FaithWorld, Religion Clause, and Religion Dispatches all point to a newly-released poll from Public Religion Research and the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics that compares conservative and progressive/liberal religious activists. While it “contains very little that will surprise anyone”, the poll does starkly display the vast differences in diversity between the politically active religious “left” and “right”. To quote the findings:

“Conservative and progressive religious activists are deeply religious, but have strikingly different religious profiles. In terms of religious affiliation, conservative activists are almost exclusively Christian, whereas progressive activists are more diverse.”

Let’s have a look at the graphs.

I think “strikingly different” is a fair assessment. Not even 1% of conservative activists would admit to being non-Christian, while 2% of progressive activists admit to being in the “other” category (the happy land of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and Pagans that exists only in the minds of polling organizations) and an impressively significant 12% labeled themselves as Unitarian-Universalist or mixed-faith.

“Progressive activists are markedly more diverse in terms of religious affiliation. No single faith tradition makes up a majority of progressive religious activists. A plurality (44%) of progressive religious activists identify as Mainline Protestants, one?sixth (17%) are Roman Catholics, and one?tenth are Evangelical Protestants. Twelve percent identify with Unitarian?Universalists, interfaith, or mixed faith groups. Six percent of progressive religious activists are Jewish. Interestingly, 8% of these activists have no formal religious affiliation or identify as formerly affiliated. Two percent identify with other religious traditions.”

So what does it all mean? First it confirms that majority-holding conservative evangelicals (54%), in alliance with conservative Catholics (35%), completely dominate religiously-motivated activism on the right, and the likelihood of non-Christian faiths ever having a significant voice in the current state of right-wing politics is slim-to-nil. Meanwhile, no one group holds a majority within the world of religious progressives, allowing for a far more diverse coalition to exist. This reality has some wide-ranging political implications, it means that as minority religions grow they may be far more likely to vote for a liberal/progressive candidate, even if they disagree on some issues, because the opposition is seen as uniquely hostile to them. Around 74% of modern Pagans voted for Obama in the last election, and I bet that Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims had similarly lopsided polling numbers.

“Among progressive activists, 58% say Obama was their first choice in the Democratic primary, and 93% supported him in the general election … Among progressive activists, 1-in-5 say faith was the most important factor, and 41% report that faith was as important as other factors in deciding who to support in the election.”

Further, while minority faiths are vastly smaller in number compared to evangelicals or Catholics, some polling suggests that people who have a “favorable” opinion of minority faiths are more likely to vote in their interests, creating a sphere of influence that far outstrips their actual population. Conservative activists should see these polling results with some dismay, while they have a dependably large bloc of support amongst conservative evangelicals, the candidates that make them happy can often deeply alienate non-Christians who might otherwise be interested in conservative stances on various issues. As for liberal and progressive organizers, they need to recognize that a large portion of their religious coalition doesn’t identify as Christian, and to stop over-privileging “nice” pseudo-moderate Christians like Jim Wallis and Rick “Purpose Driven Life” Warren up as the voice of a “religious left” that will draw more evangelical voters away from the conservatives. This new poll makes it pretty clear that isn’t about to happen no matter who you get to make an invocation.

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

In South Africa, News 24 interviews Damon Leff of the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) concerning recent comments by ANC MP Adrian Williams (an “out” Pagan politician) that modern Pagans in South Africa should abandon attempts to reclaim the term “Witch” due to its (sometimes violently) negative associations in the country.

“SAPRA rejected Williams’s views on the use of the word “witch”, saying communities must be educated about other people’s religious beliefs and practices. “While Williams self-identifies as pagan, it should be noted that he has no mandate to speak on behalf of all the witches in South Africa,” said SAPRA director, Damon Leff.”

The piece also interviews a representative of the Traditional Healers Organisation (THO) who sympathizes with SAPRA’s goals, and feels that while it might be possible for the term to be used and reclaimed among white South Africans,  colonialist framing of the term “witch” has made reclaimation all but impossible among black South Africans. What’s clear is that this issue isn’t going away any time soon, and it remains to be seen if some sort of “dual understanding” equilibrium over terminology can be reached.

The Lancaster Sunday News has the official follow-up from the showdown in Stoudtburg Village, which pitted a planned Pagan festival against Christian protesters and shop-owners closing to avoid serving Pagan customers.

“Witches and pagans who traveled to Adamstown on Saturday for a festival “Celebrating Earth Spirituality” were greeted by a steady rain and praying Christians in a silent protest. The gathering held at Stoudtburg Village and hosted by Reading Pagans & Witches proved to far less controversial than the debate that brewed in the days leading up to it … Jen Anderson-Wenger, president of Reading Pagans & Witches, said several church groups “laid hands on us and prayed.” She said she was pleased at the turnout, and said her group was received “very peacefully”.”

You can read Jen Anderson-Wenger’s report on the festival, here. The Reading Pagans & Witches site has also posted a list of businesses that stayed open for them. It should be interesting to see what the long-term ramifications of this event will be. Will some stores that closed down end up regretting it? Have local perceptions of who modern Pagans are changed any? It would nice to see some follow-up on those questions.

The Boston Globe’s Articles of Faith blog reports on the massive new Hindu Temple of Minnesota, and the various issues that the growing numbers of American Hindus (1.5 – 2 million estimated) face.

“This temple is unlike anything you would see in India — there, temples are typically centered on a single deity, but because this is the U.S., where the Hindu community hails from all over India as well as the Hindu diaspora, the temple opted for a variety of shrines to meet the needs and devotional practices of a diverse group of worshipers … The biggest challenge, of course, is transmitting the faith from immigrants, most of whom grew up in a predominantly Hindu society, to their children, who are growing up in a predominantly Christian society.”

Reporter Michael Paulson also notes that the Hindu community in America is used to worship being a personal matter, and is still adjusting to the American tradition of clergy speaking out publicly on social and political issues. In the coming years it should be interesting to see how Hindu clergy in America start to adapt to Western expectations of what religious leaders do, and what the leaders that do spring to the forefront want to say. I wanted to highlight this article because there are some strong similarities between the Hindu community’s emergence into the American mainstream and our own. We should pay attention to how they grow and change, because the modern Pagan movement will be facing similar issues as our numbers start to rival theirs.

Canadian magazine The Walrus takes a look at the Theosophist and Transcendentalist beliefs of the Group of Seven,  a fellowship of influential landscape painters in the 1920s who were influenced by European Impressionism.

“Cosmic consciousness might seem an awfully thin rod to hang a flag from, but given the checkered history of nationalist experiments in the twentieth century, that may have been a godsend. During the 1920s and ’30s, when Germans were falling for a myth of the mystical superiority of the Nordic race, Canadian Theosophists were promoting a quaint, aristocratic mysticism that privileged the wisdom of colonized peoples and taught the values of internationalism and universal brotherhood.”

It’s a fascinating exploration of how the Canadian art world became infatuated with Theosophy and how that relationship influenced the art that was made. “New Age”, occult, indigenous, and modern Pagan religions and philosophies have had such a great impact on the history of art that I’m surprised we haven’t seen more explorations of the topic. It’s certainly true that we still await a good overview of fine art and illustration influenced (and created) by modern Paganism, something that I hope I don’t have to wait too long to see remedied.

Three Roman-era statues of Aphrodite have been discovered at the Israeli archaeological site of Hippos, excavators speculate they were hidden by worshipers of the goddess during the rise of Christianity in the 4th century CE.

“It is possible that during the fourth century [CE], when Christianity was gradually becoming the governing religion in the Roman Empire, there were still a number of inhabitants in Sussita who remained loyal to the goddess of love and therefore wished to hide and preserve these items,” suggests Prof. Segal.

No word yet on what will be done with the statues, or if they’ll eventually be put on display. If I were a devotee of Aphrodite I might see the recovery of these intact statues as some sort of sign or miracle, proof of her enduring power. It is, after all, how many Christians see the recovery of their ancient artifacts.

In a final note, there’s a new Pagan e-zine starting up called “Eternal Haunted Summer”.

“Eternal Haunted Summer is the only ezine of its kind: one which gives voice to modern devotion to the many Gods and Goddesses of our ancestors. Poems and stories celebrating the Deities and heroes of the Celts, Norse, Germans, Romans, Etruscans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Canaanites, Sumerians, Egyptians and many, many, many others are all welcome. If you have been inspired to write a poem honoring Apollo or Brigid or Enki; or a short story about Inanna or El or Jove; or if you have written a review about a book or journal with a Pagan focus, please consider submitting it here. Our first official issue will go live on the Winter Solstice 2009, with quarterly updates on each subsequent Equinox and Solstice.”

I wish them every success and hope the poets and writers who read the The Wild Hunt will check them out.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

I’m sure you haven’t heard, but there is a new book coming out tomorrow by author Dan Brown entitled “The Lost Symbol”. Brown’s last book, “The Da Vinci Code”, sold, like, a gazillion copies, made various Catholics and conservative Christians pop a gasket, and spawned a mega-grossing movie (not to mention a successful prequel/sequel) starring Tom Hanks. In anticipation of this assured best-seller James Kaplan from Parade Magazine sits down with Brown to talk about his work, whether he believes in the conspiracy theories he writes about, and why he was inspired to write about the divine feminine.

“Part of it was my mom–she is strong in her convictions and yet absolutely open to embracing a change in them. Part of it was falling in love and also looking at other religions, especially older ones, paganism, the Mother Earth concept. And some of it came from looking at the destructive force of man and saying, “Look at what we’re doing. If we spent half the intellect and money we spend on killing each other on solving problems, wouldn’t that be great?” I kind of equate that with testosterone. You say, “What if God were a woman? What if we embraced our feminine side–the more creative, passive, loving side?” It’s a gross generalization, but all those things added up to my celebrating the Sacred Feminine.”

I’ve long believed that it was Brown tapping into a deep yearning to re-connect with the feminine aspect(s) of the divine that made his rather slight novel a super-mega hit.

“It isn’t that Jesus had sex, it isn’t the mysterious gnostic sects, it isn’t about hatred of the Catholic Church, and it certainly isn’t due to Dan Brown’s skill as a writer, it’s the goddess, stupid.”

As for what Brown personally believes he remains a bit evasive, saying he’s strayed far from the Episcopalian upbringing of his youth, but that he come “full circle” and sees a “spiritual aspect” to science. It also seems that he may be done exploring the feminine divine and has moved into the realms of Freemasonry and noetic science for his latest page-turner. Still, with Brown back in the news you can expect that the heresy-hunters will be straining for a piece of the spotlight.

There’s good journalism and bad journalism, and then there are articles that simply bend your brain with how astoundingly far they travel from the fields of acceptable news-gathering. Tell me good readers, what comes into your mind when you read the following sentence.

“A Voodoo priest who was linked to the death of a young woman is coming to Wales to preach about his bizarre “religion”.”

That sounds horrible! Some woman-killing Voodoo priest teaching his “bizarre” faith in Wales?!?  But wait, there’s more…

“Wales on Sunday can reveal that mysterious Hector Salva – who compares voodoo to Catholicism – will be in Cardiff later this month to hold secret meetings about his faith.”

Secret meetings! Oh no! We have to… wait a second… did you say “Hector Salva”? I know that name.

“Authorities are awaiting results of a toxicology test to determine the cause and manner of Hamilton’s death, which has not been deemed suspicious. No charges have been filed, and Salva, who goes by “Houngan Hector,” said he is “100 percent confident” there was no wrongdoing on his part. Salva, soft-spoken and polite with a constant smile, said that no drugs were involved in the spiritual cleansing called the Lave Tet, but that small amounts of rum sometimes are consumed. “Maybe a sip,” he said, but he added that Hamilton had “passed on the rum.” …  “She was happy, very positive,” he said. “She seemed very fine as far as everyone knew.” What happened about 11 p.m., Salva said, is the same scenario he told dispatchers during a frantic 9-1-1 call. “She was taking a nap and we woke her up to see if she was hungry, and she was nonresponsive,” he reiterated yesterday. “We kept calling her name and she wouldn’t respond.” The other participants in the ritual could not be reached for comment. Salva declined to provide their names.”

In fact, the Wales on Sunday piece does grudgingly admit later on in the piece that New Jersey Vodou practitioner Hector Salva isn’t under suspicion for the woman’s death, and that the meetings are “secret” because the organizers are worried about “religious fanatics” (ie Christian protesters) gate-crashing the event.

“No charges are expected to be brought against Salva and police say they are not treating it as suspicious. But neighbours of Salva – who converted to being a voodoo priest in Haiti in 2003 – said there were often strange smells and foreign chanting coming from the house. Now Salva, whose followers call by his spiritual name Hougoun Hector, will be arriving in Wales to hold three clandestine gatherings in which he will talk about his religion. The location is being kept secret, as the organisers are worried religious fanatics might turn up and gatecrash.”

Well, if there weren’t any Christians looking to infiltrate and protest before, they may well want to now thanks to this article. Andrew Dagnell should be ashamed of this piece, littered as it is with half-truths, distortions, and moral judgements. Frankly, this horrible little article is an affront to good journalism. Is Wales on Sunday a gossip tabloid to allow such things to run? If Salva or Baron’s Magic (the shop sponsoring the talks) runs into trouble we’ll know who will be on our list to “thank” for it.

A week ago I put the spotlight on a local Pagan festival being held today in a quaint tourist-trap “village” in Adamstown, Pennsylvania. The local paper got interested in the event because some of the businesses in the village objected to the Pagans renting out the space and planned to close their doors (avoiding the dirty Pagan money).

“A festival designed to celebrate the nature-centered spirituality of pagans and witches is getting a mixed reaction from shop owners at Stoudtburg Village in Adamstown, where the event will be held Sept. 12. While some of the village’s shops will be open during the festival, others will close because of the group that is sponsoring the event — Reading Pagans & Witches.”

Since then, a number of things have transpired. Some local churches are organizing prayer and fasting to spiritually shield the area from our demonic taint, and are planning to encircle the village and pray for an hour.

“We pray a hedge of protection around the area, asking for the blood of Jesus to cover their boundaries, gates and bridges, that they would stand strong against the schemes of the enemy. We declare the enemy will have no foothold in Adamstown, or the larger  Lancaster County area.”

Meanwhile, the Lady Liberty League has issued an action alert urging Pagans to attend and show support for the Reading Pagans & Witches.

“The intended purpose of the Celebrating Earth Spirituality Festival is to bring Pagans of many paths together for education, celebration, and community outreach. However, this Festival is now also becoming a public stand to uphold Pagan rights and religious freedom … take part in some or all of the Festival. Celebrate Paganism and Pagan religious freedom throughout the day. Be part of a peaceful Pagan presence. Be polite. Dress conservatively. Don’t argue with protesters …  spiritually connect with the Festival from wherever you are. Send blessings in advance as well as while it is going on. Send blessings of peace, understanding, protection, and success to the Festival, Festival organizers, and Festival participants.”

Oh, and this story got picked up by the Associated Press, so it has gone national.

“In town Friday, one shop had a wreath and a sign on the door that said “Proud to be an American.” A note on the door says the owner would be in Washington on Saturday “actively supporting my political beliefs. And of course NOT SUPPORTING the activity taking place in the village today.” In Hertzog’s Yard Sale Store, owner Terry Hertzog finished off a cup of ice cream and said he plans to close his store the next day. “We just don’t believe we can support witches and pagans,” Hertzog said.”

You hear that Pagans! No yard-sale store for you! However, not all store owners are planning to close, and one store that was listed as closing down because of the Pagans in an initial article (Stoudtburg Village Coffee Shop) now protests that it isn’t so.

“Don’t put me on this list…. I’m closing due to, I have a House Showing…. My house is for sale!”

All the fun should be underway now, and I hope we’ll be getting reports soon on how everything went. Will it be a big turn-out? Will the Christians keep their promise to be peaceful? We’ll just have to wait and see. One thing is for certain, what was originally going to be a small Pagan gathering at a quaint tourist-village has certainly exploded into something far bigger. I wonder if any of the shop owners realize the irony of the current situation. They close to keep the Pagans away, but only draw more to their village in the process.

UPDATE: I’ve posted a message from Jen Anderson-Wenger, president of Reading Pagans and Witches, concerning the event.

The Hindu has a fascinating article up about the artisans who create idols of the various Hindu deities. As you can imagine, it isn’t merely a job, but a holy undertaking.

“I can never fully express the joy and satisfaction I feel when I see the deity in all her/ his glory being prayed to by hundreds of devotees. The metamorphosis of a dull lump of clay to a vibrant throbbing god is an incredible process and it’s an honour to be a catalyst in this transformation,” says an emotional Vishwanath. A day in the life of an idol maker is marked by strict self-discipline, both physical and mental. “We bathe at dawn, get into fresh clothes and say a small prayer before embarking on idol making as often our work require us to stand/ stamp/ climb the idols. We also try and abstain from all worldly addictions in this period,” says Biswajeet Pal, one of Vishwanath’s chief helpers.”

It is important to note that traditionally made idols in the Hindu tradition are treated quite differently than mass-produced statuary. Once completed and “awakened” they are considered “alive” with the essence of the god or goddess in question. They must be fed with offerings and cared for, and once planted/rooted in a temple, never moved.

In a related story, the Indian district administration in Varanasi has prohibited the application of hazardous chemical paints during this years Navatri (when nine forms of female divinity are worshiped) to cut down on pollutants in the sacred Ganga/Ganges river.

“In a path breaking move to contain contamination of the holy Ganga due to immersion of idols laden with chemical paints and colours during Dussehra, the district administration has put a ban on the use hazardous chemical paints on idols during this Navratra. While the prohibitory order calls for ban of application of synthetic chemical paints on the idols of Goddess Durga and other deities during the festivity, the district administration is also looking for ways to promote the use of eco-friendly natural colours (obtained from leaves and flowers of some plants) on the occasion.”

In a land where millions of devotees immerse their idols into the Ganges, such changes could have a dramatic effect on pollution levels in the river. Both of these stories give us a fascinating insight into the behind-the-scenes activities that feed into a thriving religion of nearly a billion worldwide.

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

The city of Euless has had its request for a rehearing in federal appeals court over the matter of animal sacrifice rejected.

“A federal appeals court has rejected Euless’ request for a rehearing on a decision that paves the way for a Santeria priest to resume sacrificing animals in his home during religious ceremonies. Jose Merced sued Euless, saying his First Amendment religious freedoms were violated when the city banned him from slaughtering goats in 2006. The city contended that such sacrifices jeopardized public health and violated slaughterhouse and animal-cruelty ordinances.”

Short of an appeal to the Supreme Court, which Euless seems to be considering, this case is done. If it does go to the Supreme Court, and Merced wins again, it could affect animal slaughter laws across the country. Clearing the way for religions like Santeria to sacrifice animals at their rites largely free from the threat of arrest or harassment. To read all my coverage of this case, click here.

At The Nation Max Blumenthal publishes an excerpt from his forthcoming book that concerns the tragic case of Matthew Murray, a deeply disturbed young man who took a gun to a Youth With A Mission missionary training center and opened fire, killing four, then himself. Blumenthal tells how Murray grew up indoctrinated and abused by his charismatic Pentecostal parents, and how his attempts to break free of their programming led him first to the teachings of Aleister Crowley, then to drug abuse, and ultimately to a complete breakdown that led to the tragic shootings.

“Murray had been indoctrinated so thoroughly into charismatic Pentecostal culture, however, that even while he railed against his religious upbringing, he could not abandon his ingrained attraction to religiosity. So instead of fleeing hardcore Christian culture for secular humanism, a natural position for jaded skeptics like him, he traded his former faith for Crowley’s occultism. Crowley’s philosophy of sex “magick,” narcotic hallucination, and self-degradation (he allegedly ordered his followers to have oral sex with goats and drink the blood of cats) was forged in reaction to his parents’ Puritanism and, in fact, was first practiced in English boarding schools, where homosexual experimentation was practically de rigueur. Crowley became Murray’s new lodestar. Like Jesus, who was so impressed by the ardor of a pagan Roman centurion whom he met that he remarked, “I have not found such great faith, even in Israel,” Murray yearned for spiritual practice in its purest form. Now he practiced Crowley’s faux faith as fervently as his parents wished he had worshipped their neo-evangelical macho Christ. But the occult only led Murray into a confusing new world of cheap thrills.”

I find it interesting that Blumenthal, in damning extremist Christianity, feels the need to misrepresent Aleister Crowley, and by implication, to insult anyone who leaves Christianity for an occult practice instead of the “natural” choice of secular humanism. He ultimately blames an abusive Christian upbringing for Murray’s descent into madness, and rightfully criticizes attempts of Christian apologists to paint this as an “occult” or “Satanic” attack, but couldn’t avoid his own preconceived notions concerning what the O.T.O. and the philosophies of Aleister Crowley are truly about. In his failure to hide his disdain for an occult practice he doesn’t understand, to paint it as a sign of illness, he sounds more like the Christians he criticizes than he would most likely care to admit.

SF Gate’s In Marin blog profies Cerridwen Fallingstar on the publication of her new book “White as Bone Red as Blood, The Fox Sorceress”, a book that is “based” on Fallingstar’s past life in 12th century Japan.

“The first book, which was released in 1990, was based on Cerridwen’s past life as a Scottish witch in 16th-century Scotland.   It took a full fifteen years before she released her current book, White as Bone, a compelling read about a sorceress in the royal palace in Japan during the mid-1100s. Why so long? Cerridwen says it takes a long time to cultivate the memories and even longer to do the research.  She says she is able to enter a trance, summon the memories and put them to tape. After transcribing them, she’ll research them by conventional means; by reading as much as she can find on that particular time in history, and by visiting the locales.”

Will this new book find favor within the Pagan community? Are past-life accounts still popular, or have we grown more skeptical of such things in the twenty years since Fallingstar’s last book? I guess we’ll find out. In the meantime, if you want to find out more about Cerridwen Fallingstar and order a copy of the book, click here.

The Odinist group that was kicked out of a public park in Bakersfield, California say they are filing a lawsuit with the ACLU against the North of the River Parks and Recreation Department.

“Roger Perez, NOR public relations director, said, “I believe there was a claim that the religion was being disrespected, and we take those types of claims seriously. But in our internal investigation, that wasn’t believed to have been said, was not said, by our deputy. And unfortunately, I think it just got blown out of proportion.” But the Odinists were not satisfied. They began the process to file a civil lawsuit with the ACLU which is considering whether to take the case.”

So it looks like this one will most likely be going to court. The KERO 23 story also includes the two 911 calls from neighbors that brought the police to the scene, one of which sounds confused about what exactly is going on, and another that alleges they were shouting “white power” to non-white passerby. The Odinist group has denied that they are a racist organization.

In a final note, with Autumn on its way we are quickly approaching the Halloween/Samhain season, and that means reality television programs are skulking about Salem looking for a willing Witchy participant. This time the  snarky fashion show “What Not to Wear” (on the increasingly misnamed TLC network) has its sights set on Salem shop co-owner Leanne Marrama.

“TV fashion gurus Stacy London and Clinton Kelly were in Salem filming an episode of their show, in which they stage weekly style interventions on a victim of bad fashion. Leanne Marrama, a member of Salem’s witch community, was in their sights yesterday. Dressed in a black gown with wide lacy sleeves, a black corset, black combat boots and a black purse with a skull, Marrama is set for a complete fashion, hair and makeup makeover.”

Also in the program will be Marrama’s friend and business associate Christian Day. While I’m sure many Pagans in New England have at times wished the more flamboyant Salem Witches would get a makeover, I don’t think this is what they had in mind. Shows like this aren’t laughing with us, they are producing content so that people can laugh at us (not to mention imposing a more rigid idea of “normalcy” concerning dress and appearance).

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!