A major new Pagan group blog launched recently: Pagan+Politics. Well-known blogger Jason Pitzl-Waters introduces the new site as follows: “It is fair to say that modern Paganism, as a movement of interconnected yet individual faith communities, is long overdue in having a more active and ongoing say in the issues and policies that affect our lives. Pagan+Politics hopes to become an important part of our faith communities having that say. In addition to discussing politics, this blog is also about... Read more

Over at The Wild Hunt, Jason posted a “Pagan’s Guide to the Oscars,” where he “examine[s] the nominees from a Pagan perspective.” (Read more on Religion and Film in the Patheos Public Square.) Jason mentions one film I hadn’t heard of, the 2009 release “The Secret of Kells” (gotta rent that for my kids!) What about you? Did you watch the Oscars this year? Were you surprised that Avatar didn’t win best picture or best director? What are your favorite... Read more

As the Des Moines Register reports, an Iowa high school teacher refused to let a student build a Wiccan altar in shop class. Why? “This is not a beef that I have with the district. It’s not me against them,” said Halferty, who has been an educator for much of the past 20 years. “But this kid was practicing his religion during class time, and I don’t agree.” Halferty said he previously told another student he could not build a... Read more

Much to her surprise, Sex and the City Star Sarah Jessica Parker learned recently that her 10th great-grandmother Esther Ellwell was accused of witchcraft in Salem, Mass., in the 1692 trials. “The 44-year-old who coincidentally plays a witch in the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus, later admits that she has been deeply changed by the discoveries.” (The ancestor was “one of the innocent victims,” claims the Daily Mail. One of the innocent ones? Who were the guilty victims?) What about you?... Read more

David Solway calls climate science a “cult in religious dress.” And what kind of dress does it wear? “Although the metaphors and, let’s say, cosmetic properties that cluster around the global warming delirium owe their provenance to Judeo-Christian devotional literature and puritanical conviction, the substance of the movement is essentially a form of pagan idolatry.” Solway spells out his argument: “[Climate science] has its high priests (Al Gore, David Suzuki, James Hansen, Rajendra Pachauri), its sacred texts such as computer... Read more