Psychic Wars in Livingston: It looks like a legal battle over a religiously-motivated Livingston Parish ordinance banning fortune telling will be headed to court. Despite being warned by their lawyer that they would most likely lose a lawsuit, the Parish Council decided to not address the issue at their most recent meeting, much to the dismay of some Parish residents.

“Taxpayers might question the council’s insistence on spending public money to fight a lawsuit on an issue that has no purpose other than to pacify a particular religious group. The council’s attorney, Blayne Honeycutt, has advised that it probably would lose the Wiccan suit if it persists in defending the ordinance. When no member of the council would offer a motion to repeal the soothsaying ordinance, Honeycutt advised the council it needs to hire special counsel to handle such a case. Parish government, which has a history of being strapped for funds, could be putting that money to proper uses on roads, drainage, water and sewage rather than waging war for or against particular religious groups. Instead, the council will spend money it says is in short supply defending a lawsuit against a problem its attorney told council members apparently doesn’t even exist in the parish.”

The Parish is being sued by local businessman and Wiccan Cliff Eakin, who wishes to offer fortune-telling and divination services at his store, Gryphon’s Nest Gifts. Eakin maintains that the ordinance is an attempt to promote Christianity over Paganism.

Thelemites Fight Pedophillia Charges: Australian couple Vivienne Legg and Dyson Devine have been released from prison after apologizing to a judge for defying an order to remove material from their website that groundlessly implicated a local O.T.O. organization in an underground pedophile ring. The couple served two months of a nine-month sentence for contempt of court.

“Yesterday both apologised to Judge Harbison and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and undertook not to repeat, or help anyone else to publish, the vilifying material about the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). But David Leggatt, for the OTO, complained that the vilification had a “grapevine effect”. It had been removed from the pair’s website, Gaiaguys.net, in December, but soon appeared on Adam Dodson’s site. Simon Moglia, for Mr Devine and Ms Legg, said they had not helped the new website. He said they at first saw their non-compliance as individuals standing for their beliefs. But when they realised that resisting the tribunal encouraged others to disobey the law, they closed down their website.”

While the OTO in Australia have certainly won this battle, they may find themselves pestered by dozens (if not hundreds) of conspiracy theorists who see Legg and Devine as martyrs in the quest for “the truth”. The original actionable paper written by Dr Reina Michaelson inflated in importance and virally spread across the Internet.

Fighting For (Christian) Religious Expression: Arizona joins Oklahoma in trying to pass a “student religious expression” law similar to the one recently passed by Texas.

“On Wednesday, the Arizona House Education Committee narrowly approved, and sent on to the full House of Representatives, HB 2713, a bill that would prohibit public schools from discriminating against students on the basis of their religious belief or expression. It permits students to engage in prayer and religious activity on an equal basis with other activities, but does not permit the school to require participation in religious activities. It includes provisions prohibiting banning of religious attire and jewelry when similar secular items are permitted and another section that prohibits discrimination for or against a student in grading coursework in which the student expresses a religious viewpoint or religious content.”

While these laws may sound innocuous enough to some, they ultimately benefit the religious majority, a point driven home by the Texas House’s own research organization who stated: “the bill could serve as a tool to proselytize the majority religious view”. These proposed laws claim to protect a student’s freedom to express religious viewpoints, but I fear they instead encourage a hostile environment towards religious minorities, dis-empower teachers from keeping order in their classrooms, and give Christian students a sense of immunity from consequences. I encourage Pagan groups in in Arizona (and Oklahoma) to send a message to their representatives ensuring them that Pagans, Witches, and Heathens oppose this legislation, but will gladly use their new “rights” as often and as loudly as possible if it is enacted.

A mess is brewing in Louisiana. On Tuesday, Farmerville High School was sent into lock-down after rumors of a “big war” between two groups of students reached school officials. Making the matter even more complicated is the fact that one of the rival groups (allegedly) claim to be a Wiccan coven.

“Two departments took protective measures at Farmerville High School on Tuesday after hearing rumors of a “big war” and that some students had formed a Wiccan coven, officials said … “Farmerville police received information over the weekend that threats of violence had allegedly been made against a group of students at Farmerville High School.” Those threats were to be carried out Tuesday, according to a news release from the sheriff and chief. Detectives from both agencies determined a student had allegedly said a “big war” would occur. They also learned that a group of students had allegedly formed what they referred to as a “Wicca” and had carried out “certain ritualistic ceremonies that included self-mutilation of their arms and legs,” the release stated.”

Who threatened who? Good question! According to School Superintendent Steven Dozier, it was the Wiccans who threated a rival group of teens at the school.

“A student said “war will begin Tuesday.” School Superintendent Steven Dozier says the students involved with the threat practice Wicca, a form of witchcraft. This alone had school leaders and police concerned.”

But a subsequent news story doesn’t make that claim, and a story filed the day after the lock-down noted that the “big war” rumors have been floating around for nearly eight months.

“But these rumors began much earlier than a few days ago. The sheriff’s office says that these rumors go back to as far as eight months ago. And they say some parents and students knew about the threats of violence…but never came forward … Rumors at the high school began spreading like wildfire. Authorities say one child told a parent that their name was on a list to be killed. Tuesday was the day the ‘big war’ was supposed to happen…but it never did.”

During the lock-down, no weapons (connected to the alleged threats) were found. After a series of interviews, two students were hospitalized pending a mental evaluation after expressing thoughts of suicide (though an earlier report claims they were involved in the Wiccan group). So far, no physical evidence of any sort has surfaced pointing towards a “big war” or any other sort of violence.

Since we are dealing with (escalating) rumors, it is hard to tell what was really going down, and who instigated what. School officials, rather than trying to engage the (alleged) ringleaders of this ongoing conflict, instead went into a post-Columbine panic and terrified the entire school. Painting the “Wiccans” as scapegoats in the process.

“…we were not going to take any chances of anybody getting hurt whether it being a true or false rumor. We simply hit the campus and hit it hard.”

Are schools now going to be “hit hard” by police whenever a rumor about a groups of outsiders surface? What are the chances that this groups of kids will receive fair treatment at the school now that the Superintendent has publicly incriminated them? There is a good chance that any “big war” that arises from this will come in the form of lawsuits if the school isn’t very careful about what it does next.

A mess is brewing in Louisiana. On Tuesday, Farmerville High School was sent into lock-down after rumors of a “big war” between two groups of students reached school officials. Making the matter even more complicated is the fact that one of the rival groups (allegedly) claim to be a Wiccan coven.

“Two departments took protective measures at Farmerville High School on Tuesday after hearing rumors of a “big war” and that some students had formed a Wiccan coven, officials said … “Farmerville police received information over the weekend that threats of violence had allegedly been made against a group of students at Farmerville High School.” Those threats were to be carried out Tuesday, according to a news release from the sheriff and chief. Detectives from both agencies determined a student had allegedly said a “big war” would occur. They also learned that a group of students had allegedly formed what they referred to as a “Wicca” and had carried out “certain ritualistic ceremonies that included self-mutilation of their arms and legs,” the release stated.”

Who threatened who? Good question! According to School Superintendent Steven Dozier, it was the Wiccans who threated a rival group of teens at the school.

“A student said “war will begin Tuesday.” School Superintendent Steven Dozier says the students involved with the threat practice Wicca, a form of witchcraft. This alone had school leaders and police concerned.”

But a subsequent news story doesn’t make that claim, and a story filed the day after the lock-down noted that the “big war” rumors have been floating around for nearly eight months.

“But these rumors began much earlier than a few days ago. The sheriff’s office says that these rumors go back to as far as eight months ago. And they say some parents and students knew about the threats of violence…but never came forward … Rumors at the high school began spreading like wildfire. Authorities say one child told a parent that their name was on a list to be killed. Tuesday was the day the ‘big war’ was supposed to happen…but it never did.”

During the lock-down, no weapons (connected to the alleged threats) were found. After a series of interviews, two students were hospitalized pending a mental evaluation after expressing thoughts of suicide (though an earlier report claims they were involved in the Wiccan group). So far, no physical evidence of any sort has surfaced pointing towards a “big war” or any other sort of violence.

Since we are dealing with (escalating) rumors, it is hard to tell what was really going down, and who instigated what. School officials, rather than trying to engage the (alleged) ringleaders of this ongoing conflict, instead went into a post-Columbine panic and terrified the entire school. Painting the “Wiccans” as scapegoats in the process.

“…we were not going to take any chances of anybody getting hurt whether it being a true or false rumor. We simply hit the campus and hit it hard.”

Are schools now going to be “hit hard” by police whenever a rumor about a groups of outsiders surface? What are the chances that this groups of kids will receive fair treatment at the school now that the Superintendent has publicly incriminated them? There is a good chance that any “big war” that arises from this will come in the form of lawsuits if the school isn’t very careful about what it does next.

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

As if sensing that the recent Pew Forum study of America’s religious landscape would show that modern Paganism continues to grow, while Christianity’s majority status is eroding, a growing number of anti-Pagan articles have appeared warning the faithful of our growth. One comes from Janice Crouse, a senior fellow with Concerned Women for America, who warns of the growth of Wicca and “Earth Worship” among the Christian youth.

“Janice Crouse, a senior fellow with Concerned Women for America, says it’s disturbing that many young people in evangelical churches are experimenting with the Wiccan religion. Church leaders and Christian parents, she warns, must be ready to counter that growing interest among their youth. Crouse cites an article in Religion Journal which said youth pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention were worried about large numbers of evangelicals taking part in Wicca, a religion that involves nature worship, stresses moral autonomy, and includes remedies and spells … [Crouse] says the interest in Wicca can be traced to recent books featuring witchcraft and similar topics.”

Meanwhile, WorldNetDaily prints the cover story from their recent Whistleblower magazine issue dedicated to the growth of Witchcraft in America. Besides including a strange obsession with author Neale Donald Walsch, it is your typical anti-Wiccan piece, complete with the “feminism/lesbianism encourages Wicca” argument.

“In many ways, the interest in Wicca among women (at least two-thirds of Wiccans are female) parallels the growth in feminism and lesbianism – all fueled by disillusionment with and alienation from men. Indeed, sociologist Helen Berger, who spent 10 years researching and writing the authoritative book “A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States,” reports the astounding conclusion that at least 40 percent of Wiccans and neopagans are homosexual or bisexual. Clearly, Wicca has become the spiritual home for many feminists, including lesbians. It’s also the most graphic, in-your-face example of a much more universal phenomenon – the increasing feminization of the Christian church and of Western culture.”

Articles like these (and others) seem to point to an increasingly nervous conservative Christian population. A group of believers concerned with their looming irrelevance. A future where politicians no longer feel the need to pander to them, and where they are just another voice in diverse chorus of religious voices.

The blog Newspaper Rock links to an article put out by the United Methodist Church discussing their problems ministering to Native Americans, and the long history of (justified) distrust among Native peoples towards the Christian religion.

“No more than 6 percent of the 2.7 million Native Americans in the United States identify themselves as Christian–a statistic often blamed on mistrust of the church. Mission schools operated on Indian reservations from the late 1800s through the first half of the 20th century, many of them founded by Methodists. Children were forced to adopt Anglo-European culture, abandon their tribal languages and convert to Christianity. Today the Native American Church, an indigenous denomination that mixes elements of Christian faith with tribal sacraments, thrives in Native communities where mainline churches don’t.”

Newspaper Rock blogger Rob Schmidt says that there is another very good reason, aside from distrust, why Christianity has problems making inroads into Native Country.

“I suspect most Natives eschew Christianity not because they mistrust the church but because they already have perfectly good religions.”

A point not often conceded by the missionary-minded.

In the wake of a woman being sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for “witchcraft”, the European Union is criticizing a draft penal code in Iran that would order death for anyone convicted of “witchcraft”.

“The European Union has called on Iran to drop provisions in a draft penal code stipulating the death penalty for apostasy, heresy and witchcraft. “These articles clearly violate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s commitments under the international human rights conventions,” the Slovenian EU Presidency said in a statement.”

Are Muslim nations ushering in a new era of witch hunts? How will the international community react once innocent women are being put to death for the “crime” of witchcraft?

Diane Slawych travels to Catemaco, Veracruz (in Mexico) and surrounding areas to witness the annual Congreso Internacional de Brujos, a convention of shamans, witches, Brujos, Santeros, and other traditional healers in the region.

“Another local tells me witches can be found in more than a dozen towns in the area and are often consulted by locals seeking a spiritual cleansing or help with various life problems. But why have all the witches congregated in the same region I wonder. One guidebook offers a possible explanation. Until the 1940s the area was dense jungle and so folk traditions survived longer here than elsewhere … the witches festival isn’t heavily promoted, though many Mexicans, who make up most of the visitors, seem to know about it. The weekend event begins this year on Friday, March 7. Ask for details of shows and other activities on arrival. And if you want to meet a practitioner of folk medicine, keep in mind you don’t have to come during the festival. In the towns of Los Tuxtlas you can meet a witch at any time of year!”

Its too bad the article is written as a light piece of “spiritual tourism”, instead of actually taking an interest in the indigenous and syncretic faith practices of the area.

The Interfaith Alliance has compiled a video outlining the “Top 10 Moments in the Race for Pastor-in-Chief and the unholy use of religion in the presidential campaigns.”

Number one? Mike Huckabee tells a crowd: “What we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards”. With all the Christian rhetoric flying this primary season, its hard to know which candidate will really hear the concerns of minority faiths in America.

In a final note, Slate.com reports on the growing popularity of mead, a drink made from fermented honey, popular throughout the ancient world.

“…the recent interest in fermented honey has morphed it from an esoteric item that only a few bearded Dungeons & Dragons players indulged in to a small yet legitimate commercial enterprise … Is mead, last popular around King Arthur’s table, poised for a comeback?”

Sadly this interesting article is marred by the harping on the drinks “image problem” due to its popularity with SCA members and Renaissance fairs (as if this were some insurmountable obstacle). In the end, the author admits that he just doesn’t like mead all that much, claiming mead is the perfect beverage for Winnie-the-Pooh should he ever take to the bottle. Perhaps next time an article of this nature could be written by someone who actually enjoys mead.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has released a new study of the religious landscape in America. The results, which the Pew Forum calls “unprecedentedly precise”, points towards an increasingly “post-Christian” landscape in America.

“The United States is firmly 78 percent Christian but barely 51 percent Protestant, according to a survey released Monday (Feb. 25). The findings, part of the sweeping U.S. Religious Landscape Survey produced by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, reaffirm a decades-long decline toward minority status for the family of churches that long steered American politics and culture.”

That “barely” 51% figure includes both mainline and evangelical varieties of Protestants. The vast majority of the rest of that 78 percent are the Catholics, who are the largest Christian denomination in America with 23 percent of American adults. But things aren’t looking too good for the Catholics either.

“In the marketplace of American faith, Catholicism is the big loser. Catholics have lost more members to other faiths, or to no faith at all, than any other U.S. religion, according to the new survey released by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life … Perhaps more worrisome for church leaders, while 2.6 percent of Americans converted to Catholicism, four times as many — 10.1 percent — of cradle Catholics have left for another faith or no faith at all. Roughly 10 percent of all Americans are former Catholics, the study reported.”

According to Pew researchers, Catholic numbers have only remained stable due to waves of Hispanic immigration. So Catholicism’s stability is precarious, and observers claim that as the current waves of Catholic immigrants assimilate to American culture, they too will drift away from the faith as previous waves of immigrants have.

So if Christianity’s cultural power is starting to wane, what is taking its place? Well, the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans has risen to 16.1 percent, with a large chunk of that number claiming to have no particular religious orientation. Hindus have acheived the highest retention rate among faiths in America (8 in 10 children remain Hindu), meanwhile, the study finds that religious adherence is becoming increasingly fluid, with 28 percent of people leaving their childhood faith, and a whopping 44 percent changing affiliation in their lifetime.

Finally, we have confirmation that modern Paganism is continuing to grow. The study found that 0.4 percent of Americans adhere to a “New Age” religion, broken down into “Pagan”, “Wiccan”, and “Other”. These figures don’t include those who described themselves as “eclectic”, “spiritual but not religious”, “other liberal faith groups”, or members of CUUPs who identified themselves primarily as Unitarian Universalists. Working then with the idea then that (at least) 0.4 percent of Americans are modern Pagans (according to the study), that means there are at least 1.2 million Pagans of one variety or another in America.

This is the largest scientific study that (theoretically) places modern Paganism over the one million mark. A number that could conceivably be much larger (0.8% refused to answer the survey). Previously, the largest estimated number was 768,400 Pagans in North American according to a COG poll. It is very likely that the actual number of people fitting under the umbrella of modern Paganism is much larger. Signaling perhaps that our days of being classified under “other” are coming to a close. For more data, I suggest looking through the entire study, There is a treasure trove of information here, that has only begun to be analyzed.

Author, Archdruid Emeritus of the ADF, and “polytheologian” Isaac Bonewits is opening his own online school on February 29th. The new online learning institution, Real Magic School, claims to offer “certain answers to a mysterious subject.”

“Real Magic School, named after Bonewits first groundbreaking book, begins with a purposeful program of study that offers a pathway to an Associates degree in Magic. Further, the school begins immediately the process to seek academic accreditation, a process that is both difficult and demanding but according to the school founders, worthwhile. P.E. Isaac Bonewits has chosen to take his degree, his lifetime of experience, and his driving energy to create an academy that is truly a benefit to its students and future alumni. This will be a life changing experience for everyone who gets involved.”

The new school has been built for Bonewits by Witch School, one of the oldest and largest (and some might say controversial) online schools aimed at teaching magic. Real Magic School isn’t the first online magic school to be built around a charismatic Pagan “headmaster”, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart’s Grey School of Wizardry comes immediately to mind, though it does seem to be aiming for a more academic feel while trying to avoid Harry Potter comparisons.

“While the Harry Potter Phenomenon swept the world and has offered a fictional view of a Magical Academy, Isaac is not Dumbledore and Real Magic School is not Hogwarts. Real Magic School is definitely real world and has a truly academic and educational philosophy unmatched in today’s world. Isaac Bonewits is a serious teacher, along with Phaedra, with lifelong experience, and is one of the most respected voices in the Pagan world today calling for academic truth and excellence in the study of magic and thaumaturgy, history, and Paganism.”

It should be interesting to see where this goes. Does an online school with only two teachers (so far) have a real shot at gaining academic accreditation? If they did gain some form of educational accreditation would any mainstream college or institution accept transfer credits from Real Magic School? Real Magic School’s web site doesn’t have any course information up yet, so we will just have to wait and see what sort of curriculum is planned.

Author, Archdruid Emeritus of the ADF, and “polytheologian” Isaac Bonewits is opening his own online school on February 29th. The new online learning institution, Real Magic School, claims to offer “certain answers to a mysterious subject.”

“Real Magic School, named after Bonewits first groundbreaking book, begins with a purposeful program of study that offers a pathway to an Associates degree in Magic. Further, the school begins immediately the process to seek academic accreditation, a process that is both difficult and demanding but according to the school founders, worthwhile. P.E. Isaac Bonewits has chosen to take his degree, his lifetime of experience, and his driving energy to create an academy that is truly a benefit to its students and future alumni. This will be a life changing experience for everyone who gets involved.”

The new school has been built for Bonewits by Witch School, one of the oldest and largest (and some might say controversial) online schools aimed at teaching magic. Real Magic School isn’t the first online magic school to be built around a charismatic Pagan “headmaster”, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart’s Grey School of Wizardry comes immediately to mind, though it does seem to be aiming for a more academic feel while trying to avoid Harry Potter comparisons.

“While the Harry Potter Phenomenon swept the world and has offered a fictional view of a Magical Academy, Isaac is not Dumbledore and Real Magic School is not Hogwarts. Real Magic School is definitely real world and has a truly academic and educational philosophy unmatched in today’s world. Isaac Bonewits is a serious teacher, along with Phaedra, with lifelong experience, and is one of the most respected voices in the Pagan world today calling for academic truth and excellence in the study of magic and thaumaturgy, history, and Paganism.”

It should be interesting to see where this goes. Does an online school with only two teachers (so far) have a real shot at gaining academic accreditation? If they did gain some form of educational accreditation would any mainstream college or institution accept transfer credits from Real Magic School? Real Magic School’s web site doesn’t have any course information up yet, so we will just have to wait and see what sort of curriculum is planned.