Top Story: The Religion News Service is featuring a story (alternate link) on the 50th anniversary of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and whether the shrinking (162,800 members, down 1,400 from last year) creedless denomination can endure for another fifty years.

“For 50 years the UUA has conducted a virtually unprecedented experiment: advancing a religion without doctrine, hoping that welcoming communities and shared political causes, not creeds, will draw people to their pews. Leaders say its no-religious-questions-asked style positions the UUA to capitalize on liberalizing trends in American religion. But as the UUA turns 50 this year, some members argue that a “midlife” identity crisis is hampering outreach and hindering growth. In trying to be all things to everyone, they say, the association risks becoming nothing to anybody.”

Modern Pagans are a vibrant part of the modern UUA, and the article by Daniel Burke starts off the piece with a Pagan member of the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore leading a service.

“A recent Sunday service at the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore ended with an apology. Laurel Mendes explained that religious doctrine had been duly scrubbed from the hymns in the congregation’s Sunday program. But Mendes, a neo-pagan lay member who led the service, feared that a reference to God in “Once to Every Soul and Nation” might upset the humanists in the pews.”

While I’m pleased to see UU Pagans get noticed, I’m less happy with the fact that Burke seems to use this moment to underscore how far the UUA has drifted from its Christian roots. As for the future of the UUA, Burke cites an internal document from 2005 that says the denomination needs to create boundaries, to overcome its “reluctance to proclaim religious tenets.” Current UUA president Rev. Peter Morales sees “amazing opportunity” in the growing number of “nones,” people who don’t claim adherence to any particular faith, the “spiritual but not religious” demographic, but can outreach of this sort compensate for reports that the UUA is losing 85% of its children?

For many years the UUA has served as a haven and home for Pagans, especially in towns and cities that lack an established Pagan community. Many Pagans have fond feelings towards the UUA despite some institutional bumps in the road recently, with some prominent Pagans, like Margot Adler and Isaac Bonewits, having played significant roles within the Unitarian-Universalist sphere. But if those predicting the disappearance of the UUA are correct, if the next 50 years will see their slow fade-out from American life, then modern Pagans invested in the benefits of this denominational body will have to tackle the question of what the UUA provides us, whether we can replicate it independently of the UUA if need be, and what role groups like CUUPs and independent UU Pagans will play in the near future.

In Other News:

• Over at No Unsacred Place Cat Chapin-Bishop tackles the “smugness problem in the world of sustainable living.”
• PNC-Minnesota interviews author Crystal Blanton, as featured guest at this years Sacred Harvest Festival.
• A new website, Fighting For Pagan Civil Rights, has launched. Its primary goal at this time is to draw attention to Patrick McCollum’s ongoing legal battles over the rights of Pagan prisoners.
• An Australian spotlight on the practice of exorcism drags out the typical “widespread preoccupation with Satanism and various occult practices”, as a reason for possession.
• How do you spot a fraud guru? Some say it’s elementary!
• Making Texas Governor Rick Perry’s upcoming prayer event interfaith would be “would be idolatry of the worst sort.”

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

A coalition that claims to represent around 90% of the world’s Christians, the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), and the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), have released joint recommendations for the conduct of Christian missionaries. This document is the result of five years of consultations among the three bodies, and is being touted as “a major achievement” in building consensus on the issue among Christians.

“In the past five years we have been building a new bridge,” said Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, chief executive officer and secretary general of the WEA. “The document is a major achievement,” he explained, in that it represents formal agreement on “the essence of Christian mission” while also demonstrating that diverse Christian bodies “are able to work together and to speak together.” In this sense, the release of the text “is a historic moment” in the quest for Christian unity.

In talking about the rationale for this initiative, Geoff Tunnicliffe, Secretary General of the WEA, in what could be fairly described as understatement, admitted that “in some places dynamic public witness to Jesus Christ has been accompanied by misunderstanding and tension.” Reuters religion reporter Robert Evans put it somewhat more bluntly.

“Christian missionaries have long been accused of offering money, food, or other goods to win converts in poor countries, either from other faiths or from rival churches. Tensions have also risen in recent decades as evangelical Protestants have stepped up efforts to convert Muslims, which is a capital offence in some Islamic countries. This also prompts retaliation against local Christians who do not seek converts.”

So what  does this new document solve? What is it meant to do, and what does this mean for the world’s non-Christians? First, while this document may be a historic moment of consensus and agreement, it is toothless in regards to enforcement. As I reported back in 2007, no church or missionary group will be forced to accede to this new code of conduct. The document takes pains to stress that these are “recommendations,” that will “encourage” churches to “reflect” on their “current practices.” It certainly “does not intend to be a theological statement on mission.” In short, these are more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules. That said, for those Christian missionaries who do plan to take this new historical document seriously, and base their conduct on it, what will it change? The core shift in thinking seems to be in fighting “arrogance, condescension and disparagement” among Christian missionaries toward non-Christian faiths and building a new ethos of mutual respect and cooperation between Christians and non-Christians.

“Christians are called to reject all forms of violence, even psychological or social, including the abuse of power in their witness. They also reject violence, unjust discrimination or repression by any religious or secular authority, including the violation or destruction of places of worship, sacred symbols or texts. [...]  Any comment or critical approach should be made in a spirit of mutual respect, making sure not to bear false witness concerning other religions. [...]  Christians should avoid misrepresenting the beliefs and practices of people of different religions.“

In addition, the document endorses providing “sufficient time for adequate reflection and preparation” in regards to conversions.  Frowning on quickie conversions and urging Christians to “refrain from offering all forms of allurements.” All of which is encouraging on its face, though the document also has a political purpose, to help missionaries lobby against anti-conversion laws in places like India.

“WEA Secretary General Geoff Tunnicliffe said the code, entitled “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World,” would be “a great resource” for Christians lobbying against anti-conversion laws passed in countries such as India.”

How a document that is merely a recommendation, not enforced policy or doctrine, will actually sway supporters of anti-conversion laws remains an open question. Is it simply a propaganda tool, or will there be actual “moral and peer pressure” as hinted by the coalition previously? With the revelations of coercive conversion tactics in Haiti, and serious accusations that missionaries have stirred up anti-Vodou violence, not to mention an emerging theory within evangelical circles that Christian missions may have helped trigger the witch-hunts in Africa, it may take far more than encouragements of better behavior to allay the fears of those scarred by this sort of abusive behavior.

With Catholic plans in the works to “re-evangelize” Europe and the United States, one has to wonder if this document will be respected when it comes to interactions with adherents of Pagan, indigenous, and syncretic faiths. If “Christians should avoid misrepresenting the beliefs and practices of people of different religions,” will anti-Pagan tracts and books be changed or will that escape the scope of this new initiative? While I applaud some of the sentiments encased in this document, I fear it raises too many questions to set the minds of those targeted by missions at rest.

The raging Las Conchas wildfire in New Mexico, which has been threatening the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is also within 20 miles of Ardantane, a Pagan learning center in the Jemez Mountains. According to the Covenant of the Goddess (COG) PIO blog, there’s no immediate danger as “wind is blowing in a direction away from Ardantane and towards Los Alamos.”

Ardantane

Here’s a statement released today by Ardantane:

“By now, many of you have heard that a huge wildfire is raging in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. (Our campus is located about six miles south of Jemez Springs). At this point, the Las Conchas Fire is moving away from Ardantane, and toward Los Alamos. Very bad news for Los Alamos, which was hit hard in the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000. The fire is now at 60,000 acres (which I believe is the largest in NM state history) and 0% contained. There is significant smoke at Ardantane, and if it gets worse we might have to evacuate resident staff and visitors. But so far there is no immediate danger to the campus. If conditions change, we will provide an update here. Thanks to the many people who have offered shelter in the homes, in case of evacuation. If you would like to help, please work magick for rain here, and for the safety of firefighters and all those in the fire’s path.”

COG National First Officer Peter Dybing, 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 addition to helping raise over 30K for Japan relief, has been dispatched to the area as a firefighter by the US Forest Service and FEMA.

We will keep you updated on any new developments.

It is far too easy to quote the (largely Christian) opponents to New York’s decision adopting same-sex marriage and use it to make some larger point. You’ve got the Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn advising his flock to shun lawmakers who voted for same-sex marriage, you’ve got the Family Research Council making some disturbing allusions about the Empire State Building, and you have presidential candidate Rep. Michelle Bachmann trying to be simultaneously for states rights and a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage (even Fox News said she was “threading a thin needle”). I could go on, and on, and on, and on. All the convenient haters saying all the convenient things. It’s rare to hear something new about this topic.

What’s refreshing is reading thoughtful reappraisals from conservative opponents in the wake of New York supporting gay marriage, or even hearing an interesting argument wrapped in what could have been a fairly conventional liberal pro-same-sex-marriage editorial.

When gay marriage is legal everywhere, “the opponents will be revealed for carrying water for a larger kind of orthodoxy,” Olbermann predicted. “Their church is opposed to same-sex marriage because same-sex marriage means diversity, and diversity means peaceful interactions between members of different groups and religions, and peaceful interactions means fears and prejudices are diminished, and the diminishing means those churches’ cartel in the religion business is jeopardized.”

Yes, that was a quote from the recently restored to television Keith Olbermann. I know he can be a pretty divisive figure for some, but I wanted to address the idea that gay marriage is increasing religious pluralism. That it is, in the words of Olbermann, diminishing religious “cartels” in the United States. A cartel is, according to Wikipedia, “a formal (explicit) agreement among competing firms.” Which if you think about the state of things today isn’t too far-fetched a comparison in describing religion in the public sphere. Moral questions, religious questions, are all framed in a Judeo-Christian worldview. The “competing firms” of Catholics, Protestant Evangelicals, and occasionally Jewish or old mainline Protestant groups, have all agreed (whether implicitly or explicitly) to frame everything from the perspective of the dominant monotheisms. In my criticisms of the “religious left” I’ve noted the tired “lefty Jesus vs. righty Jesus” or even “lefty patriarchal sky father vs. righty patriarchal sky father” narrative, when instead coalitions should be built around issues not theologies.

Just the other day I talked about the difficult transition into post-Christianity, and the acceptance of same-sex marriage by our society certainly is a sign that the old moral status quo is being replaced by something new. It’s hard to pull back from the daily battles and chaos to see how things will develop, but I do see this as an opportunity for religious minorities to establish themselves as ahead of the curve, flexible, and pluralistic on issues like same-sex marriage. A legacy of Pagan and Hindu faiths, according to a guest post by Mihir Meghani, M.D.; Board Member & Co-Founder of the Hindu American Foundation.

“Hindus and Pagans can make a lasting contribution to the world by once again promoting pluralism as a core value of society and its individuals – something evidently lacking in the world today in which intolerance is so prominent. We need to challenge ourselves to make pluralism a value similar in respect to values such as honesty and charity. People should be proud to proclaim that they are pluralist – that they revel in and respect the diversity around them. Children should be raised with this value. For the survival of not only our traditions but humanity altogether, we must move from the motto of, “I will tolerate you though you are wrong,” to a true commitment to pluralism.”

Fighting for the equal rights and treatment of same-sex couples ultimately benefits the religions that support those rights. While the old order ruptures with debate and schism over treating gay couples with dignity, the faiths and philosophies that don’t rely on a singular revealed truth to argue over already know how to accommodate multiple theological positions under a “big tent”. The “heretic” in modern Paganism is largely seen as someone starting a new path or understanding, not as someone to be feared or attacked. Same-sex marriage is just the first in many issues that will challenge the dominant monotheisms living in secular nations. The next 20 years will see many more. Could that time see a growth of pluralism as a side-product of controversy, schism, and reactionary fear? Stranger things have happened.

Welcome to (Pagan) Music Mondays, a new semi-regular feature here at The Wild Hunt! As many of you may know, I’m a lover of music, and have spent many years exploring albums and artists that appeal to the Pagan spirit. I’d like to expose you to new releases by Pagan artists, and also to bands that explore lyrical themes relevant to our worldviews. This week for our inaugural edition I’d like to look at two albums that were released this past Friday: Faun’s “Eden” and “Before and After the Storm” by The Machine in The Garden.

German Pagan folk act Faun’s new full-length “Eden,” is the follow-up to 2009’s “Buch der Balladen.” Unlike that album of largely sedate, well, ballads, “Eden” follows more in the footsteps of 2007’s “Totem” or 2005’s “Renaissance,” the album that helped introduce them to the United States. For those of us in the states who were lucky enough to catch them live at Faerieworlds in 2009 and 2010, you’ll find much of the energy and charm in this new work that won over so many new fans.

“Eden” features guest performances from the Mediaeval Baebes and Adam Hurst, among others. They also honor their recent experiences with the Faerieworlds crew by including contributions from storyteller Mark Lewis and illustrator Brian Froud. If you’re a fan of bands like Omnia, Woodland, or Daemonia Nymphe, you’ll probably enjoy this as well. Plenty of rollicking Pagan-inflected folk music to cheer your inner Green Man (or Woman). The album can be purchased digitally from Amazon.com, or a physical copy of the CD can be ordered directly from the band.

The second album I’d like to highlight is from American Darkwave duo The Machine in the Garden. While not a Pagan band, the new album “Before and After the Storm,” their first in six years, uses myth and mysticism as a lyrical anchor throughout the album. “I looked to mythology and mysticism when I was writing the lyrics for these songs. I wanted to think about other cultures and their origin stories as a mirror of returning to many of our musical roots with this work” says singer/lyricist Summer Bowman. Songs like: “Cimmerian,” “In the Vanir,” or “Power and Prophesy” drip with allusions to an ancient folkloric past while marrying them to their dark modern sound.

The opening track, “Cimmerian,” excerpted in a promo video below, is a stunning anthemic tone-poem prayer driven by insistent drums and the layered post-punk guitar work of Roger Fracé. A song that perfectly sets the stage for what’s to come.

“Before and After the Storm,” was well worth the wait, and is available digitally from Bandcamp, CD Baby, and iTunes. A limited edition CD version will be available via mail order from the band’s website.

That’s our first edition of (Pagan) Music Mondays! I hope you enjoyed it. Next week I’ll be discussing the musical legacy of Dead Can Dance and covering new releases from Atrium Animae and Seventh Harmonic.

As I was putting together a roundup of stories for today, I noticed an ugly thread running through them all. A unifying ethos of fear, intolerance, ignorance, and hate towards any understanding or practice that fell outside a very narrow interpretation of Christian monotheism. Of a “Christian” America and a “Christian” West. They are all very different stories, but they all seem to be about enforcing an increasingly tenuous status quo, desperate sandbagging against a post-Christian ethos in the West.

“…a post-Christian world is one where Christianity is no longer the dominant civil religion, but one that has, gradually over extended periods of time, assumed values, culture, and worldviews that are not necessarily Christian (and further may not necessarily reflect any world religion’s standpoint). Generally, this can therefore mean the loss of Christianity’s monopoly, if not its followers, in otherwise Christian societies.”

This is no easy transition, and resistance to it takes many forms. From accusations of “gnosticism” towards the progressive Christian Wild Goose festival, to the clear cutting of forest on the San Francisco Peaks because the politicians, government officials, and business interests, don’t (or simply can’t) acknowledge the concept of sacred land. The push-back can be as simple as someone shoving hate literature through the door of Pagan-owned shops, or as horrifying as a brutal racially-motivated attack against a Native family, seemingly condoned by local police.

Johnny Bonta was knocked unconscious with a bat, his nose and sinus cavities broken and bleeding, with stab wounds on his neck. Lisa said Jacob Cassell taunted the family as the sirens approached, telling them, “You hear those cops coming? They’re not going to help you. My daddy is a cop in this town, and nothing is going to happen to me. You f***ing n*****s are going to jail.” When Lyon County Sheriff’s officers arrived, they took statements and began filling out police reports with Cassell and his friends, but they did not take statements from any of the victims. When Lisa asked why they were not being questioned for a statement, no one responded. “They ignored us,” she said, before she suffered a seizure and required medical attention.

Why? Because for an unjust social and political structure to remain standing it must forever patrol its boundaries and make sure all perceived threats (real or not) are dealt with. All possible areas of rebellion must be reminded that they are subservient to this order. As those who are most invested in seeing this order, this “Christian” civilization, sustained start to see total dominance slip through their fingers the more reactionary and fear-mongering their rhetoric becomes.

“This “freedom” will include much more than a perpetual pansexual pagan party. It will, and already does, include libel, slander, intimidation, corruption of youth, revolt in congregations, suppression of parental rights, revision of language, disease, loss of employment and loss of life. [...]  Have we already reached a tipping point where only catastrophe can bring renewal? The sages among us – those “haters” and “bigots” who keep trying to sound the alarm – need to stay focused and not lose hope. We must keep educating others that this is not a civil-rights issue, that we have not gained freedom, but instead are selling ourselves into bondage. Most of all, we must not give up the fight, because only God knows the outcome.”

I’m sure it will surprise none of you that the author of the above quote, Linda Harvey, has penned one anti-Pagan book, and contributed to another. Naturally all those who are victims of this rhetoric, this violence, are told that it will all stop once we do one simple thing. As a spokesperson for Texas governer Rick Perry’s upcoming faith-rally “The Response” said: “There’s acceptance and that there’s love and that there’s hope if people will seek out the living Christ.” That’s a very certain version of the “living Christ” as the “gnostic” attendees of the Wild Goose festival will tell you.

The future isn’t about dominance, but about coexistence. Many faiths and philosophies sitting at the table, instead of one (or two) faith groups telling everyone else what the agenda is. The numbers are shifting, generational plate tectonics slowly changing the old religious order. The near future will continue to be numerically dominated by Christian adherents, but they’ll soon lose their unified monopoly on social and political agendas. Alongside the accepted Christians-Catholics-Jews tri-faith understanding that emerged in the early 20th century will be the Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, atheists, practitioners of indigenous religions, and yes, Muslims. To quote Leonard Cohen, democracy is coming.

Despite the violence and madness, I’m an optimist at heart. I believe we can find an accord. That there is a table big enough for all of us to sit at. That all voices can be heard and respected. Right now though, we’re living through the fear of a post-Christian planet.

CNN got a bit of flak for doing a puff piece this past Thursday on psychic prognosticators making predictions about the American (and global) economy. Roger Ebert helpfully clarified that, “no, this is not an Onion news report” (a point reiterated by Sheril Kirshenbaum at Wired). Nicole Belle at Crooks and Liars calls the report “more insidious than stupid,” while Josh Feldman at Mediaite called the segment “the most mind-bogglingly idiotic thing I have ever seen on cable news.”

I’m not sure why this particular piece of filler should be the breaking point that makes critics groan and shake their heads ruefully. CNN has long dabbled in what I affectionately call “the woo.” Just look at the career of Nancy Grace, or former CNN stalwart Larry King, who fell head-over-heels for the now-convicted “Secret” peddler James Arthur Ray. Nor is CNN alone in this, just check out the special Nightline “Beyond Belief” Summer series that looks at psychics, exorcism, and out-of-body experiences.

“ABC’s “Nightline” is creeping into prime time this summer — or maybe it’s just getting creepy. The late-night show begins a summertime series at 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, covering topics such as satanic possession, religious miracles, psychics and out-of-body experiences. [...] Following the Anthony hour, “Nightline” will begin a five-part series titled, “Beyond Belief,” an exploration of topics that defy easy scientific explanation. Bill Weir travels the world to investigate episodes where people claim to have seen and communicated with the Virgin Mary, while Terry Moran looks at a belief that satanic will or demonic possession can cause people to commit acts of evil.”

The fact is, people love psychics and tales of the paranormal. I can’t even keep track of how many paranormal/ghost-hunting reality shows there are these days. We live in a world where psychic tips get attention (though not as much as some people would suspect), much to the chagrin of those who’d prefer a far more logical and rational news media. I personally see fortune telling as more a psychological/social tool/aid than as a pole-star to guide my life, but why does the mainstream media go into these phases of covering psychics and fortune-tellers, giving them valuable airtime in the news?

I have three theories:

1. According to the Pew Forum 15% of Americans have consulted a fortuneteller or a psychic. That’s a lot of people. Summer is a lull time for programming, and fewer people are watching television. So anything that might draw attention is welcome. As CNN previous reported, the psychic industry is recession-proof (though perhaps not entirely). It’s a no-brainer to do the occasional spotlight on these topics.
2. News outlets like Time Magazine and the BBC have recently looked at regulatory push-back against psychic practices, which has forced psychics and fortune-tellers to organize and become more public in asserting their rights. That coupled with the high visibility of psychic practitioners on reality television has made these businesses and practitioners more newsworthy in general. In 2010 alone towns and cities created subcultural “red light districts”, stood by total bans, and argued over whether psychic services could be classified as “spiritual counseling”, while in Canada, obscure laws against “witchcraft” were used to pursue fraud cases. We also saw a big win as the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that fortunetelling and other psychic services are protected speech, setting a precedent that could affect laws across the country. Like it or not, psychic stuff is “news.”
3. The producers and reporters are true believers. There a lot of followers in the “Church of Oprah”. Many of them are powerful people with influence and an ability to get on television. The trial and conviction of James Arthur Ray may have taken some wind from the sails of the New Age movement, but you can bet they’ll retool and be back riding high again soon. So they’ll keep sending “skeptics” to Sedona to be converted, and Oprah-anointed figures like Dr. Oz will keep on endorsing Reiki.

Very likely a mixture of the three reasons above helps produce all this coverage. The simple truth is that we as a society have always searched for answers to questions that seem impossible to predict by mundane means (the harder the times, the further we seek). Psychics have been handing out stock tips since there was a market, and so long as people are listening, reporters will be right behind them to see if their mojo actually pans out. For modern Pagans who engage in divination, or even make their money performing psychic services, we should keep an eye on this coverage. How these topics are approached and treated can tell us a lot about how the religions who engage in these practices are likely to be received as well. As for the skeptics? It’s Summertime! File it away with bigfoot, and head to the beach (or watch the new season of True Blood), everyone knows that nothing serious happens until September (at least as far as television programming is concerned). Besides, mockery and scorn bounce off this stuff like bullets off Superman, save your ammunition for certain politicians or climate science denial.