With the world’s focus turned to Japan as it deals with the aftermath of a cascade of earthquakes, a massive tsunami, and dangerously damaged nuclear reactors, press and commentators are starting to touch on the question of religion, and how belief is informing Japanese reaction to these events. However, this approach as been somewhat tentative so far, partly because we’ve been riveted by the immediate disaster response, and partly because Japan’s religious makeup is so very different from that of the United States and other Western nations. In Japan, Christianity is a tiny minority, while religions like Shinto and Buddhism dominate, and several smaller syncretic faiths thrive. In addition, Japan is highly secular, with few of the culture war issues that seem to constantly haunt us.

Rescue workers in front of Shinto shrine. Photo: Reuters/Damir Sagolj

CNN was one of the first mainstream news outlets to foray into how religion interacts with these current events, with Religion Editor Dan Gilgoff exploring how Japanese faiths confront tragedy.

“Japanese are not religious in the way that people in North America are religious,” says John Nelson, chair of theology and religious studies at the University of San Francisco. “They’ll move back and forth between two or more religious traditions, seeing them as tools that are appropriate for certain situations. For things connected to life-affirming events, they’ll turn to Shinto-style rituals or understandings,” Nelson says. “But in connection to tragedy or suffering, it’s Buddhism.”

Next to weigh in is USA Today, with religion reporter Cathy Lynn Grossman focusing on the role of tradition, and how Japanese Buddhism isn’t necessarily the Buddhism many Americans would be familiar with.

“Such talk of gods and hell kings doesn’t sound like the meditative Buddhism better known in the West, cultural anthropologist John Nelson said. He’s an expert on Shinto and Buddhist shrines and chairman of the department of theology and religious studies at University of San Francisco [...] ”Japanese Buddhism is similar to Western religions with deities that can be petitioned and can intervene in worldly affairs, and there are many mechanisms to appeal to them, to pray for miracles,” he said.”

Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic points to a short essay by former Anglican priest and journalist Mark Vernon, who meditates on the difference between the Shinto and Christian responses to natural disasters.

“In Christianity, human beings are at the centre of nature: creation is for humanity, along with other creatures, and it’s humanity’s task to care for it. Hence, in part, the offence we feel when nature turns against us. In Shintoism, nature is recognised as infinitely more powerful than humankind – as in the wave – and that humankind is in nature with the permission of the gods but with no particular concern from the gods. Shinto rituals show respect for the gods of nature, befriending the enormity of the forces, if you like.”

From there we have many smaller nods and mentions, the Telegraph explores the “tradition of rebuilding the great Shinto shrines,” the Washington Post evokes the image of a woman praying at “a small Shinto-inspired shrine to her ancestors,” while ABC News noted that local funeral homes “volunteered to provide traditional Shinto rites to the dead, donating white shrouds and cremating the bodies,” before becoming overwhelmed by the demand. Disappointingly, the Religion News Service’s coverage has so far been disproportionately focused on Christian reactions to the tragedy. One hopes that more robust reports on Shinto and Buddhist perspectives are forthcoming.

As things progress, we can hope that a larger sense of the importance of ancestor worship, tradition, the divine within nature, and the multiplicity of spiritual beings within Japanese culture will shine through in future aftermath coverage. In this disaster there is a rare opportunity to understand how a culture outside the Christian context grapples with universal questions and problems. Religion journalists should rise to this occasion, and minority faiths in the West should ask for the true diversity of faith in our world be accurately and fairly covered.

In one final related note, I also want to point to an article up now at PNC-Minnesota, where Hawaiian Pagan Lamyka, a former resident of Japan, is interviewed about how Hawaii’s experience with the tsunami triggered by the Japanese earthquake was, in her opinion, ignored in favor of California by the media.

“Hawai’i is seen as ‘foreign’ by many Americans, as evident by people’s reactions to the President coming here for holidays.  We’re never included in national dialogue, probably because it’s incredibly obvious that we shouldn’t be part of the USA to begin with.  Hawaiians have been protesting since being illegally usurped, fighting for our rights since statehood, and continue to fight for sovereignty rights denied to us.  We’ve had protests here numbering from 50,000-60,000 but never once made national news like in Wisconsin.”

Yet another perspective that should likely get more attention by the mainstream media. Do check out the entire article, and share your perspective.

ADDENDUM: You can find resources for donations here, and here.

I just have a few quick news notes for you this morning.

UUA Japan Relief Fund: Those still looking for locally-focused and Pagan-friendly options in their donations towards aiding Japan in the wake of Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, the Unitarian Universalist Association has set up a fund that sounds very promising.

“Following Friday’s devastating earthquake and resulting tsunamis, the UUA has been in contact with our religious partners in Japan to express our concern and our willingness to partner with them in recovery efforts.  Our partners, including Rissho Kosei-kai, Tsubaki Grand Shrine, the Konko Church of Izuo, the Tokyo Dojin Church, and the Japan Chapter of the International Association for Religious Freedom are all in discernment about the specific efforts they will be taking to support recovery work, and the UUA will walk with them in the directions that are ultimately chosen.  Please join with UUs throughout the United States by contributing to the UUA’s Japan Relief Fund which will support the work that our Japanese partners pursue.”

A partnership of UUA, Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese religious freedom organizations would seem to help avoid the allegations and scandals that some international aid organizations are encountering, and work towards immediate and locally directed assistance. For more ways to stand with Japan during this time, see my previous post on the subject.

Call For Submissions: Sarah Thompson and Gina Pond from Circle of Cerridwen, who initiated the protest and discussion over the exclusion of transgendered women at a public women-only ritual during this year’s PantheaCon, are hoping to take the ongoing discussions on the issue of gender and transgender within our interlocking communities to the next level with the publication of an open-submission freely available book.

“The recent events surrounding Pantheacon 2011 and the internet-wide debate that followed it have raised awareness publicly of the issues surrounding gender and transgender in the wider Pagan community. This book will comprise a number of chapters, some invited and most by open submission, which will give all sides of the debate an opportunity to clearly state their positions. In a sense, the book will serve as a written equivalent of a talking-stick debate, whilst also making it possible to capture the sense of this historic time, as accurately as possible, in the words of the people involved. Though space is limited in the print version of the book, we hope to make all submitted papers that meet the submission criteria available for download on the web. The publication will be on a not-for-profit basis, with proceeds (if any) donated to a suitable charity/nonprofit (to be determined). Invited chapters are being solicited from as many key people as possible.”

Chapters from all sides in the ongoing discussions and debate are welcome, details can be found at the Circle of Cerridwen’s page devoted to this project. Chapter submissions for “Gender and Transgender in Modern Paganism” are due by June 21st. I’m glad to see attempts to move these discussions forward in a responsible manner, and hope that many of the more vocal contributors to the discussion at The Wild Hunt will look into writing a chapter for this new work.

New Religious Climate Study at Air Force Academy: Word has come that retired Air Force general Patrick K. Gamble will be conducting an “independent, subjective look at the overall climate at USAFA relating to free exercise of religion.” The Air Force Academy has long come under fire for instances of religious intolerance, favortism, and aggressive proslytization from an entrenched culture of conservative evangelical Christianity. Problems that Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says won’t be addressed in this new review.

“The problem at the school is not with any restriction on the free exercise of religion, but with unwanted proselytizing by fundamentalist Christians, a violation of the constitutional concept of the separation of church and state, he said. Gamble said he had not ruled out looking at the separation issue. He said his review team is still getting organized and its scope hasn’t been determined. “We’re going to take a blinders-off look, and nothing’s off the table, but nothing’s on the table, either,” he said.”

In recent years the Air Force Academy has tried to change its image as an aggressively Christian organization, and much was made in the press about their support for the installation of a Pagan worship area, though perhaps even more press was generated at the subsequent vandalism of said site. That circle was a response to a genuine need among Pagan cadets, one that has permeated all aspects of life there, and I can only hope that this nascent support for minority religions by the Air Force Academy can help counteract the larger culture of intolerance that many encounter.

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

I have assembled some resources for the Pagan community regarding donation recommendations and other resources for showing solidarity with the people of Japan in the wake of Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. First, Peter Dybing, National First Officer, Covenant of the Goddess, who spoke on this issue on Friday, has posted some recommendations at his blog.

Over the past few days I have been researching, looking for small NGO’s that have a preexisting presence in Japan. They are few and far between in a country with so much wealth and strong social programs led by the government. One such organization is Peace Winds Japan, which is already erecting temporary housing and providing services on the ground. This organization has partnered with Mercy Corps international to do fundraising for their operations in Japan. Note: to insure that your donation goes to the right place you must write “funds to be used for Peace Winds Japan only” in the comment line on the donation form.

My primary suggestion for donations is Doctors Without Borders. This organization now has two teams on the ground in Japan setting up medical treatment centers. While this is a well-known NGO, I am recommending them due to their level of accomplishment in Haiti saving lives. Additionally, when this organization raised enough funds for its Haiti response it stopped accepting donations. It is important to recognize that organizations have a logistical limit as to how much they can accomplish. By suspending fundraising this organization demonstrated a commitment to spend funds wisely and not just take the opportunity to raise unlimited cash as other large NGO’s did. With this in mind, a Pagan Community donation Page has been set up to enable donations to this organization.

If you want your donation to Doctors Without Borders to be recognized as coming from the Pagan community, be sure to use the special FirstGiving page set up by Peter Dybing.

Poster by James White, which you can buy at the Signalnoise store. All profits go to the relief effort.

In addition, The Delaware Valley Pagan Network is raising funds for Shelter Box USA (official web site), and the ADF will be sending any donations made to its ADF Cares program to the International Red Cross.

Finally, for those wanting to do a targeted spiritual working, Selena Fox from Circle Sanctuary and Shibaten of Japan are planning a healing rite for Japan this evening (Sunday).

On Friday, Japan was hit by the largest earthquake in its history, followed by a tsunami which has destroyed two thirds of its eastern coast. Japan also now is in the midst of a nuclear emergency due to damages to several nuclear power plants. Please focus on sending healing to Japan, to its inhabitants, and to all those impacted by these disasters.

Shibaten, who is in his native Japan and is OK, and Selena, who is in her forest home in Wisconsin, have been in frequent contact by email since the disasters, and will be working together in facilitating this rite. Shibaten will be playing healing music on a didgeridoo & Selena will be playing the healing sounds of a singing bowl from Japan. They will be joined by others from Canada, Ireland, and other countries in this ritual.

If you have one, work with a quartz crystal and a symbol of and/or from Japan to help focus your healing prayers. Participants also are invited (not required) to work with the Elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit, and the Japanese Sun Goddess as Amaterasu Omikami in this rite. More info about the ceremony, also with posts from some of those who will be taking part is on Selena’s main Facebook page.

The ritual is at March 13th, 7 pm CDT Sunday/9 am Tokyo time Monday.

Thanks to Star Foster at Patheos.com for helping to pull these resources together. My prayers and best wishes go out to the people of Japan.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about the past. Not the recent past, but the ancient world. Most modern Pagan faiths assert some connection with pre-Christian religion, whether it’s as inspiration, revival, reconstruction, or even claims to direct lineage. Recently our communities have seen renewed debates over how much of a connection we truly have, and whether recent scholarship was too quick to deem the matter of pagan survivals closed. At this year’s PantheaCon I witnessed a presentation in which an Italian group claimed direct connection to the ancient world, though not without some controversy. The synchronicity was palpable, and in some cases I believe the lines between mythic history and what may have actually happened are being intentionally blurred. But even when we stick to the approved sources, and try to reconstruct as faithfully as we can, there’s still the risk of us creating/recreating the past in our own image. I think a recent essay by P. Sufenas Virius Lupus on eclecticism and syncretism in the ancient world illustrates this problem quite well.

This idea of cultural impurity and anti-syncretism, of course, ignores the many historical and provable cases in which there was eclecticism or syncretism in operation. Anyone who worships Gaulish or ancient British deities is doing so from syncretistic sources. Shinto is a syncretistic religion, having combined certain concepts from various forms of Buddhism into itself, as well as both Japanese and Ainu animism, Taoist energetic philosophies and esoteric techniques, amongst other things (including, in some cases, Christian saints becoming kami!). For that matter, what we think of as “Greek religion” or “Roman religion” is also, at its core, syncretistic. Most polytheistic systems are profoundly local, and thus the “religion of Rome” is combined from Latin, Sabine, Umbrian, Etruscan, and any number of other Italic religious elements…and that’s in its strictly Roman form. As time went on, increasing influence from Greece, and encounters with the cultures of Carthage, the Near East, and a variety of other peoples from diverse geographic areas influenced the Roman practices and the content of the Roman pantheon. “Greek religion” is–what, exactly? The religion of ancient Athens, about which we have the most information? The religion of ancient Sparta? Boeitia (including Thebes)? Crete? While some ancient Greeks might make an argument for any of those possibilities, they would most likely exclude Crete from the picture…and yet, as far as we’re concerned, Crete is under the heading of “Greek religion.” Take a god like Dionysos, for example, and he seems to be the combination of many possible different deities from originally separate, local cultus; the same is true of Artemis (compare Artemis of Ephesus to Artemis of Brauron to Artemis Orthia of Sparta, for starters!), and Zeus, and Demeter, and any number of other deities that we consider “Greek.”

It is, of course, human nature to create a past we feel comfortable with. Especially our “pagan” pasts. Several nonfiction books I’ve been reading lately, “Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism”, “Electric Eden”, and “The Birth of Classical Europe”, all deal with how our ancient pasts are constantly redefined, reexamined, and retold to suit our current needs. As our present recedes into memory, even when we have ample documentation, we tend to keep a kind of cultural shorthand and forget the rest until some new frame of reference is required. The problem is when we use a certain (often incomplete) conception of the past as a way to feel superior, or even give us permission to act callously towards others.  Of course, Pagans aren’t the only ones who create incomplete or mythic images of our ancient past, Christian apologists are very fond of the exercise as well.

“I recently finished watching the first season of the Starz Channel series “Spartacus.” The series is definitely not for the squeamish, or those easily offended by the salacious depiction of Roman debauchery, maybe not even for those not so easily offended. But it is a powerful depiction of the pagan Western world prior to the advent of Christianity, and as impressive as Roman civilization was at the time, it was nightmare for those who were not Roman citizens. [...] As I was watching the show, I was wondering what the Western world would have looked like if Christianity had remained a small Jewish sect stuck in Palestine [...] The juxtaposition of Roman culture to that of the spreading Christian Church is stark, as light is to dark, day is to night and as up is to down.”

I vacillate between laughter and dread at the thought that there are people out there who believe “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” is even close to an accurate portrait of ancient Rome. Yet, even if we removed the specter of that nudity and blood-drenched series, Christian revisionism of the past has been common since that religion rose to prominence in the latter part of the Roman Empire. Even when the past is largely Christian, it must be made even more so to suit current agendas.

The quest, I feel, is to keep our images of the past from becoming calcified into immovable doctrine. That we should be supple enough to absorb new information and theories. Faiths that build their foundation on historical claims in some ancient era, no matter how well researched, always run the risk of encountering new information, new theories, better scientific data. Such a faith can be shaken or shattered, whether it’s based on the Biblical creation story, or where Atlantis is. Some have tried to discredit Wicca by attacking its origin myths, but they miss the point of most modern Pagan faiths, which are often more focused on the experiential than on proper doctrine or utter faith in its creation myths. I have great faith in my religion, I can have meaningful experiences with its myths in the proper contexts, while still laughing at the Pagan-themed “teach the controversy” t-shirts. My belief doesn’t hinge on Gardner, or any other Pagan elder (or text), being “right”. The past should inspire, enrich, and help guide our efforts to (re)build modern Pagan faiths, so long as we remain aware of  our limitations and the limitations of our source material.

Top Story: Two Nebraska State Penitentiary inmates have won a lawsuit against the state’s Department of Correctional Services over the issue of religious accommodation. The issue? Acknowledgement that Theodism isn’t Asatru, and deserving of separate considerations.

“In court documents, [Wolfgang] Rust and [Bobby] Conn alleged the prison had put a substantial burden on their exercise of religion by setting specific guidelines to develop and conduct religious practices and violated their right to congregate and practice their faith by refusing to provide an outdoor space for a worship site to create an altar and by denying them certain organic foods to be sacrificed to the gods. They also asked the court to require the prison to recognize the Theodish belief as separate from Asatru and to allow them to have personal and communal religious property to practice their religion. After months of negotiations, both sides reached an agreement approved by U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp in December. The prison agreed to schedule separate worship services and educational instruction and to allow Theodish belief practitioners to buy and eat organic food during the feast days so long as the food doesn’t require special handling procedures and is available from a commercial source by mail order or delivery.”

The settlement will also allow Theodish prisoners to purchase a variety of communal items for the purposes of holding religious rites. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, the formal acknowledgement that modern Paganism is simply an umbrella term, and that different Pagan faiths, even very similar ones, deserve separate accommodations is a huge leap forward. Remember, discrimination against religious minorities is endemic, and in some prisons Pagans have no access to any sort of rites, or are lumped together regardless of tradition or path. Lets hope this is the beginning of a larger change in the way our family of faiths is dealt with in U.S. prisons.

Druid Involved in Hate Crime: Last month four  individuals in Edmonton were involved in a racially motivated attack, the culmination of a night of verbal abuse against several individuals while passing out flyers for a rally by neo-Nazi organization Blood and Honour. Now the Edmonton Journal, digging into the perpetrators, has discovered that one claims to be a Pagan and Druid.

“One of the accused, Keith Virgil Decu, claims to be a druid on a metaphysical chat group and lists German neo-pagan spirituality and cooking as interests and activities on his Facebook page.”

One of the other accused has tried to mitigate the events by marking them as a “horrible night” of “drunken stupidity.” But no amount of drink can wash away the sickness that made them think passing out racist flyers, hurling abuse, and attacking people is a decent night-on-the-town. That one claims to be an artist, and another a Druid, shames both titles. One can only hope that the moral vacuum of their souls is soon filled with something other than fashionable nihilism and racist stupidity.

COG Local Council Helps Found New Interfaith Group: The Campbell Reporter/Mercury News reports on the formation of the Silicon Valley Interreligious Council (SiVIC), a South Bay organization that includes the Northern CA Local Council of Covenant of the Goddess as an inaugural Congregational Affiliate.

So why would Silicon Valley, which hosts many interfaith groups, need another one? ”We don’t have a real sense of focus or centeredness,” said the Rev. Bruce Bramlett, an Episcopalian, who also was involved in the creation of the group. A three-year study by the Knight Foundation released in 2010, “The Soul of the Community,” found that two-thirds of respondents in the valley felt disconnected. SiVIC’s enthusiastic members hope to help remedy that. ”We want to help create the glue to connect various communities,” said Mari Ellen Reynolds Loijens of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

One of SiVIC’s first public activities will be to participate in CROP Walk 2011, an event to raise awareness and funds to combat hunger. Congratulations to the NCLC of COG for being a part of this new interfaith endeavor.

At What Cost Fame: So now that the Christian Day/Charlie Sheen “warlock” issue seems to finally be simmering down, will it ultimately benefit anyone? The press seems to have successfully made this about how Sheen is wacky, instead of focusing on the fact that he’s a serial abuser of women, and Day’s ritual certainly gained attention, but perhaps not in the context he’d like.

“The posse of witches and warlocks that gathered March 6 at a witchcraft store in Salem — and might have been at home on the Ward family couch in “The Fighter” — were wicked pissed at “Chahlie” for associating warlocks with violence. In a five-minute “magical intervention,” coven members summoned the archangels of the four corners of the world, along with a skull they’d named Robert, in a bid to bind Sheen from harming himself and others (well, actually, “hahming”).”

The old saw about there being no such thing as bad publicity only holds true if the subject(s) gain from the experience. In Day’s case, I assume that would mean increased sales for his upcoming book from Weiser. Or perhaps more television deals? I’m not sure where that particular metric should be lain. Oh, and to Bill Edelstein of Variety, it’s certainly your prerogative to mock Day’s ritual, but making fun of someone’s Boston/New England accent? That’s cheap.  The alpha and omega of my take on this whole thing can be found, here.

New Star-Studded Pagan Podcast Launches: In a final note, I just wanted to point out the launch of a new Pagan podcast, the Pagan Pathfinders Podcast. The show features an ever-shifting panel of notable Pagans, with Canadian Witch Sable Aradia acting as the host.

“Picture, if you will, a virtual campfire in the astral plane, and around this campfire, a heartbeat drum calls to the elders and leaders of the worldwide Pagan community. They are organizers, facilitators, authors, musicians, scholars, artists, advocates, and community-builders. They practice almost every conceivable Pagan faith and span time zones from the Pacific Coast of North America to New South Wales, Australia. Some of them are famous, some not-so-famous, and some only famous in their own communities. But wherever they are, whoever they are, they are those who find the paths for the rest of us.”

You can download the first episode, featuring Lord Alexian, Hawk, Ellen Evert Hopman, Edain McCoy, Nisaba Merrieweather, Brendan Myers, Myranda O’Byrne, Ali Ravenwood, Natalie Reed, and Sam Wagar now. I wish them good luck!

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

Peter Dybing, National First Officer, Covenant of the Goddess, who has participated in hands-on activism in places like earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince in Haiti, and in clean-up efforts on the Gulf Coast in the wake of the massive oil spill there, has sent out a brief message regarding sending assistance in the aftermath of the 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami.

As disaster strikes again let me take this opportunity to remind the Pagan community of the lessons we learned when Haiti was severely damaged over a year ago.

Pagans from around the US and the world focused their giving on a small NGO that had operations established in Haiti and were able to respond quickly with established infrastructure and save lives.  Dollars raised from our community went directly to the purchase of medical supplies.  This emphasis on direct giving to a small organization ensured that our giving was focused and effective.

As we all witness the destruction in Japan, it is important to not make rash decisions and provide funding to organizations with poor track records of delivering services and use of funds. .  I am urging the community to be wise in their giving. Yes, commit your self to an amount you are willing to give, set these funds aside, but wait until you or others identify an effective use for these funds.

Many of the large NGO’s that collected tens of millions for Haiti relief have yet to spend but a fraction of what they collected more than a year later.  Both myself and other members of the community are attempting to establish ties with small organizations providing services in Japan.  Hopefully our community will be able to identify groups who will directly serve the affected communities as they receive funding.

It was my privilege to witness funds raised by the Pagan community save many lives in Haiti, may we be as wise and effective as we respond to this current crisis.

In Service to the Goddess and all humanity,

Peter Dybing, National First Officer, Covenant of the Goddess

Many of us want to show solidarity with the people of Japan in this time of trial, but let’s be sure that any fiscal donation is going directly towards constructive, and ideally, Japanese-led service-oriented initiatives. I’m currently awaiting recommendations from a few different sources, and will post them here as I receive them. For now, you can receive basic information at the evolving Wikipedia page, and some resources at the Google Crisis Response page.

ADDENDUM: Peter Dybing has some recommended giving resources up now at his blog.

There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up. But first, let me offer my prayers and support to the people of Japan, who just suffered a 8.9 magnitude earthquake, and all those potentially affected by subsequent tsunamis in the Pacific basin. For updates, resources, and information, check out the Google Crisis Response page.

• Circle’s Selena Fox was in Madison, Wisconsin yesterday in solidarity with protesters there, and is posting pictures and updates to her public Facebook page. For more Pagan perspectives of the protests, check out PNC-Minnesota.
• Capital Witch/PNC-Washington DC has just posted an article on gender identity within Washington DC’s Pagan community, featuring the stances of several local groups, and interviewing Radical Faerie transgender Goddess-worshiper Potpourri.
• T. Thorn Coyle has just posted the audio from a panel discussion on Hindu-Pagan dialog for PantheaCon featuring Thorn, Selena Fox, (Circle Sanctuary), Easan Kitir and Dr. Mihir Meghani of the Hindu American Foundation. Direct download, here. You can also subscribe to the Elemental Castings podcast via iTunes or RSS. For more on this panel, do check out the guest post here from panelist Dr. Mihir Meghani.
• From the department of stopped clocks being right at least twice, I’m pretty much in agreement with the Telegraph’s Damian Thompson (who I’ve had my disagreements with) that the child-abuser Colin Batley and his followers were not a “fully fledged Satanic cult whose demonic theology incorporated the ritual abuse of children.” It was about power and sex, and the occult trappings were just a means to an end, a method of control.
• At the HuffPo’s religion section, Saumya Arya Haas clears up misconceptions about animal sacrifice, zombies, and possession within the religion of Vodou. An earlier article also covers basic concepts and history of the faith in the Americas.
• The ugly testimony from survivors keeps coming in the James Arthur Ray trial, with Ray being painted as completely out-of-touch with the chaos and death surrounding him. Witnesses also describe not wanting to trigger Ray’s famous temper, by inquiring about the safety of others during the sweat. Meanwhile, professor Wambli Sina Win writes an editorial for the Native American Times regarding the dangers and selling and misappropriating the Red Road.
• A Witch in the UK had his 5-inch athame confiscated, and was put on curfew for four months, though the judge allowed exemptions for religious ritual. This exemption seems to have caused quite a bit of fuss, though no violence or resistance occurred during the incident.
• Yuliya Popova explores Pagan holidays in the Ukraine for the BBC’s Travel section.
• Over at PNC-Minnesota, Cara Schulz continues her coverage of the reality program  Alt for Norge (All for Norway), which includes the involvment of Twin Cities performer and Völva, Kari Tauring. This episode, in which Tauring was eliminated from the contest, was, in Schulz’s words, “a blatant disregard for religion and the religious ethics of the contestants throughout the series.”
• Over at The Christian Century, Philip Jenkins does a just a little bit of fear-mongering over “alternate and unauthorized forms of folk Cath­olicism, centered on evil or criminal entities” in Mexico.
• Hey Hindus and Indo-Pagans! Beware of fake “virtual puja” scam sites!

That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.