Looking at recent religious controversies, academic and fellow blogger Chas Clifton wonders if Wicca has become the official “other” when people mention “other religions”.

“I thought that Paganism–Wicca in particular–was becoming the new designated Other on the American religious scene–and these columnists bear me out. Get used to “What about Wicca?” However, I expect that it will be a long time before the first Wiccan elected to the House of Representatives has to worry about on which book to swear an oath.”

For proof he points out a recent editorial by Michael Medved that gives support (disdainful support, but support all the same) to the quest for the Pentacle on veteran’s headstones, and Dennis Prager’s defense after he made a stink over a Muslim using a Koran during the photo-ops for the Congressional swearing-in.

“I am a Jew (a non-denominational religious Jew, for the record), and I would vote for any Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Mormon, atheist, Jew, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Wiccan, Confucian, Taoist or combination thereof whose social values I share.”

It isn’t only conservative pundits trying to prove how unbiased they are who are referencing Wiccans. Even liberal writers like Barbara Ehrenreich are referencing Wiccans to show how diverse their opinions/lives/friends are.

“What’s my excuse? Well, Christmas of course. There are those catalogues, which usually get recycled directly from the mail box, to study. Menus to plan. Should we do the Cuban-style roast pork or a re-run of the Thanksgiving turkey? Cards to buy and address: How will the pretty Virgin and baby go over with my Wiccan friends? Then there’s the annual fight over the tree: Can it be multi-colored and gaudy, as I prefer, or all-white, as certain puritanical in-laws insist?”

Which raises the question, does Ehrenreich actually have Wiccan friends or is she merely making a rhetorical point about the religious “other” like Medved and Prager? It seems that by becoming the official “other” when listing those strange religions people don’t understand (after all, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus are becoming far too mainstream to be “other” nowadays) we actually move closer to the religious mainstream. We are becoming the boundary of what is acceptable religious practice. Beyond us? Well, there be dragons I suspect.

Tags: Barbara Ehrenreich, Chas Clifton, Dennis Prager, Paganism, Wicca