News

Religious accommodation or discrimination in health care services

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PATERSON, N.J. – It was announced Jan. 5 that Lambda Legal had filed a federal lawsuit against New Jersey-based St. Joseph’s health care system, after “the hospital refused to allow Jionni Conforti’s surgeon to perform a routine hysterectomy because he is transgender.” St. Joseph’s maintains four top-ranked teaching facilities in northern New Jersey, but it also is “a Catholic faith-based institution” founded in 1867 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.

News

Religion in the presidential race 2016

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UNITED STATES — As November looms ever closer, Americans continue to grapple with the many issues and the rheteroic surrounding the 2016 Presidential election process. The national conventions for the Democratic and Republican parties are now over, and candidates officially declared. At the same time, the smaller Libertarian and Green parties have also declared candidates. To date, this race has been one of the most contentious, and only promises to continue in that vein. One of the most critical issues for Pagans, Heathens and polytheists is a candidate’s position on religious freedom and the protections granted by the First Amendment.

Hounds

Unleash the Hounds (Link Roundup)

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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.”

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Cleda Dawson, HUAR and COE, Heather Carr and more

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As news of Deborah Maynard’s upcoming invocation at the Iowa State Legislature spread, so did the fact that Maynard will be the third Pagan Priestess to offer such a prayer before a state body. As we noted on Wednesday, Cleda Dawson was the first in 1999 and Selena Fox was second.in 2009,

At the time of our report, neither the video recording of Dawson’s or Fox’ invocation was available online. While Circle Sanctuary is still working on acquiring a copy of the 2009 Wisconsin invocation, a clip of Dawson’s invocation has since been uploaded to YouTube. On April 2, a local Pagan, who works in the “legislative media,” was able to track down a VHS copy and transfer it into a digital format. .

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Environmental Statement, Kenny Klein, Indiana RFRA and more!

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Over the past seven months, a large group of people came together to craft a “Pagan Community Statement on the Environment.” The idea was born after Covenant of the Goddess issued a similar statement in August 2014. John Halstead led the charge, coordinating the discussions within this “working group.” However, the statement itself was created wholly by the coalition of diverse voices from various communities, religious practices and regions. Near the end, the statements reads, “We hold that living a fulfilling and meaningful life, and allowing the same for future generations, is only possible if the entire Earth is healthy.