If you want to get some controversial rule-change passed, bury it in a bigger piece of legislation that is sure to pass. At least that seems to be the tactic of U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) in the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act. (H.R. 5122). Buried in section 590 is a innocent-sounding passage about military chaplains.

It reads:

“Each chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible.”

While that idea sounds nice on the surface, what it would do is essentially eliminate mandated non-sectarian prayer. Which means that the vast majority of prayers to soldiers would be prayers to Jesus Christ. This hasn’t escaped the attention of the Union for Reform Judaism.

“This innocuous-sounding provision would open a Pandora’s Box of religious proselytizing in the military by giving chaplains free reign over where, when, and how to pray, regardless of the religious preferences of other military professionals, and regardless of the carefully thought-out existing policy. This harmful language would circumvent the religious protection guidelines instituted by the military and codify into law the acceptability of religious proselytizing. This is unacceptable and deeply hurtful to people of all faiths.” – Mark J. Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

Meanwhile, certain Christian groups* are trying to spin the rule-change as benefiting non-Christian faiths in the military.

“The question that faces all of us is whether chaplains, regardless of their faith tradition, should be legally allowed to pray in a manner that honors their religion in both public and private settings. The answer is clearly yes, hence the bill should be passed with the provision included. This means that I, an evangelical protestant Christian, will listen to a Muslim chaplain pray to Allah at an official military meeting. It means that I will sit in a room and listen to a prayer offered by a native American pagan. She will offer this prayer officially as a chaplain of one of our military branches. Not a problem. This is a small price to pay to sit in a meeting and hear men and women pray with integrity, no matter their belief.” – Michael S. Heath, Executive Director of the Christian Civic League of Maine

But even the Military Chaplains Association thinks that the new rule would create a “host of new difficulties”.

“While apparently intended to acknowledge military mission and order, the condition will not totally prevent disruptive consequences. As now framed, this congressional intervention will reach far beyond the grievance(s) it seeks to remedy and foster a host of new difficulties…For this leg of our American journey to reach its best possible destination, we must stretch our capacity to recognize, understand, affirm, and even promote the rights of others while caring for our own. Among other things, this will likely require substantial departure from the evolving notion that the Constitution guarantees absolute freedom from ever being offended for any reason. It will also likely require that we resist the tendency to seek new laws or file suits in order to mitigate if not resolve conflicts over religious practices. In matters of religion, such actions frequently only further impede any efforts to alleviate injury or achieve just arbitration of competing needs, interests, and perspectives.”

This new rule would damage the military, and could well make military service an explicitly Christian activity. As it stands now, an overwhelming number of chaplains are Christian and 60% of all chaplains are evangelicals.

“Only 14 percent of the U.S. population is evangelical Christian, compared to 40 percent of the military’s active duty personnel. More than 60 percent of military chaplains are evangelicals.”

How friendly do you think the military will be to Pagans (or Jews for that matter) if the rule is passed. While one Pagan body has been approved as an Ecclesiastical Endorsing Agency for military chaplaincy, there are currently no Pagan chaplains. Jewish and Muslim chaplains both number in the low double-digits (29 and 13 respectively). Instead of the religious utopia sketched out by evangelical Michael S. Heath, we would instead create a de facto “Christian” military.

Currently Senator John Warner (R-VA) has asked that the phrase be dropped from the legislation before it comes to a vote on the floor (the Senate version doesn’t have the provision, only the House). I think it might be time to contact your Representative and tell them (politely) that section 590 of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act is at its heart a discriminatory change to how military chaplains operate and would create a chilling environment for non-Christian service men and women.

*Religious groups opposed to section 590 include: American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Washington Office, Friends Committee on National Legislation, General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Council of Jewish Women, Presbyterian Church (USA), Washington Office, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), The Interfaith Alliance (TIA), Union for Reform Judaism, United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society, and the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

According to the BBC, Druid Chris Warwick has started a new organization called “Dead to Rights”. Its purpose? To have ancient burial grounds in the UK considered sacred sites in the same manner that modern graveyards are, and to stop scientific “grave-robbing”.

“A retired engineer from Swansea is campaigning for ancient burial sites to be considered sacred ground. Chris Warwick, who is now a druid, said places like Paviland cave on Gower should be treated the same way as modern graveyards…”We have formed a little group called Dead to Rights, to work for the return of remains to the sites they were buried in and hopefully have them reburied there with due ceremony. The sites would be regarded as sacred thereafter”…Mr Warwick said he was happy for archaeologists to photograph and examine burial sites.”

While Warwick seems a bit “off” in the article, he brings up some serious issues. Is it proper for ancient burial sites to be unearthed and the bodies kept forever for scientific study and display? Shouldn’t we honor the sacred grounds of pre-Christian society as we do for the sacred grounds of Christians? How do we strike a proper balance between learning more about our past and respecting cultures older than our own?

A helpful hint. When you cover Pagan events, you must make the same considerations that you make covering any other religious event. For instance: if you interview a Christian priest, you find out which denomination he is. Otherwise we have no context for that priest’s beliefs or actions. The same holds true for Wiccans and other Pagans.

“With peacock feathers dangling from her ears and rings on all fingers except her left thumb and pinky, Lady Silverwolf (Micheline Vogt) could be mistaken for a witch. And she is, but not like most people think of one. By her definition, she’s a WITCH: Woman In Total Control of Herself. The third-degree high priestess of the pagan faith who reads tarot cards shared the history of paganism Saturday at the third Cape Fear Pagan Pride Day.”

Now many Witchcraft/Wiccan traditions have a three-degree structure, but there is a vast array of beliefs within different ‘trads’. Is she Gardnerian? Alexandrian? Blue Star? 1734? Black Forest Clan? Thalia Clan? Or is it a small tradition started by her (or possible by local people she knows)? While this may not seem like a big deal (especially for a local-interest piece on Pagan Pride Day) it can mean quite a bit to modern Pagans reading the article and to those interested in Paganism looking for a contact. When reporting religion, context (and doing your homework) is everything. If we don’t know what she believes, then how can we make any sort of judgment on what she says about her faith?

Today is the Autumnal Equinox (04:03 UT) and signals the beginning of Fall in the northern hemisphere. On this day there will be an equal amount of light and darkness, and after this day the nights grow longer and we head towards Winter. In many modern Pagan traditions this is the second of three harvest festivals (the first being Lughnasadh, the third being Samhain).

“Mabon” photo by Nyx (CC)

The holiday is also known as “Harvest Home” or “Mabon” by Wiccans and Witches, and “Winter Finding” by modern-day Asatru. Most modern Pagans simply call it the Autumn Equinox. Here are some media quotes and excerpts from modern Pagans on the holiday.

“‘Equinox’ was derived from Latin ‘aequinoctium’ which comes from ‘aequus’ (equal), and ‘nox’ (night). It refers to the time that occurs twice a year when the nighttime is equal to the daytime, each being 12 hours in duration. Religions the world around observe many seasonal days of celebration during late September. Most are holy days linked in some way to the equinox. Recurring themes found are balance, harvesting, hunting, and remembrance of the dead.” – Brad Smith, Siskiyou Daily News

“Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring one quarter of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents midautumn, autumn’s height. It is also the autumnal equinox, one of the quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern Witchcraft. Recently, some Pagan groups have begun calling the holiday by the Welsh name ‘Mabon’, although there seems little historical justification for doing so.” – Mike Nichols

“In addition to the changes outside, the autumn equinox also signals an internal change to the region?s pagans, to whom the day is a holiday. “A feast of abundance,” is how Barbara Giacalone of Naples describes the day, which her fellow Wiccans call Mabon. “So it’s the day I take the things I have too much of and give them to people who need them.” For Pagan Meg Sapp of Fort Myers, it’s all about equilibrium. “It’s a time when light and dark are in balance as we get ready for the transformation to a new cycle,” she says. “ – Amy Bennett Williams, The News-Press

“Those who practice the ancient earth-magic circle together for Mabon, the second – and main – pagan harvest fest of thanksgiving. However you choose to observe this flurry of astronomically significant events, be sure to look up and look within. Toss your blessings, wishes, thanks and desires to the stars, the moon and the hot, golden star whose gaze will dim with the coming winter months.” – Kati Schardl, Tallahassee Democrat

“Several religions have celebrations around the autumnal equinox. This day of transition shows up on pagan, Mayan, American Indian, ancient Irish and Druid calendars. And it is the turning point, astrologically, from Virgo to Libra, symbolized by scales, for balance.” – Joe Grimm, Detroit Free Press

“It is a time of great joy and great sorrow, it is the time of great change. Mabon is as much about life as it is about death, it is the reminder that within life there is death and within death there is life. It is about the dance that partners life with death. Mabon is a time when we are poised between the worlds of life and death, of light and dark, of day and night. We mourn that which is passing, celebrate that which is bountiful and are consciously reminded that the Mother will hold the seed of Light in Her womb until the time of rebirth. Once more the realization that the Wheel of Year has turned, as it always has and will always continue to do as our time is circular not linear, there is no end without new beginnings, it is the continuance of life eternal.” – Christina Aubin, Witchvox

“European harvest rites often centered around the end of the grain harvest. In rural England, all who helped with the harvest celebrated the Harvest Home, observed on last day of bringing in the harvest. It was also called the Ingathering or Inning, and in Scotland Kern. In the Harvest Home celebration, the last load of rye, beans, wheat or another crop was decked with ribbons, flowers or green boughs and was brought home by men, women and children singing and shouting. The Harvest Home song generally ran something like:

As part of the Harvest Home celebration, the Harvest Queen, a doll made of the last sheaf of the harvest, dressed in woman’s clothing and decked in ribbons, was either carried home on the last wagon or high on a pole by a harvester. When the last harvest load was brought into the farmyard, onlookers often pelted it with apples and drenched the Harvest Queen and the reaper carrying her with buckets of water. The head reaper was garlanded, and a feast ended the day, complete with drinking, dance and song.” – Asherah, “Lore and Magick of the Harvest”

May you all enjoy the fruits of your harvest this season.