News

U.S. senators introduce “Do No Harm Act”

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WASHINGTON — On what may be the eve of a landmark supreme court religious freedom decision, top democratic senators introduced a ‘Do No Harm Act” that seeks to revise the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act. If passed, the amended RFRA language would, as the bill’s sponsors hope, prevent the RFRA from being used as a justification to discriminate. Senate bill 2918 was introduced May 22, led by U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).  In a press release, Harris said, “The freedom to worship is a founding principle of this nation as well as the right to live free of discrimination or fear that one’s civils[sic] rights will be undermined because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. The Do No Harm Act will ensure we protect both these rights for all.”

The spirit behind the bill reflects, at the very least in words, a recognizable moral concept for many Wiccans and other Pagans: “An ye harm none, do what ye will.” The sponsors describe the act as a ” bill to amend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 to protect civil rights and otherwise prevent meaningful harm to third parties, and for other purposes.”

News

Prayer in public schools takes center stage in Louisiana

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LOUISIANA – The state of Louisiana is known for its political conservatism, particularly in terms of religious freedom. According to Pew Forum, the state is 84% Christian, which is 14 percentage above the U.S. total percentage. The majority of those people are reportedly Evangelical Christians (27%), “Historically” Black Protestant (22%), and Catholics (26%). All of those figures are also larger than U.S. totals. Therefore, it is not surprising to find Louisiana is one of the major battle grounds for religious freedom, not only at a local level but at a state level.

News

Trump’s new faith-based and community initiative renews concerns

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WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump signed a new executive order May 3 that concerns U.S. faith-based and community organizations. The new order establishes the “White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative,” which replaces similar faith-based strategies already created by former presidents, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The basic concept is to remove barriers that prevent full governmental support for faith-based and community organizations that uniquely provide for the needs of people at the local and personal level. “Faith-based and community organizations have tremendous ability to serve individuals, families, and communities through means that are different from those of government and with capacity that often exceeds that of government. These organizations lift people up, keep families strong, and solve problems at the local level,” reads the executive order.

Paganism

Voodoo Doughnuts: just fun or the commodification of a minority religion?

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TWH — The Portland-based doughnut company Voodoo Doughnuts announced earlier this year that it was expanding its brand to Orlando, Florida and would be offering its unique take on doughnuts at the Universal Studios theme park. Its regular doughnut offerings have names such as Voodoo Doll, Memphis Mafia, Gay Bar, and Cock-N-Balls. They also serve the ubiquitous powdered sugar cake doughnut as well. The store opened last week with limited hours, and will hold its grand opening sometime this spring. Voodoo Doughnuts is the brainchild of Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon. According to their site, the two were friends and wanted to start a business that would “fit into an extraordinary Portland Oregon business climate.

Living

Saint Patrick, Druids, snakes, and popular myths: 2018

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In 2012, Wild Hunt founder Jason Pitzl-Waters published an article called, “Saint Patrick, Druids, Snakes, and Popular Myths.”* To this day, it remains one of our most popular posts. Every year as March approaches, and even as March leaves, the article is read and reread and read again. With Saint Patrick’s Day coming up next Saturday, March 17, we revisit that article. “[Tomorrow] is St. Patrick’s Day, a yearly holiday celebrating Ireland’s favorite patron saint.