“Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.” – The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, from his opening inaugural prayer.

Today America gets a new president. While a large number of modern Pagans voted for the man taking office, this blog does try to avoid taking partisan stances (like Obama, I don’t believe in a “conservative Paganism”, “liberal Paganism”, or even an “anarchist Paganism”, I just believe in a modern Paganism), so we’ll steer clear of anything that smacks of endorsement and instead concentrate on what an Obama administration could mean for us collectively.

Thinking about the next four years, I think of the iconic photo of Obama’s “lucky charms”. Sacred and secular items, military and civillian, Christian and non-Christian, monotheistic and non-monotheistic, all have a place, and all will affect his “luck” in the years to come. We must remember that the promise of America is a promise of equal opportunity and equal treatment, no matter what our religion, gender, race, orientation, or philosophy.

How will Obama treat modern Pagans and other minority faiths? While Pagans haven’t been thrilled with all of his initial decisions (and I haven’t been too thrilled with some of his pandering to conservative Christians), I do think that a man who grew up in a multicultural Hawaii, who was adopted into the Crow Nation, and who included a Hindu in the National Prayer Service may give us a reason to be hopeful about the future. We hope for an America that is truly inclusive for all Americans (or one, at the very least, not predisposed to work against us) no matter what their faith. This won’t come from Obama alone, but from all of us demanding real equality and working towards that goal together. I wish Obama and his new administration well, and look forward to the next four years of agreement, disagreement, coalition building, and spirited debate.

An announcement has come forth that Rev. Kendra Vaughan Hovey, elder high priestess of Duxbury’s First Church of Wicca, and star (along with her family) of the reality television program “My Unique Family”, has converted to (some form of) Christianity and is opening a new church. In a letter sent to members of the church (thanks to Kat for forwarding it to me), Hovey takes time to explain her conversion from Wicca, pointing out her former faith’s (perceived) shortcomings.

I have come to see the serious failings of the Wiccan faith. A major problem with the faith is that there is no unity among the followers of the faith which makes it very challenging to define exactly what Wiccans do and do not believe in. Wiccans have a very open “do what you will” or “live and let live” perspective in life which very easily can cause harm to oneself and others without one actually knowing it until it is much too late. Additionally, there is no unified moral code of ethics. This puts up huge red flags for society-at-large because no one can really be quite sure of what any group’s intentions are. Society would have no way of knowing, for example, if you are a Wiccan that practices the Great Rite or polyamory, to name only two examples. Also, they would have no way of knowing just what “Do what ye will and harm none” means, and quite frankly, neither does each individual Wiccan. We are left to make moral and ethical decisions for ourselves rather than realizing that by human nature we are going to do anything that feels good to us, not what is best for us, and also not necessarily what is best for society as a whole. This makes for a very dangerous and faulty moral code of ethics. In addition, Wicca teaches primarily about how we can change the world and have all that we want. Spells, magick, etc. all prove to cause us to think selfishly instead of putting others before ourselves and more importantly instead of putting God before anyone else, including ourselves. It is very understandable that one would be close to nature and the earth, as well as, feel a need to call “God” the “God and Goddess;” however, the actual rote and complicated spells involved in Wicca can prove to be a huge distraction in one’s spiritual growth. We do not need all of the “ritual things” in order to have a relationship with God – all we need is a sincere and thankful heart.

While I respect the decision of any Pagan to leave for a faith or philosophy that better suits them, Hovey’s little rant to her followers seems to point to someone who wanted Wicca to be something other than it was, and didn’t really understand (or want to understand) the theology, morality, and practice of modern Paganism as it is. Perhaps her desire to shoehorn Wiccan practice into a congregationalist model, complete with sermons on Sunday and clerical collars, bespoke a long-standing desire to fully embrace Christianity. Now that she’s moved on, her new church is aiming to heal the wounds of “inequity from past religions”.

…helping people heal from their experiences of inequity from past religions and religious institutions, using Jesus Christ and his teachings in the Bible as the foundation of how to have a meaningful relationship with God, as well as, holistic health of mind, body, and soul.

Again, I wish Ms. Hovey well in her conversion and ministry, too bad her healing journey towards Christ had to begin by misrepresenting and bad-mouthing her former faith. She’ll no doubt be far happier in her new role, though I doubt it will get her the attention she sought while running a Wiccan church.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when the nation celebrates the birthday* of peacemaker activist Rev. Martin Luther King Jr..

“In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

A short excerpt from King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”:

“You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling, for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood….I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

* Martin Luther King’s actual birthday is on January 15th, but the Federal holiday is observed on the third Monday of January.

Back in 2007, the Federal Bureau of Prisons unleashed a “Standardized Chapel Library” project that limited prison libraries to an approved list of titles (including 131 approved Pagan titles). All other books, no matter what the content, were pulled from the shelves. The lists (which, despite claims to the contrary, were not drawn up by religious experts), and the pulling of titles, created a firestorm of controversy, forcing the BOP to back down. Congress then passed a new rule forbidding the BOP from pulling this stunt again in the future. Prevented from having an “approved” master list, the BOP is instead going for the next best thing.

Yesterday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons published a proposed rule change in the Federal Register (full text) that permits prison chapel libraries to exclude books, audiotapes and videos that “could incite, promote or otherwise suggest the commission of violence or other criminal activity.” The proposed rule defines this as including material that advocates violence toward particular religious, racial or ethnic groups as well as material that urges overthrow or destruction of the United States.

Seems rather reasonable until you realize that the new rule doesn’t specify who exactly will be making the judgement calls on which literature crosses the line into “advocating violence” or “urging overthrow”. Wouldn’t preconceived notions come into all this if it were up to individual prison librarians or administrators? After all, some have argued that the Bible is rather antisemitic in places and encourages violence. Maybe you think all the Pagan books would be safe, but what if the local decision-maker reads a lot of WorldNetDaily? Or, what if they read Leland’s “Gospel of the Witches” a bit too literally? What about an evangelical who thinks Mormonism is a dangerous cult? It would be somewhat naive to think that only radically violent or racist literature would be weeded out.

If there is going to be a rule to pull dangerous books, there needs to be transparency about how decisions are made, and who those decision-makers are, otherwise we are in danger of pervasive bias entering into the process. Public comments on this rule change are being accepted until March 17th, 2009. If you want to call for more built-in transparency into this process, you can use this online commenting form to (politely) voice your concerns.

One of the more peculiar legal arguments I’ve heard is that the history of cultural Christian dominance in America makes public displays of the cross effectively “secular” and therefore exempt from Church-State concerns.That was the opinion of a judge in Utah last year concerning memorial road markers (currently being appealed), and it has emerged again over the issue of the Mt. Soledad cross in San Diego.

Litigation over the 43-foot-tall Mt. Soledad cross has been under way for nearly 20 years. Several federal courts have ruled against its display on city property. In an effort to save the cross, the federal government acquired the land underneath the cross in 2006. Legal action proceeded against the federal government’s ownership of the towering religious symbol. In July of 2008, U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns ruled that the cross “communicates the primarily non-religious messages of military service, death and sacrifice” and can remain on public property.

Unsurprisingly, Americans United (along with other groups) have asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn this decision. They claim, sensibly enough, that a multi-religious military and nation cannot be symbolized by a Christian cross.

“American service personnel come from many different faiths and some follow no spiritual path at all,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “It is disrespectful to our deceased veterans to use the symbol of only one faith to memorialize them all” … “That the cross is used in a veterans’ memorial here does not make it secular,” asserts the brief. “In fact, as a burial marker, the cross has been used almost exclusively for Christian burials in order to convey a sectarian message that the deceased lived and died as a member of a particular Christian community. And as a monument in a veterans’ memorial, the cross conveys a similar sectarian message: that only fallen Christian soldiers are being remembered. Given the ‘commanding presence’ of the Mt. Soledad cross in relation to the rest of the memorial, the primary message that this cross communicates is religious, not secular.”

Even if every body buried in that site were Christian (leaving aside the various doctrinal and denominational issues), do Christians really want their cross to become a secular communicator of “non-religious messages”? Further, this “secularization” is a rather recent invention. Until 1989 (when litigation started) it was known as the “Easter Cross” and it was dedicated to “Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”, which seems to undermine the notion that this is everyone’s non-religious cross-shaped memorial. The “secular” cross is just the latest gambit to circumvent state and federal law. It no more represents and honors Jews, Hindus, Muslims and atheists than the Wiccan pentacle does. To say otherwise undermines the hard work minority religions have undertaken to have their own symbols and traditions properly honored and recognized.

I was just going to let this one slide at first, but so many of my readers have tipped me off to this story that I now feel compelled to mention it. It seems that Lithuania’s most famous witch, Vilija Lobaciuviene, has been hired by a collections firm to call delinquent customers unwilling to part with their cash during this global economic downturn. Lobaciuviene will help these individuals “understand the situation” so that they pay up.

“Our new employee will help them to understand the situation, reconsider what is right and wrong and act accordingly,” he said. “We will also help those who are in real trouble, suffering from psychological impact of bankruptcy and depression.” Lobaciuviene, who describes herself as “Lithuania’s leading witch,” is renowned in the former Soviet republic of 3.4 million people for providing such “magical” services as predicting the future and casting spells. She claims to use hypnosis, herbal medicines and “the bio-energy field” when helping her “patients.” Asked to comment on her new job, Lobaciuviene, 53, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she is happy to be of assistance. “I am free citizen and can do whatever I like. I am glad someone needs my help and I will do whatever I can to help people,” she said.

You have to wonder what the carrot/stick ratio is for these friendly phone calls from the famous witch. I can’t imagine there isn’t a least an undertone of “or else” is such attempts to get people to “reconsider”. As for Vilija Lobaciuviene, I can only imagine she’s pleased with the power and prestige such international publicity brings her. Let’s just hope this trend doesn’t spread to America, the last thing I need is a call from Laurie Cabot inquiring about my outstanding loans.

Just a couple quick news items for this morning. First, news has come that the 94-yr-old artist Suzanne Wenger (aka Adunni Olorisa), a convert to Yoruba and tireless defender of traditional religion in Nigeria, has passed away.

The Osun Grove in Osogbo had become a world-class tourism site under her supervision, and had been listed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s World Heritage List in 2005. The Ataoja of Osogbo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Jimoh Oyewale Matanmi, said Suzanne Wenger lived a fulfilled life and arrangements have been made for her burial, saying the burial rites had begun.  The Jaguna of Osogbo, second in command to the Ataoja, said Adunni Olorisa, had said that no tomb should be built for her saying “She said she wouldn’t want any white people to turn her tomb into a tourist attraction. She has laid a solid foundation for the arts and culture in Osun State. Her works will never perish,”

I linked to a BBC profile of Ms. Wenger from September of last year (which I highly endorse reading). It is of no doubt that she’ll be feted in Nigeria for her work in establishing the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove as a World Heritage site, and for her ardent and deep connection to Yoruba and the goddess Osun. May she rest in the otherworld, and return to us again.

In sad news of an entirely different variety, a local Texas paper reports on a fringe “spiritual warfare” Christian group that’s making a map of prayer “targets” in their area. Needless to say, anything even vaguely Pagan-sounding or sheltering is making the hit-list prayer map.

The Wildcat Bluff Nature Center is on the prayer map. Repent Amarillo Director David Grisham says since they have a “Earth Circle” they are connected to a pagan group with the same name.  “These things are linked pagans are earth-based religions along with Wicca and other forms of witchcraft are earth-based religions and earth circles are part of that,” Grisham said.  But Wildcat Bluff Nature Center Supervisor Rhoda Breeden says they are completely wrong. “There aren’t any pagan rituals or ceremonies that happen out here so I was really surprised that they were falsely identifying us,” Breeden said. The 806 coffee shop and bar is also on the list. Repent Amarillo says they’re praying for the pagan groups that meet there but employees like Matthew Domzalski, a barista at The 806, says its not his place to discriminate.

This Christian malicious magic-cult is recruiting “soldiers” and intercessory prayer “warriors” to undertake “missions” (that are sometimes “undercover”) to (spiritually) tear down the “demonic strongholds” of Pagan worship. Let’s hope this all stays in the purview of prayer, and doesn’t inspire some of these soldiers to go further. The language of militancy can sometimes blur the distinctions between spiritual action and physical action.