News

What do the Kremlin’s new religious laws mean for Russian Pagans?

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The Kremlin has brought in a raft of laws on religion that Russian Pagans fear could impact their community. The legislation, which came into force July 20, was rushed through parliament under the banner of combating religious extremism. According to Russian Pagan and activist Gwiddon, the move is “a package of changes to deal with several different laws which are anti-terrorism measures.” He added: “It increases penalties for terrorist action, it puts responsibility on friends and family to report terrorist action, otherwise there is a criminal sentence.”

The laws include making social media and mobile phone companies store all communications for six months, and a summary of each communication for three years. As this is the first move of its kind, it is unknown whether or not it is actually possible to store such a massive amount of data. The legislation also requires religious groups to register with the Ministry of Justice and to inform the government of the nature of their group, their leaders and members, including civil names and addresses, and where rituals are performed.

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.”

Hounds

Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)

By |

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. 

ST. LANDRY PARIS, La. — After releasing a video as part of the department’s Crime Stoppers video series, Captain Clay Higgens found himself at the center of major news story. His Feb.

Pagan Community Notes

Pagan Community Notes: Museum of Witchcraft, ACTION Polytheist Issue, Sharon Knight’s Portals and more

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The Museum of Witchcraft, located in Boscastle, Cornwall, will be undergoing major renovations over the next two months. These changes will include a complete overhaul of the shop and entrance way. Director Simon Costin said the first two galleries will also be “radically altered to allow for new material.” Part of the gallery expansion will be the installation of old Victorian cabinets donated by the Museum of Zoology in Cambridge. In addition to those renovations, the Museum will also have a new temporary exhibition space.

News

Russian Orthodox priest seeks to outlaw “Neo-Pagans”

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MOSCOW –An influential figure in the Russian Orthodox Church has said he’d like to see “neo-paganism” made illegal in that country. In remarks at the international congress of Orthodox youth, as reported by Interfax, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin declared, “Let’s say that three things – Wahhabism, Nazism and aggressive neo-paganism – should be removed from the country’s life at the level of the law. Let’s not try to be friends with any of that.” We spoke to Gwiddon Harvester, the national coordinator of the Pagan Federation International Russia. He provided some context for this statement for Western readers.