Religious Freedom, Intolerable Distinctions, and the Keeper of Light
After spotlighting three news items yesterday, I find that I have another three to share with you today. First up, we have a profile of the Denver Catholic Archbishop Charles J. Chaput. Chaput is receipient of this year’s Canterbury Medal, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty’s highest honor. But while Chaput thinks that the United States is “a nation that only really makes sense in a religion-friendly context”, it is clear from his acceptance speech that he doesn’t mean friendly towards all religions.
The archbishop said “the bedrock” of our common moral heritage was the First Commandment, “I am the Lord your God; you will not have foreign gods before me.” “All of our Western beliefs about the sanctity of life, human dignity and human rights ultimately depend on a Creator who guarantees them. In other words, we have infinite value because God made us. No human being or political authority can revoke that infinite value. Only God is God.” Any other pretention to answering human suffering and hope is “finally an impostor and a road away from God’s light.” Archbishop Chaput said this view of the value of human life was in direct contrast to a contemporary American spirit in which science can “comfortably” coexist alongside “superstition or barbarism.” As the Western moral consensus weakened alongside the progress of science, people did not become more ethically mature. “The 20th century was the bloodiest in history, and today the occult is flourishing right alongside our computers and Blackberries,” he said.
It seems somewhat strange that a group fighting for the rights of Santeros to perform animal sacrifice would give their “highest honor” to a man who most likely thinks “occult” religions don’t merit the same freedoms and considerations as the dominant “world religions”. Indeed, in his comments he seems to hint that “occult” beliefs are the enemy of religious freedom and liberty. An odd attitude for someone who once served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. I guess it just goes to show you how elastic terms like “religious freedom” and “religious liberty” are.
We turn from religious freedom honours, to the potential honour of becoming one of the most powerful judges in the United States. With the pending retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter, speculation has been rampant as to who President Obama will name to replace him. One name being bandied about is U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. While not officially named as a possible appointee, conservatives are already scouring through her decisions (and the decisions of other possible candidates) looking for enough controversy to mount an effective grass-roots challenge. One of the possible talking points should she be appointed is that she is against distinctions being made between faiths in court decisions concerning religion.
In 1994, Judge Sotomayor ruled in favor of two prisoners who claimed to practice Santeria, a Caribbean religion that involves animal sacrifice and voodoo, saying that “distinctions between ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ religions” are “intolerable.”
Frankly, this just makes her seem more appealing to advocates of true religious equality. It is also a stance taken by the Supreme Court (including Antonin Scalia), who saw no distinction between the religious rights of Santeria practitioners and adherents of more “mainstream” faiths. In fact, the (in)famous case of Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah was decided by the Supreme Court in 1993, one year before her 1994 decision. Sotomayor most likely looked to this decision as a guidance on her ruling. I can’t imagine this decision would gain any real traction in the controversy department, but then certain groups are big fans of what I like to call the “Witch Gambit”. Using someone’s non-traditional religion as a basis to deny them custody, convict them of crimes, or discredit them as a witness.
In a final note, the San Francisco Chronicle puts the spotlight on journalist and fellow Pagan blogger Victoria Slind-Flor who is being honored as the “Keeper of Light” at this year’s 8th Annual Pagan Festival & Pride Parade in Berkeley.
“Slind-Flor is a practical witch, grounded in the real world. She worked as an editor and reporter for newspapers in Seattle, New Orleans and Los Angeles before becoming an online business reporter in San Francisco, specializing in copyright law, a field they don’t teach at Hogwarts. When wearing her other hat – the pointed one – she teaches workshops, gives tarot readings, and hangs with the coven. Being Keeper of the Light is the best thing that could happen to a witch, Slind-Flor said, and she will try to be worthy of the honor when the parade rolls through Civic Center Park. She is practicing what she calls her Queen Victoria wave, and she is very glad to be riding in a float, as her legs don’t work as well as they used to and the broom thing cannot be counted on. “I’m probably a symbol of the graying of our community,” she said.”
Congratulation to Victoria on this honor. The festival is tomorrow (Saturday) if you happen to be near Berkeley. Also, if you’re curious, last year’s “Keeper of the Light” honoree was Max Dashu of the Suppressed Histories Archives.
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