Religious freedom challenges in two public school systems: Florida and Louisiana

TWH — The struggle for religious freedom, or freedom from religion, within the U.S. public school system is ongoing. As part of the government system, no preference of one religion over another is permitted on school property or within the buildings. However, in practice that is not always the case and, in areas where religious diversity is increasing, problems and challenges naturally arise. Today we look at two different cases that have appeared in recent months. Florida’s state legislature is considering a bill that would force all schools to display the words “In God We Trust” prominently, while in Louisiana, school officials in one parish include regular prayers as part of the daily curriculum.

Georgia resident pressured not to pursue Pagan after-school club

DEMOREST, Ga. –One resident of this small town in Georgia says he has gotten resistance to the idea of starting an after-school religious club for children like his daughter, whom he is rearing Pagan. Elijah Gragg said that when he asked about the possibility, the only response he got was a local Boy Scout leader warning that all after-school activities would be cancelled before a Pagan club would be approved. Gragg, who says he’s been a Pagan since he was 12 years old and now identifies as Kemetic, said he got curious when his kindergartner brought home a flyer promoting the local Good News Club chapter. This club is one of the missions of the Child Evangelical Fellowship, and it has chapters in thousands of schools around the country.

After School Satan Club poised to open in two west coast schools

PORTLAND, Ore. — Sacramento Elementary School is poised to become the first public school in the country to permit the operation of the newly-formed After School Satan club. On Nov. 15, the Portland Chapter of The Satanic Temple hosted an evening event at Parkrose Middle School with guest speakers Lucian Greaves and Jex Blackmore. They answered questions about the temple’s work and about the new after-school program.

The Campaign for Paganism to be taught in UK schools

[Claire Dixon is one of our talented news writers and our UK correspondent. If you like her work and our daily news service, donate to The Wild Hunt. Each and every day, you will receive original content, both news and commentary, with a focus on Pagans, Heathens and polytheists worldwide.Your support makes it all happen, and every dollar counts. This is your community; TWH is your community news source. Donate today and share our link!

Unleash the Hounds (Link Roundup)

There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans and Heathens out there, sometimes more than our team can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up. 

ATLANTA, Ga. – On Monday, March 28, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal vetoed HB 757, a notorious state RFRA legislative bill. Deal said that it “contained language [that] could give rise to state-sanctioned discrimination.” He added, “I did have problems with that and made my concerns known as did many other individuals and organizations, including some within the faith-based community.”