this is the first time in director Johnny Miller’s 23-year career that any Borger student had issues with the religious themes in the music, he said … “We’re doing our best to accommodate everyone’s wishes,” Miller said. “It’s just difficult, because it’s a complete 180 of what I have always done.” … The Keens also have raised concerns this year about prayers in class and a prayer board posted in the choir room.”

The officials at the school seem to be chafing at having to actually make accommodations for non-Christian students, saying they “bent over backwards to be cooperative”, though I don’t see how allowing a student to sit out two songs and inserting some more secular holiday songs can be construed as bending over backwards. As for Christian prayers before class, and a “prayer board” in the choir room, they refuse to stop them because they are a “student-led activity”. Student-led perhaps, but allowed by school officials, and would no doubt be stopped if other non-Christian religions wanted the same consideration.

In Other News: Kris Bradley, from the Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom blog, has posted to her Examiner.com account regarding whether UK celebrity chef Nigella Lawson is Pagan (or at least Pagan-friendly).

“In Nigella Christmas: Food Family Friends Festivities, Nigella Lawson makes multiple references to Pagan ideals, traditions and history.  In the introduction to the book, she speaks about how Christ’s birth actually happened 6 months earlier, on Passover.  She also touches on the subject of Saturnalia and the rebirth of the sun being linked to the birth of Christ.  She goes as far to say “But my greatest love, my deepest feelings, are for the pagan rituals that underpin the contemporary Christmas.  In fact, I’d go further and say that my approach to the festival is ultimately pagan.” In another part of the introduction, Lawson describes Christmas as “not just a time when the Domestic Goddess comes into her own but a moment to conjure up the Domestic Druid as well.” She comes back to the subject of Paganism later in the recipe section when discussing her Yule Log, saying that the cake is a “cake-emulation” of the log that Norsemen would burn “in celebration of the winter solstice and to honor the gods”.”

Lawson seems to duck Pagan accusations, saying she “adhere[s] to the Judeo-Christian morality”, and direct questions regarding her religious beliefs on her web site have been removed by the administrator. So, Pagan? Pagan-friendly? None of the above? It remains an open question. For more on Nigella, who seems to be something of a cooking sex-symbol in the UK, you can check out her official web site.

Brand X magazine offers a profile of Santeria, including the reporter receiving a traditional spirit cleansing from a Santero.

“At this point, he addressed the recipient of the limpia, in this case, the reporter writing this story. “Tell Elegguá what you want,” he commanded. “Beg your pardon?” “Tell Elegguá,” he repeated. “Tell him what you need.” “Um, I want to be a good writer. I want to be healthy. I want my mother to be happy.” The santero knelt down, shaking the cowrie shells in his hands, and chanted in Lucumí — a mixture of Spanish and Yoruba, a Nigerian dialect. He released the shells in a spray across the floor and examined them closely. Apparently satisfied with the instructions he’d received from the spirits, he turned his attention to the softly clucking bag in the corner of the room.”

The article also tries to estimate how many adherents to Santeria there are, though I think Ernesto Pichardo’s estimate of 5 million in America alone is something of stretch (maybe 5 million in the “Americas” collectively). In any case, it’s a fairly decent article, talking with experts, other reporters, and adherents about the faith. Now if only the mainstream press can do as well as pop-culture magazines we might get somewhere.

Now for a bit of new-media talk, the Financial Times has an article about  MySpace’s downward spiral. The once-dominant social networking site, once touted as the future of music and media on the web, is now losing its luster, hip cache, and millions of users to sites like Facebook.

“…by the beginning of 2008, things began to sour. Facebook, a rival social network that was simpler and easier to use, was gaining momentum and starting to grow more quickly than MySpace. Murdoch confidently told the world that MySpace would make $1bn in advertising revenues in 2008 – but the company missed its target. Users began to desert the site, which had become cluttered with unappealing ads for teeth straightening and weight-loss products … Since then, MySpace has shed 40 per cent of its staff, closed many of its international offices and publicly given up trying to match Facebook in the race to become the world’s biggest social network. (MySpace has more than 100 million regular users, Facebook more than 300 million.) A move by MySpace and other News Corp digital businesses into the biggest new office development in Los Angeles was scrapped – after the $350m, 12-year lease had been signed – leaving the company paying more than $1m a month for an empty building. The number of people using the site has also dropped precipitously this year: MySpace’s share of the social networking market has tumbled from 66 per cent a year ago to 30 per cent, according to the online research company Hitwise. The situation is so dire that MySpace recently revealed that it had failed to attract enough online traffic to meet targets set in its advertising deal with Google and as a result would lose $100m this year. An acquisition that had initially covered Murdoch in glory and offered so much promise was becoming an embarrassment to the News Corp chairman and a liability for his company.”

As for folks who do use MySpace (like me), they’ll have noticed that they have rolled out many Facebook-like features trying to recapture some of what they’ve lost. However, I don’t think it will work. The site is too ugly, slow-loading, and teen-focused to ever really compete with the multi-generational and (by comparison) simpler Facebook. So what? Why am I mentioning this here? Because, many Pagan entrepreneurs/organizers have emulated the MySpace model. This includes Covenspace,  PaganSpace.net, and PaganSpace.com (this doesn’t even get into the dozens of Pagan Ning sites).

While I’m a big believer in Pagans creating their own resources, I do wonder if Pagan-focused social networking sites are any better than the Christian-focused networking sites that many of us like to poke fun at. Also, no offense to the Pagan social sites, but when I think of promoting a new project, like Pagans at the Parliament, I don’t immediately think of going to a Pagan MySpace clone to promote it. I think of Facebook, or Twitter, both of which seem to have much larger and active Pagan populations than any Pagan-run start-up. I think the first rule of creating a Pagan resource is finding a place where there is a need and then filling it. Do we have a need for a Pagan MySpace? Especially when it seems increasingly likely that people don’t have much use for the original MySpace?

In a final note, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada talks about religion in comic books, why pagan myths work so well in comics, while the Christian god/devil doesn’t.

“…the gods of mythology lend themselves more to the superhero genre. They’re much more colorful, they are imperfect and their exploits were really more akin to the exploits we’ve seen done by heroes like those within the Marvel U. All the classic heroes we see in many ways share many traits with the gods of mythology, so it’s an easier transition. Also, in most monotheistic religions, you’re dealing with an all powerful and infallible deity, which, from a dramatic storytelling point of view, really handcuffs you because of their perfection and ability to solve problems as they desire. And there is the sensitivity issue. These are religions that are practiced by the majority of the planet, regardless of where you fall, whereas the gods of mythology are not. I think it’s a sensitive issue, but more than anything, it’s just that the construct of the mythological gods makes for better dramatic storytelling within the pages of a comic book.”

While I agree that pagan myths make great story fodder, I do question his note about “sensitivity”. He does know that millions of people around the globe do indeed worship pre-Christian gods and goddesses doesn’t he? I mean, this is the company that named a super-hero “Wiccan” (he’s the son of the Scarlet Witch), so they must have some inkling.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

As a sort of coda to the case of Jose Merced, a Santeria practitioner who took the city of Euless, Texas to court over the matter of animal sacrifice, and won, we learn that the city has been ordered to pay Merced’s hefty legal bills.

“North Texas taxpayers could be on the hook for a $400,000 legal bill, all because their city lost its fight, against animal sacrifice in religious ceremonies. The bill could go higher.  In July, the court ruled in Merced’s favor and ruled the City of Euless must pay his appellate attorneys’ fees. One of his attorneys, Eric Rassbach, estimates the total legal bill at around $400,000. “Quite frankly, they should be upset with their elected officials who signed off on this lawsuit,” Rassbach said.”

Rassbach is from The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and no doubt the lawyers working to achieve a “small victory for religious freedom in this country” didn’t come cheaply. Naturally, Euless’s attourney Mick McKamie is vowing to fight having to pay Mr. Merced’s legal bills, and may still be considering if they can bring this matter to the Supreme Court. It is looking like it would have been much cheaper if Euless had simply revised their animal slaughter laws to safely regulate such matters instead of banning them outright. But that horse is out of the barn, and now local law enforcement are barred from enforcing the current law.

“A federal judge has barred a North Texas suburb from enforcing a rule to prevent a Santeria priest from sacrificing animals in his home. In a final judgment this month, U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth also ordered Euless to pay for the costs incurred by Santeria priest Jose Merced. His attorney, Eric Rassbach, said Tuesday the ruling means Merced can resume priest ordination ceremonies involving animal sacrifice.”

As Santeria, and other Afro-carribbean diasporic faiths, continue to grow in North America you can expect to see more conflicts like this in the future. Most animal slaughter laws were designed for a different time and context, and can be discriminatory when used to regulate religiously-motivated animal sacrifices. Eventually, this matter will have to come to the Supreme Court for a definitive ruling, since the previous Santeria-related SCOTUS case, Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah, dealt only with laws that specifically targeted the religion. Until that happens, animal sacrifices will often happen under the legal radar, allowing for the sorts of speculation that leads to racial and religious profiling every time a dead animal turns up.

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

The city of Euless has had its request for a rehearing in federal appeals court over the matter of animal sacrifice rejected.

“A federal appeals court has rejected Euless’ request for a rehearing on a decision that paves the way for a Santeria priest to resume sacrificing animals in his home during religious ceremonies. Jose Merced sued Euless, saying his First Amendment religious freedoms were violated when the city banned him from slaughtering goats in 2006. The city contended that such sacrifices jeopardized public health and violated slaughterhouse and animal-cruelty ordinances.”

Short of an appeal to the Supreme Court, which Euless seems to be considering, this case is done. If it does go to the Supreme Court, and Merced wins again, it could affect animal slaughter laws across the country. Clearing the way for religions like Santeria to sacrifice animals at their rites largely free from the threat of arrest or harassment. To read all my coverage of this case, click here.

At The Nation Max Blumenthal publishes an excerpt from his forthcoming book that concerns the tragic case of Matthew Murray, a deeply disturbed young man who took a gun to a Youth With A Mission missionary training center and opened fire, killing four, then himself. Blumenthal tells how Murray grew up indoctrinated and abused by his charismatic Pentecostal parents, and how his attempts to break free of their programming led him first to the teachings of Aleister Crowley, then to drug abuse, and ultimately to a complete breakdown that led to the tragic shootings.

“Murray had been indoctrinated so thoroughly into charismatic Pentecostal culture, however, that even while he railed against his religious upbringing, he could not abandon his ingrained attraction to religiosity. So instead of fleeing hardcore Christian culture for secular humanism, a natural position for jaded skeptics like him, he traded his former faith for Crowley’s occultism. Crowley’s philosophy of sex “magick,” narcotic hallucination, and self-degradation (he allegedly ordered his followers to have oral sex with goats and drink the blood of cats) was forged in reaction to his parents’ Puritanism and, in fact, was first practiced in English boarding schools, where homosexual experimentation was practically de rigueur. Crowley became Murray’s new lodestar. Like Jesus, who was so impressed by the ardor of a pagan Roman centurion whom he met that he remarked, “I have not found such great faith, even in Israel,” Murray yearned for spiritual practice in its purest form. Now he practiced Crowley’s faux faith as fervently as his parents wished he had worshipped their neo-evangelical macho Christ. But the occult only led Murray into a confusing new world of cheap thrills.”

I find it interesting that Blumenthal, in damning extremist Christianity, feels the need to misrepresent Aleister Crowley, and by implication, to insult anyone who leaves Christianity for an occult practice instead of the “natural” choice of secular humanism. He ultimately blames an abusive Christian upbringing for Murray’s descent into madness, and rightfully criticizes attempts of Christian apologists to paint this as an “occult” or “Satanic” attack, but couldn’t avoid his own preconceived notions concerning what the O.T.O. and the philosophies of Aleister Crowley are truly about. In his failure to hide his disdain for an occult practice he doesn’t understand, to paint it as a sign of illness, he sounds more like the Christians he criticizes than he would most likely care to admit.

SF Gate’s In Marin blog profies Cerridwen Fallingstar on the publication of her new book “White as Bone Red as Blood, The Fox Sorceress”, a book that is “based” on Fallingstar’s past life in 12th century Japan.

“The first book, which was released in 1990, was based on Cerridwen’s past life as a Scottish witch in 16th-century Scotland.   It took a full fifteen years before she released her current book, White as Bone, a compelling read about a sorceress in the royal palace in Japan during the mid-1100s. Why so long? Cerridwen says it takes a long time to cultivate the memories and even longer to do the research.  She says she is able to enter a trance, summon the memories and put them to tape. After transcribing them, she’ll research them by conventional means; by reading as much as she can find on that particular time in history, and by visiting the locales.”

Will this new book find favor within the Pagan community? Are past-life accounts still popular, or have we grown more skeptical of such things in the twenty years since Fallingstar’s last book? I guess we’ll find out. In the meantime, if you want to find out more about Cerridwen Fallingstar and order a copy of the book, click here.

The Odinist group that was kicked out of a public park in Bakersfield, California say they are filing a lawsuit with the ACLU against the North of the River Parks and Recreation Department.

“Roger Perez, NOR public relations director, said, “I believe there was a claim that the religion was being disrespected, and we take those types of claims seriously. But in our internal investigation, that wasn’t believed to have been said, was not said, by our deputy. And unfortunately, I think it just got blown out of proportion.” But the Odinists were not satisfied. They began the process to file a civil lawsuit with the ACLU which is considering whether to take the case.”

So it looks like this one will most likely be going to court. The KERO 23 story also includes the two 911 calls from neighbors that brought the police to the scene, one of which sounds confused about what exactly is going on, and another that alleges they were shouting “white power” to non-white passerby. The Odinist group has denied that they are a racist organization.

In a final note, with Autumn on its way we are quickly approaching the Halloween/Samhain season, and that means reality television programs are skulking about Salem looking for a willing Witchy participant. This time the  snarky fashion show “What Not to Wear” (on the increasingly misnamed TLC network) has its sights set on Salem shop co-owner Leanne Marrama.

“TV fashion gurus Stacy London and Clinton Kelly were in Salem filming an episode of their show, in which they stage weekly style interventions on a victim of bad fashion. Leanne Marrama, a member of Salem’s witch community, was in their sights yesterday. Dressed in a black gown with wide lacy sleeves, a black corset, black combat boots and a black purse with a skull, Marrama is set for a complete fashion, hair and makeup makeover.”

Also in the program will be Marrama’s friend and business associate Christian Day. While I’m sure many Pagans in New England have at times wished the more flamboyant Salem Witches would get a makeover, I don’t think this is what they had in mind. Shows like this aren’t laughing with us, they are producing content so that people can laugh at us (not to mention imposing a more rigid idea of “normalcy” concerning dress and appearance).

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

Charles Arthur Roberts, who is serving five years in prison for aggravated assault, is suing the Texas prison system for preventing him from practicing Wicca while incarcerated.

“Roberts alleges in a pro se lawsuit that he made repeated requests practice Wicca to the chaplain and administrators at TDCJ’s Lopez Unit off El Cibolo Road in Edinburg … The 28-year-old Brownsville native claims that prison administrators allow Catholic, Protestant and Moslem services but will not allow him to practice his Wiccan faith. Roberts wrote in his lawsuit that administrators told him they needed a Wiccan volunteer to hold a service for him but that they never attempted to obtain a volunteer. The jailed Wiccan claims he even tried to contact administrators at a state level but never received a reply. “I have been dealing with the defendants for a year to get things for my religion but they have not tried to get anything started, which is a violation of my Constitutional rights,” Roberts wrote in his lawsuit.”

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice won’t comment on the case, but did reveal that three inmates and an outside volunteer are required before they will allow scheduled sessions. If Roberts could not meet the three-inmate threshold, the case could be dismissed if he can’t also prove prison officials blocked attempts to find an outside volunteer or acquire Wiccan religious materials. While many jail-house lawsuits can be frivolous, we shouldn’t forget that according to Pagan chaplain Patrick McCollum there is “endemic” discrimination against incarcerated religious minorities.

The Maine Family Policy Council, formerly known as the Christian Civic League of Maine, are back to spreading lies about Rita Moran, Chair of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee, who was one of two openly Pagan delegates at the Democratic National Convention. Not content with first outing her as a Pagan and then stalking her, they are now trying to play the victim by misquoting an interview she did with a Pagan podcast back in 2007.

“In a recently discovered podcast, Rita Moran, Chairwoman of the Kennebec County Democrats, claims she cast a spell on the Administrator of the Christian Civic League, Mike Hein, in response to her outing by the League as a practitioner of the occult … In the podcast, Moran presents herself as a practitioner of an “earth-based” religion, but states she does not wear a pentacle, for the sake of ‘plausible deniability.’ If asked, she tells people she is a practitioner of an ‘earth-based’ religion. During the interview, Moran also expresses a desire to form a national “Pagan Caucus” within the Democratic Party, so that the Democrat Party and paganism can come together in a “positive way.” When asked if Mike Hein suffered any backlash from her outing, she replied that she is certain that there was an occult backlash, based on her casting of an “earth spell” on Hein.”

I happened to have listened to the podcast in question (mp3 link), from the now-defunct Lance and Graal show, and it clearly says that she cast a “mirror” spell (not an “earth” spell, whatever that means). In other words, the only malefic thing Mike Hein may have received spiritually is what he was already dishing out against Moran. It is truly sad that some supposedly moral Christians feel the need to lie, break laws, and harass innocent people to feel superior. One has to wonder if Focus on the Family knows what sort of things this “affiliated” group gets up to in the name of Christ.

Warning! Some minor True Blood second-season spoilers follow! Do you watch the HBO vampire series True Blood? If not, you’re apparently missing out on some hot-and-heavy pagan themes in addition to all the vampire-lovin’ that’s already going on. A character introduced in the current (second) season, Maryann, was revealed to be a maenad, and some Pagans are seriously unhappy with the way things are being portrayed.

“…they could have called her a Maenad and been done with it – I wouldn’t have been thrilled with that, but I expected it. They went WAY too far with this, IMO. They have to bring in Lilith, Isis, Gaia, the Horned God AND Dionysus? To abuse the name of Isis, the favorite name of the Goddess, in that way was particularly offensive to me. The Christian devil imagery is so predictable and cliche – you may be right, the writers need to do some research.”

I’ve heard similar rumblings from other Pagans as well, but I’ll reserve personal judgement for after the season closes, and I’ve seen the episodes. However, if you aren’t spoiler-averse and want a taste of the way things are going, check out this recap of episode ten for some of the Dionysian mayhem currently on display.

Reuters covers the festival of Lurol in Tibet, a time that displays the syncretic mix between Tibetan Buddhism and the animist/shamanic Bon faith.

Dressed in special clothes, his long hair carefully cut and braided, Damtsengbon waits for his spirit, Amyesrmachen, the most sacred mountain god in the region. Other villagers call the spirit’s name while Damtsengbon, who like many Tibetans only goes by one name, enters a trance, twitching and jerking. “I am the third generation to channel this god, so it is not just about me. For three generations the god has manifested himself through us, and even living Buddhas recognize this … I think it’s a way for me to serve my people. It keeps us together and protects us, so it’s an honor to serve them.”

I recommend reading the entirety of this fascinating look into Tibetan religion and culture.

In a final note, be sure and check out presentations from friends-of-this-blog John W. Morehead and Chas Clifton at the recently-held 2009 CENSUR conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. Chas Clifton’s presentation, “In the Mists of Avalon: How Contemporary Paganism Dodges the ‘Crisis of History’”, is particularly interesting for those wondering why Wicca and modern Paganism didn’t collapse with the advent of better scholarship.

“Contemplating the crisis—or crises—of history as they affect contemporary Paganism, the Wiccan journalist Margot Alder comments,  “Traditionally, religions with indefensible histories and dogmas cling to them tenaciously. The Craft avoided this through the realization, often unconscious, that its real sources lie in the mind, in art, in creative work.”[31] By relying on the fictive power of books and other creative products to provide a sort of sacred story, the contemporary Pagans described thus step out of history while retaining a modern respect for the historian’s scholarship and thus postponing a collision between historical narrative and mythic past.”

For those interested in the study of new religious movements, you should check out all the “cyberproceedings” available online.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

On Friday, a federal appeals court decided that Euless, Texas law enforcement officials violated the religious rights of Jose Merced, a practitioner of Santeria, when they prevented him from sacrificing a goat.

“A federal appeals court reversed a lower court’s ruling on Friday that barred a Santeria priest from sacrificing goats in his Texas home, saying a city’s decision to prohibit the ritual violated the man’s religious rights … “It’s a great day for religious freedom in Texas,” said Eric Rassbach, Merced’s lawyer, in response to the three-judge panel’s ruling. Merced said by practicing his faith in the privacy of his own home, he didn’t harm anyone. “Now Santeros can practice their religion at home without being afraid of being fined, arrested or taken to court,” Merced said.”

Merced, who lost his initial challenge to the law, was backed in his appeal by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.  In a press release, Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director of The Becket Fund, had this to say about the decision.

“Religious freedom doesn’t mean much if you can’t peacefully worship in your own way in your own home. The Fifth Circuit got that right today … The Becket Fund took on this case not just to vindicate the rights of Mr. Merced, but also to protect the ability of every believer to worship in his own home as his conscience dictates, without undue government interference … Turns out that there will be religious freedom in Euless, Texas after all.”

The city of Euless is planning to file for a rehearing on the matter, but it might not get far since the Fifth Circuit remarked in their decision that claims of Santeria endangering public health were “like the report of Mark Twain’s death, greatly exaggerated”. You can read the full decision, here. It is somewhat gratifying to note that the panel of judges also noticed the hypocrisy of allowing the legal home slaughter of deer, chickens, and turkeys, but not the legal slaughter of goats. Expect this decision to get appealed to the Supreme Court, and (in my opinion) for SCOTUS to decline hearing it (they generally don’t like to revisit issues).

If this decision is ultimately allowed to stand, Merced v. City of Euless could be the case that takes the precedent initially established in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah nationwide, clearing the way for legal animal sacrifice in religious ceremonies. Could legal sanction be the answer to ongoing freak-outs by various law enforcement and city officials over clandestine animal sacrifices in public parks? Expect to hear a lot more about this issue in the coming months.

Betty Sue Flowers, poet, mythology expert, Jungian, and consultant for “Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth”, is making headlines in Texas as she steps down from her position as director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum to start a new life with her current partner, former Senator Bill Bradley.

“Sometime in July, Flowers — award-winning teacher of English and religion, expert in mythology, past director of Plan II, confidante of PBS journalist Bill Moyers, consultant to NASA and corporations around the world, author of three poetry volumes — will move away from her home in West Lake Hills to commence a personal and romantic adventure with Bill Bradley in New York City.”

In honour of her leaving, the Austin American-Statesman has reprinted a profile of Flowers from 2002, shortly after she was named as the new director of the LBJ Library. In it, Flowers recalls how the goddesses of ancient myth, specifically Demeter and Aphrodite, helped spur her forward into becoming a powerful woman, and sparked a lifelong love of myth.

“Sometime before the sixth grade, the Bookworm of Abilene happened upon the beauty of mythology. To her delight, Flowers discovered that the women in Greek myth were star players in moral drama. While not always virtuous, the Greek goddesses were spunky and brazen. They wielded power. They were the focus of stories. “The Greek myths were the only stories I could find, in fact, that involved powerful women,” says Flowers. “These goddesses: They throw their weight around! Demeter blasts the world! Zeus has to beg her to stop!” Flowers was so enthralled by the Greek myths that she carried a personal copy of Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology” back and forth to school with her throughout the sixth grade. But since this was West Texas, circa 1958, shy Betty Sue Marable covered her book of myths with aluminum foil — concealing the cover illustration of the naked Perseus, sword in hand, hoisting up the head of the slain Medusa.”

I encourage reading the entire profile, for while Flowers is no Pagan in the formal sense of the term, she lives a life that sings with the virtues of the ancient world. A powerful personal example that refutes the idea of Christianity or moral chaos. An individual who embodies some of the best qualities of the emerging post-Christian cultural reality.