Teaching religion in public schools

CHICAGO, Ill. — Chicago Pagan Pride coordinator Twila York and Rev. Angie Buchanan, founder of Earth Traditions and Gaia’s Womb, were recently invited into a local public high school classroom to share a bit about their religious practice and beliefs.* The teacher contacted York through the Greater Chicago Pagan Pride website, and after a brief email conversation, she was asked to present to a world religions class. York enlisted Buchanan’s assistance, and together they offered two forty-minute sessions on Paganism. Buchanan told The Wild Hunt, “It was explained that these students for the most part had no knowledge of Paganism at all, which was reinforced by the question we asked when we first arrived in the class. ‘How many of you are familiar with Paganism or know someone who identifies as that or Wiccan or Druid?’

Religious literacy in the Rocky Mountains

NEDERLAND, Col. – Nestled in the Rocky Mountains and resting at an elevation of 8,230 feet lies the small town of Nederland, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by settlers who were attracted to the lowland valleys as a outpost for their trapping work. Eventually mining became the town’s sustaining business and, when that disappeared, tourism and farming took its place. But since the 1960s, the town has slowly attracted new types of residents, including artists, musicians, and those specifically interested in the great outdoors.