Considering the ever-unfolding revelations about ongoing and pervasive cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in America, Ireland, Germany, and most likely everywhere else, the more that I wonder if the Satanic-Panic mongers of the 1980s and 1990s were tapping into something they couldn’t understand. That there was “organized abuse”, but that it wasn’t being done by an underground network of “Satanists” or “Witches”, but by the Christian forces for “good” they were supposed to trust. Of course, being broadly correct about an epidemic of abuse doesn’t absolve the panic-mongers that have destroyed lives, fabricated testimony, enriched con-men, tainted our legal system with bad information, created a subculture that still believes in the lies, and sent innocent men and women to prison for crimes they didn’t commit.

Now, in addition to dealing with the real issue of pervasive abuse by Catholic clergy (and some Protestant clergy), we also have to reckon with the ongoing fallout from the years when SRA (Satanic Ritual Abuse) was riding high and receiving serious attention from folks like Oprah and the television news magazine 20/20.

One high-profile case of the damage SRA did to an already fragile mind is that of Steven Richard Burky, 37, a born-again Christian who was recently institutionalized after stalking actress Jennifer Garner.

“In a February 2008 e-mail to a film crew member, he begged that Garner be warned about a vision he had had. “The vision shows that a persecution may take place in broad daylight against Jennifer Garner for her faith in Jesus Christ,” it said. “The vision showed Mrs. Garner surrounded by a mob in public. “It also involves the possible emergence of a dark secret in America. The presence of illicit witchcraft going on in this country, and illicit sacrifices.” After hearing testimony from two shrinks, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader found Burky not of sound mind when he violated the order of protection in December and showed up near the Santa Monica nursery school where the couple’s kids, Violet and Seraphina, attend. He was ordered to Patton State Hospital indefinitely and won’t be allowed out until doctors declare him mentally fit.”

Who knows what sorts of “therapy” Burky, a teenager during the height of Satanic Panic, went through. Does he believe he participated in human sacrifices? That he was the pawn of a vast underground Satanic conspiracy? It all seems ludicrous to talk about until you realize that seemingly educated people believe in those exact things, and that the clearly falsified testimony of former “Witches” and “Satanists” (now with “Vampires” thrown in too) are still being used in mainstream Christian media outlets.

None of this is meant to say that abuse doesn’t happen within Pagan communities, it does, and it’s a painful tragedy. But that abuse, horrific as it is, isn’t the result of some pervasive underground networking cult, but instead the damaged and twisted minds of individual predators who found our communities useful hunting grounds. The same could be said for sexual abusers in many other circumstances as well. What’s unique about the current news-making controversies is the fact that a large religious hierarchy and bureaucracy did indeed use its power and scope to shelter monsters, taking on the contours of  the fictions peddled by (largely) evangelical snake-oil salesmen. But any (cold) comfort one may receive from knowing that our communities have been largely exonerated from these charges is washed away knowing that we still have to worry about politicians who participated in this madness getting elected to positions of power, and a legal system that still jails kids for listening to the wrong kind of music and reading the wrong kind of books.

The tiny island nation of Bahrain, a neighbor of Saudi Arabia, is making sorcery a crime. New anti-sorcery and witchcraft additions to the penal code have already been passed by the Parliament, and the country’s consultative (Shura) council (an appointed parliamentary “upper house”) have just approved the new additions according to Arabian Business.

“Shura Council officials approved the addition of a new article to the law outlawing sorcery and witchcraft, the Gulf Daily News reports. This would allow judges to give additional weight to such cases brought to prosecution, councillors have claimed. People found guilty of sorcery and witchcraft would face unspecified jail terms and undetermined fines or both, the paper reports.”

A press release from Bahrain’s Shura Council, says these new laws will allow judges to tackle “paranormal” subject matter in criminal cases.

“…councillors said the new addition would give judges all the tools to decide the necessary punishment. They added acts could be defined as sorcery and witchcraft if they were paranormal to scientific and religious beliefs. Those convicted of such offences would face unspecified jail terms and undetermined fines or both.”

Despite some objections from MPs who thought the existing laws against fraud were sufficient, this now places Bahrain within the legal mainstream of most of the Middle East. The question now is how will these laws be enforced? Will “sorcerers” be treated like con-artists, and dealt with (relatively) lightly as in the United Arab Emirates? Or will these new “paranormal” laws degenerate into the thuggish torture and execution of suspects as in Saudi Arabia? Further, are these new laws the beginning of a larger campaign to put the squeeze on adherents to other (non-Muslim) faiths in the country? After all, one person’s religion can very well be another’s “sorcery”.

A National Vodou Ceremony: A few quick notes for you this Monday, starting with the news that several hundred Vodou practitioners in Haiti held a public ceremony for those killed by the devastating January 12th earthquake.

“Dressed in white, shaking decorated gourd rattles and singing praises to “Olorum Papa” (God the Father), several hundred practitioners of Haiti’s voodoo religion held a public ceremony on Sunday to honor those killed in the January 12 earthquake. While several Christian ceremonies have been held to mourn the hundreds of thousands of quake dead, this was the first national commemoration by Haiti’s voodoo religion, which has had to defend itself against accusations by some Evangelical preachers that it somehow caused the deadly natural disaster.”

Religious tensions have been high in Haiti since the earthquake, as some evangelical organizations have blamed Vodou for the earthquake, while others have been accused of using coercive proselytizing techniques, and in one (thankfully isolated) incident, violently interrupting a Vodou ceremony for the dead. This ceremony seemed to pass without incident, with Houngan Jean Claude Bazile defiantly calling out: “It’s voodoo that gives us freedom.”

The Case of the Occult Roses? Someone has been leaving roses and other wedding-related items at the doorstep of Lockport Christian Church in Lockport, New York (near Buffalo), and Pastor Kevin Wing seems certain there are sinister occult overtones to these incidents.

Wing’s son, Michael, found that the dates when items were left corresponded with dates of pagan or satanic rituals. “The incidents fell on the new moon, and satanic rituals recognize certain calendar dates,” Pastor Wing said last week. “We did seek some counseling and have felt there is a possibility that there is a pagan who is performing ceremonies at the church. . . . “We wanted our congregation to know that this was a police matter. Any time we are targeted, this would be considered harassment.”

Someone is leaving roses, chocolates, cake, a ring bearer’s pillow and goblet half-filled with wine at a church doorstep and its got to be a Pagan doing it? Considering the first incident happened three years ago, and twice more recently, it seems far more likely to be disgruntled former member, than a Satanist or Pagan. The Buffalo News actually talks to a Pagan, who also dismisses the idea of it being some sort of occult working.

“A local pagan, who declined to let her name be used, said the incidents were unlikely to have been related to pagan or satanic rituals because all the items left were based in Christianity. “The pagan religion is not anti-Christian, but teaches tolerance. It is the study of all religions,” she said. The woman speculated that the Lockport Christian Church may have been targeted in such a way because of their proselytizing in the area. “Maybe this is about religious tolerance,” she said.”

Why are they so convinced it’s occult in nature? My guess is that has little to do with “certain calendar dates”, and whole lot more to do with the theology taught at their church. Lockport Christian Church is a Charismatic congregation that believes in “gifts of the Spirit” and that “signs and wonders” are a normal part of worship. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were engaged in regular spiritual warfare activities, and like all religious organizations that thrive on (usually imagined) spirit-world conflict are constantly looking for enemies in every happening, slight, or inconvenience. No matter who the culprit might be, they’ll most likely be seen as a dupe/servant of Satan by the church.

Who’s behind the dead and injured animals: Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York has been seeing a rash of strange animal deaths in the last couple weeks, culminating in the injury of a local swan. Thankfully, despite some initial reports to the contrary, park officials don’t think the animal parts and strange deaths are the work of practitioners of Santeria.

Initial reports linked the dead animals to Santeria rituals, but Assistant Commissioner of NYC Parks and Recreation Tupper Thomas told WPIX Friday that that explanation was off the table: “We feel that somebody has probably been bringing in the chicken parts and the entrails, brought it in and dumped it there for God only knows what reason.”

There doesn’t seem to be a prevailing theory at this point, though officials did point out that some animal sickness is common after a long Winter. Water contamination testing is slated, and while some are concerned that these killing are ritualistic, no sane Santero or Vodouisant would so carelessly butcher an animal or scatter offal in a public place. Misunderstood Afro-Cuban/Caribbean faiths are often the scapegoat for dead animal parts left in public places, but as I’ve been saying for some time, they should be looking for sadistic teenagers, disturbed adults, and potential serial killers instead.

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

City prosecutors cut deals, they do this all the time. For every case that goes to trial, several more, depending on the size of the city, are dealt with by way of plea deals. It often saves both the prosecution and the defense time, money, and resources. So I doubt that Otsego, Michigan’s prosecutor, Stephen Kastran, thought much about it when he cut a deal with Melissa “Carli Ray” Lesterhouse, owner of the Bewitching Wares shop.

“Lesterhouse, who owns Bewitching Wares at 128 E. Allegan St. in Otsego, and her employee, Jacqueline Janeczek, were each cited in late December for providing a psychic reading for money, a misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 in fines and 90 days in jail. Janeczek, of Kalamazoo, pleaded guilty on March 5 in Allegan County District Court. Her sentence included $310 in fines. She also said, if she did not offer any psychic readings for money in the next six months, her conviction could be expunged. Kastran, a partner at Burnett, Kastran & Klein P.C. in Allegan, said that because of Janeczek’s guilty plea, he and Otsego Police Chief Gordon Konkle agreed the charge against Lesterhouse should be dropped. The charge against Lesterhouse, of Plainwell, was dropped on March 5.”

Aside from Otsego’s asinine law against fortune telling, this all seems rather business as usual. What’s unusual is what happened next.

“The city of Otsego’s former prosecutor says he was fired after dropping a charge against a woman who had been accused of violating a 93-year-old city ordinance that prohibits the offering of psychic readings for money … The charge against Lesterhouse, of Plainwell, was dropped on March 5. Kastran said the following week he received a letter from the city of Otsego saying he had been fired from his job as the city’s prosecutor … [City Manager Thad] Beard denied Kastran was let go because of his decision to drop the charge against Lesterhouse.”

The fact that Otsego Police Chief Gordon Konkle agreed that the charge against Lesterhouse should be dropped, and then worked with the City Manager to have Kastran fired for it is somewhat suspicious. Did Konkle agree to drop the charges under protest? Was it a set-up? Is Kastran simply jumping to conclusions? Perhaps a throw-away bit of background at the end of the article can shed some light on the subject.

“Lesterhouse, whose name previously was Melissa Cronin-Warfield, was at the center of a flubbed 2003 prostitution sting by the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team. She was never arrested in the case, which prompted changes at the top of the command structure of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, which runs KVET.”

Is this less about fortune telling and more about an old grudge resurfacing? I mean, why were cops doing a sting operation on a couple of local psychics in the first place? Were they hoping to have their old prostitution theories vindicated? Is there no real crime in Otsego?  Shouldn’t they be more worried about the meth-labs in downtown Otsego? Did Stephen Kastran accidentally interject himself into the middle of a personal crusade? There are more questions than answers here, but the more you dig, the less this seems like a simple case of breaking a 100-year-old fortune telling ordinance.

The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life have released a study that analyzes news coverage of religion for 2009. The take-home message? Mainstream media coverage of religion continues to shrink (0.8% of the news, as opposed to 1% last year), and new media (blogs, web sites, podcasts, etc) is taking up the slack, and becoming the primary outlet for religion news, debate, and discussion.

In 2009, religion attracted significantly more attention in new media sources than in the mainstream media.in a sample drawn from millions of blogs and social media finds that religion was a top story in nearly a quarter of the weeks studied (11 out of 45 weeks) … The blogosphere and other social media tools have grown over the past few years. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 51% of internet users post online content that they have created themselves. Eleven percent of all adults use blogs. The use of Twitter has tripled since 2008. At the same time, the number of reporters assigned to the religion beat in the mainstream media has been shrinking. According to Debra Mason, executive director of the Religion Newswriters Association, at least 16 major print news outlets have reduced or abandoned their religion beats since 2007. At the same time, she says, online newspapers such as The Huffington Post and Politics Daily have increased their religion staff. “We’re in the midst of growth of the [religion] beat online,” Mason says, “but newspapers haven’t kept up with the trend and have instead let religion coverage languish.” An analysis of nearly a year’s worth of commentary

Not only is new media now dominating in coverage of religious news, we’re more diverse as well. While MSM religion coverage, when it happened, was primarily focused on Pope Benedict or religious angles to developments within the Obama Administration, new media religion stories “were broad in scope”, and wildly successful in engaging their audience.

Another interesting tidbit I found is that while new media sources continue to rely heavily on mainstream media as a jumping-off point for opinion and analysis, a growing number of bloggers are creating their own content.

“The blogosphere and other social media tools have grown over the past few years. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 51% of internet users post online content that they have created themselves. Eleven percent of all adults use blogs. The use of Twitter has tripled since 2008.”

As this shift to new media continues, you’ll continue to see the professionalization of the religious blogosphere. If you take a quick look at the Social Science Research Council‘s study “The New Landscape of the Religion Blogosphere”, you’ll see that a good number of the leading blogs and web sites driving religion coverage on the web are either run by journalism professionals, are extensions of non-profits, or are part of for-profit ventures (even The Wild Hunt is attempting to evolve into an NPR donation-supported model).

There’s a reason why The Huffington Post has dived into religion coverage, the public is hungry for news and analysis on this large and unwieldy subject, and the mainstream media doesn’t seem to have the inclination or resources to do the job properly. In the future, the “big” religious stories will be reported on the Internet first, and “trickle up” to cable news and newspapers. So it makes sense that we’ll see more new media start-ups, like HuffPost and Patheos.com who want to be a part of driving that discussion. For minority faiths (and minority groups in general), it’ll be more important than ever to have a strong Internet news-making and reporting presence. Without one, we’ll have little to no say in how news about our communities gets reported, and groups that have no desire to participate in a link-based economy will find themselves increasingly marginalized.

The film “American Mystic”, one of twelve entries in The Tribeca Film Festival’s World Documentary Feature Competition for 2010, has released its official trailer and web site.

A still from the “American Mystic” trailer.

Directed and co-produced by Alex Mar of Empire 8 Productions, the film features Pagan priestess Morpheus Ravenna, who, along with her husband Shannon, operates the Stone City Pagan Sanctuary in California’s Diablo Range, just outside the San Francisco Bay Area. If this trailer is any indication of the overall quality, it may be one of the best documentaries featuring modern Paganism in recent memory.

Morpheus Ravenna is planning to be in New York for the premiere, so hopefully we’ll hear about her experiences regarding the film, and get a sense of how the audience reacted. I’ll try to keep you posted regarding screenings, the eventual DVD release, and hopefully an interview with director Alex Mar regarding the project.

News media in East Central Illinois have been following the case of Andrew L. Thomas, a youth minister and track coach in Rossville, Illinois who’s been charged with the rape of 16-year-old boy he was mentoring.

“Andrew Thomas made his first appearance in court today. He’s been the youth minister at Rossville Church of Christ for three years, according to court records. Prosecutors say he had sex with a 16 year old boy he was mentoring. They say it happened over the last few months. The victim came forward to police. Thomas was arrested last night. If convicted, Thomas faces up to 15 years in prison. His friends, family, and church community are standing behind him. Prosecutors say more charges could be filed. They are investigating whether he may have child pornography on his computer.”

While these accusations against a Christian clergyman seem sadly pedestrian in an age of massive abuse scandals, this case draws special attention for our community. For while Thomas was allegedly abusing young boys, he was also leading an anti-Pagan crusade in order to drive Witch School out of Rossville, Illinois.

“Andy Thomas, youth minister at the Rossville Church of Christ, said residents had a spiritual responsibility to drive the witches out. If they didn’t, he said, young people were in danger of being pulled off the Christian path …”

The bitter irony of a man trying to protect “young people” from Witches while allegedly abusing them hasn’t escaped the folks at Witch School (since relocated to Salem, Massachusetts), who have released a statement concerning the matter.

“Pastor Andy Thomas, which claimed superior rights has now been arrested for Criminal Sexual Assault against a minor, and will face trial for them. He is alleged to have had sexual encounter with a 16 year old boy under his mentorship, and is under investigation for child pornography. He is still innocent until proven guilty, these are serious charges that question the intentions and his moral standing in the community. Our heart goes out to his alleged victim and there families, as this must be very difficult to deal with. We feel for the Rossville community, which trusted this man to give them clear spiritual advise, and instead betrayed them, in this case with their own children. In truth, he abused their trust as well, when he led them in vigorous protest against Witch School, which had never once involved in any activity to harm the community. Pastor Andy Thomas worked hard to assure the community and the nation knew how awful it was that Witch School was, while he was the individual who was bringing real harm to the community.”

You can see further reactions from Witch School at Rev. Don’s Vlog.

While his church community claims to be standing behind him, one has to wonder how many in Rossville are now questioning the past actions of this pastor, and if his obsession with driving out the “harmful” Witches wasn’t an externalization of the same deep seated psychosis that allegedly drove him to abuse children. Did he believe that by driving out the “other” he could also drive out the same demons that haunted him? Or was his religious zeal all a smokescreen for a deep-seated abusive nature? In any case, no matter what the ultimate outcome, this Witch-hunter has fallen.