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.

• Michael York, author of “Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion”, writes a response to Christian apologist Peter Kreeft. Kreeft’s article “Comparing Christianity & The New Paganism” says that “new paganism is a joining of forces by three of the enemies of theism: humanism, polytheism and pantheism,” to which York counters that “Kreeft betrays the essential dichotomizing bi-polarity of the theistic construct.” I recommend reading the entire, highly enjoyable, response.
• SF Weekly blog Exhibitionist looks at recent incidents of animal sacrifice in the Bernel Heights area and explains why they probably weren’t committed by Satanists or adherents to Santeria. The article by Beth Winegarner interviews Mary Ehm, owner of La Sirena Botanica, and yours truly. My two cents: “A good deal of the fear, misinformation, and rushed conclusions in these matters is partially due to anxiety over cultures and traditions we don’t understand, and partially due to the actions of various ‘occult experts,’ who have been sensationalizing and over-stating the problem of ritual animal sacrifice to law enforcement and animal welfare officers.”
• A former Liberty University student reflects on Jerry Falwell’s infamous “the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians” 9/11-blaming comment. While Austin Carty is still an evangelical Christian, he says that he now sees “through this miasma of misunderstanding to see such a mentality for the insidious lie that it is.” My final word on Falwell came at his passing in 2007, where I pointed out that his “intolerant buffoonery was the perfect caricature of anyone opposing the free exercise of our faiths.”
• Tanja Diamond, author of “Beyond Sex: Tantra- A Practical Guide to Extraordinary Living,” blasts the Phoenix Goddess Temple for giving tantric sex practices a bad name. Meanwhile, in the comments of my initial report on the arrests, clients, and visitors, have been speaking up with their thoughts. In addition, some local Pagans have been giving their perspective in my follow-up post.
• In a clip provided by Right Wing Watch, Cindy Jacobs, a leader within the New Apostolic Reformation, lays out the theological importance of Rick Perry’s ‘The Response’ event: What did the indigenous people worship? [...] in Texas here and all of the coast around Houston and Galveston and some of that area, the Native American people were cannibals [...] We just had a prayer meeting in Houston a little a week ago, the governor of Texas, really as an individual instigated this, and 35,000 people showed up to pray and it was only a prayer meeting called within three months, three month period of time. So what happened? The land is starting to rejoice, you see, because of that prayer.” Jacobs, you may remember, gloried in the destruction of Haiti for breaking the “strongman of the occult”, and blamed Shinto for the destruction and horror that the citizens of Japan faced in the aftermath of the recent earthquake/tsunami. She’s now involved in the DC40 campaign.
• British actor, mixed-martial-artist, and reality show contestant Alex Reid has allegedly been knighted by King Arthur (no, not that King Arthur, this King Arthur). Reid traveled to Stonehenge earlier this year to  “find peace and draw energy from the earth,” after a public breakup with wife Katie Price.
• At Patheos, P. Sufenas Virius Lupus sings the praises of smaller, more specialized, deities, specifically Sterculinus, the god of manure-based fertilizer.
• Last month I reported on the decline of religion in the West, and how “least-religious” Estonia seemed to have plenty of religion, just not the formal church-based Christian religion that many consider the default. This assertion is backed up by a new editorial by Ringo Ringvee, adviser at the religious affairs department at the Estonian ministry of the interior, who says the Paganism is thriving in Estonia. “A new phenomenon during the last 15 years has been the rising number of Estonians identifying themselves with a nature-spirituality that could be defined as the Estonian neo-paganism.” It should be noted that Ringvee also stresses that this isn’t a majority of Estonians, and that “during the ancient holy days the groves are not filled with people.” Still, this is a data point in the assertion that Paganism can and does grow in a post-Christian secular environment.
• According to an Asia Times editorial, Taiwan is still ruled by the occult (yay?).
• The bared breast of the Roman goddess Virtus will grace a proposed 23-foot-by-11-foot mural depicting the progress of Norfolk, Virginia.
• Our condolences go out to the family, friends, and fans of actor Andy Whitfield. Whitfield recently passed away after a long fight against non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He is perhaps best known for playing the Roman gladiator Spartacus in the Starz series “Spartacus: Blood and Sand.”

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.

Just a few quick notes for you on this Tuesday.

Animal Sacrifice, Factory Farming, and Palo Mayombe: Religion Dispatches has an excellent essay up by Meera Subramanian, senior editor of Killing the Buddha, on the recent case of William Camacho, a practitioner of Palo Mayombe whose barber shop was shut down after sacrificial chickens were found in the basement. Subramanian compares the actions of religions that engage in animal sacrifice to the factory farming industry, and suspects that public discomfort with one and not the other is all down to issues of visibility.

William Camacho. Photo by Peter Pereira/SouthCoastToday.com

“Last year alone, about eight billion chickens were slaughtered in the U.S., according to the USDA. So why does the idea of animal sacrifice so easily fall into the realm of heebie jeebies? Why do stories about people like Camacho and their doomed animals get picked up so quickly, not just by ABC, but also sites with names like Wacky Bastards? [...] Camacho broke the rules. No chickens within city limits. But what shutting down his barbershop and the initial talk of throwing animal cruelty charges at him reveals is really our discomfort and alienation from the animals at the heart of the New Bedford controversy. It lays bare our preference that animal killings, whether as a part of a religious ritual or not, stay hidden out of view. It asks that any connection that animals might have to the spirit world remain tamely leashed to our household pets.”

I recommend reading the entirety of Subramanian’s essay. As for Camacho and Bad Boyz Cutz? The barber shop is open for business once more, and no charges are being filed against him at this time. He’s still seeking advice from attorneys.

Burning Man Celebrates its 25th Anniversary: Burning Man in Nevada is now under way. The temporary city in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with a ”Rites of Passage” theme. This year marks the first time the event has sold out, and also sees the event transition into a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the festival’s ideology outside the famous once-per-year event. What is that ideology? Lee Gilmore, author of “Theater in a Crowded Fire: Ritual and Spirituality at Burning Man”, argues for the event being “pagan” at its roots.

“No one I’ve ever spoken to (and I’ve been attending and researching this event since 1996) has ever come right out and called Burning Man a religion–Pagan or otherwise–and the event’s organizers have repeatedly stated as much for years. However, I think in some ways it can be considered to be a pagan (note the lower case) phenomenon. In this meaning, I see the uppercase term “Pagan” as referring to our various Neopagan traditions–that is the sets of practices, beliefs, and communities that are seen as (albeit loosely) constituting our family of religions–while I use the lowercase term “pagan” as a more general adjective.

In this sense, I am thinking of Michael York’s concept of “root religion,” which identifies paganism as a set of shared–yet diversely constituted–primal religious tendencies that broadly underlie all global religions. As he stated, “inasmuch as paganism is the root of religion, it confronts the earliest, the most immediate, and the least processed apprehensions of the sacred. This is the experiential level on which paganism in both its indigenous and contemporary forms wishes to concentrate.” (see York’s Pagan Theology)

Burning Man has a similarly embodied, experiential, and ritualized quality. This feeling is in part engendered by the encounter with nature in Nevada’s Black Rock desert. In the beauty and essential simplicity of this vast dusty arena–as well as in the visceral physical experience of its arid and demanding environment–many participants encounter a sense of the transformative and numinous.”

Recent data suggests that Burning Man is becoming more religious, political, and female as it ages, though critics still contest the event is a “dead-end cult.” For more on how Burning Man is small-p “pagan” check out the rest of Gilmore’s guest post for The Wild Hunt. You may also want to read the interview conducted with her at Religion Dispatches last year.

Debating Dominionism: In final note, the debate and discussion over what Christian Dominionism exactly is, whether its worth talking about, and whether it is or isn’t a threat, continues. At Religion Dispatches Sarah Posner and Anthea Butler have an excellent discussion that digs deep into the subject, and goes beyond the alarmism and denial currently dominating coverage.

Rick Perry hugs NAR "Apostle" Alice Patterson at 'The Response'.

“I view with a jaundiced eye these journalists who think that by the mere act of writing an 800 word op-ed they’re going to wave a wand over people of faith and make their beliefs go away. Not Happening. Yes, not every conservative Christian is a Dominionist, but to say a movement doesn’t exist, without even being able to say what it is in an op-ed is just irresponsible. It also shows what the real issue is.

For the last 30 years, journalists have had an easy time reporting on the religious right, because all they did was pay attention to to white male leaders of big organizations like Focus on the Family, National Association of Evangelicals, or Family Research Council. The days when a nice soundbite from Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, or Ted Haggard would suffice are over. If journalists and others want to understand the last 10 years of the religious right movement, they will need to pay attention to the theological, religious, and ethnic diversity among evangelicals, Pentecostals, and non-denominational churches. They will at least need to recognize the old and new leaders of the religious right, and the complex network of leaders, conferences, and teachings if they want a reductionist argument they can spin out in 800 words. As someone who has studied and written about Pentecostalism for over 15 years, their lack of basic knowledge is staggering, and although I don’t expect people to get it like I do, I do expect reporters and journalists to do their homework—like you do, Sarah!”

In addition to that, Fred Clark at Slacktivist points out that Dominionism has been a serious concern within conservative Christian circles for some time now, and certainly not a myth. He also notes that if you don’t want to be seen as a Dominionist, you should probably avoid hiring them. Right Wing Watch echoes Clark by asking why, if Dominionism is a liberal myth used to attack conservative Christians, does it have conservative critics? At Talk To Action Chip Berlet responds to the latest wave of Dominionist coverage backlash from figures like Ross Douthat and Mary Eberstadt (more here). For my run-down of the debate up to this point, check out this post.

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

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.

• A barbershop in Massachusetts has been closed down after city inspectors found a Palo Mayombe altar and six chickens (one dead) in the basement of the establishment. Health officials have shut down the business due to unsanitary conditions in the basement. The owner claims he never did sacrifice in the basement of his business and that the animals were only there temporarily while he moved. There is an ABC Nightline video of the basement in question, as well as an interview with barbershop owner William Camacho. Litigation seems very likely.
• Kathryn Price NicDhàna updates us on the ongoing actions in Arizona to stop the clear-cutting and burning of forest on the San Francisco Peaks to make way for a pipeline that will pump treated wastewater up the mountain so that a ski resort can make more money. As documented here, the San Francisco Peaks are held as sacred by several indigenous peoples and Tribal Nations in the area. For ongoing coverage check out Censored News and Indigenous Action Media. A nationwide Forest Service protest is currently being organized.
• Conservative columnist Roy Exum has apologized for his article mocking Pagans, a piece he wrote in reaction to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee adding four Pagan holidays to its calendar. Quote Exum: “I need to apologize. I have never slighted anyone for their religious views and in Wednesday’s column I did so badly. Because of my ignorance of the subject, I was under the impression Pagans and Wiccans were more of a cult and I am genuinely sorry that I offended some very kind and nice worshippers.” Exum also shares excerpts from the many letters he was sent. Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary wrote him a thank-you note for his apology, and urges others to do the same.
• New Apostolic Reformation leader/apostle C. Peter Wagner protests against assertions that his movement wants a Christian theocracy in the United States, clarifying that the “way to achieve dominion is not to become ‘America’s Taliban,’ but rather to have kingdom-minded people in every one of the Seven Mountains: Religion, Family, Education, Government, Media, Arts & Entertainment, and Business so that they can use their influence to create an environment in which the blessings and prosperity of the Kingdom of God can permeate all areas of society.” In essence, a theocracy would be too limited a concept for what NAR wants. I’m sure you are all reassured, right?
• For those keeping track of Sacred Paths Center‘s fiscal travails, PNC-Minnesota has an update on the what’s going on. SPC has released the findings from their recent governance audit and posted a historical narrative of what, exactly, happened.
• Clothing designer Rachel Roy visited Haiti recently (alongside Martha Stewart and Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren) to investigate business opportunities with local artisans. While there she learned something about Haitain Vodou: “Jean Baptiste – Possibly my favorite artist who beads- also Voodoo priest. Voodoo actually being a positive force. Over the years it has gotten a bad rap (‘black magic’). Well, really, it is no different than other religions that offers hope-provides clients and provides dietaries and substance – for a nation … learn something new everything minute … I love to learn.”
• The DC/Baltimore area Sacred Space Conference has announced it’s featured presenters for 2012: Lyratah Barrett, cat yronwode, Ivo Dominguez Jr., and John Michael Greer. The event takes place March 8th – 11th in Laurel, Maryland. You can register now.
• James Kirk Wall, author of “Agnosticism: The Battle Against Shameless Ignorance,” ponders who non-religious voters should back in 2012. Some of his points could just as easily apply to adherents of minority religions as well.
• The Russian Republic of Karelia has ordered a ban on Halloween celebrations at its schools, stating that it is a Pagan holiday that contradicts the “secularist character of education” and promotes “Satanism and extremism.” Isolated bit of paranoia and overreach, or is connected to the slow-moving oppression of minority faiths in Russia? As the government, in seemingly increasing collusion with the Russian Orthodox Church, use laws against extremism and “cults” to intimidate and oppress competing faiths, the future of indigenous and neopagan faiths in Russia seems endangered.
• According to the Times of India, Wicca has reached its 15th anniversary in India, and checks in with their country’s most famous Wiccan, Ipsita Roy Chakraverti.
• The American Family Association is trying to distance itself from its own Director of Issue Analysis, Bryan Fischer. Fischer has a long track-record of spouting off increasing intolerant and hateful screeds. While the AFA is usually content to keep quiet about Fischer’s near-daily rants, this time they are splitting with him on the Establishment Clause: “under American law all religions enjoy freedom from government interference.  However Joseph Story’s view continues to have proponents, including Bryan Fischer, one of American Family Radio’s talk show hosts.  However, the American Family Association (“AFA”) officially sides with Jefferson on this question.   AFA is confident that the truth of Christianity will prevail whenever it is allowed to freely compete in the marketplace of ideas.” Right Wing Watch challenges us to “name one other organization that regularly has to declare that the things said by its own spokesman should not be construed as reflecting the views of the organization itself.”

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.

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.

• At the excellent Religion In American History blog Kelly Baker points to a a conversation about sacred space in America with Erika Doss, Anthea Butler, Jacob Kinnard, and Edward Linenthal in newest issue of Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief. According the Baker, the conversation includes mention of the special outdoor worship area for Pagan cadets at the Air Force Academy. The circle was officially dedicated in May of this year.
• Washington state Corrections officer Jayme Biendl was murdered by an inmate in January. Her killer was a Jekyll-and-Hyde figure who was “entrenched” in “religious activities”. A public disclosure request has resulted in a release of any records regarding Biendl, and the Associated Press leads its report on those papers with a complaint filed over a Wiccan cabinet in the communal chapel. It should be noted for the sake of clarity that the prisoner who killed her had never filed a grievance against the officer, and is, by his own admission, Christian.
• BBC Scotland has an audio-only interview up with Robin Hardy, writer/director of “The Wicker Tree”, the forthcoming companion film to the classic 1973 Pagan-themed horror film “The Wicker Man.” The film will be having its world premiere at this year’s Fantasia Festival. You can read all of my “Wicker Tree” coverage, here.
• Cara Schultz at PNC-Minnesota reviews the forthcoming “Tears of the Sun” by SM Stirling, the latest installment in the Emberverse series, which features several positive Pagan protagonists.
• A box of dead animal parts was found outside a Tampa, Florida prison,  Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Maj. Kenny Davis thinks that it’s “probably somebody putting a spell on somebody.” The Tampa Tribune helpfully seeks out the opinion of University of South Florida religion professor Mozella Mitchell, who notes that “no legitimate African derived religion in the Caribbean and Latin America” would do this, and that this is the “distorted practice of some group.”
• For a special July 4th post at CNN author Kenneth C. Davis explains why the United States isn’t a Christian nation. In the process of making his case he quotes my favorite treaty.
• At USC’s Trans/Missions Maura Jane Farrelly looks at the influence of pseudo-historian David Barton on presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann and plugs the forthcoming book “The Anointed: Evangelical Truth in a Secular Age.”
• While Bachmann likes Barton, Barton may prefer Rick Perry. Quote Amy Sullivan: “Is that sexism at work? Possibly. Maybe even probably.”
• Religion Clause reports that the parliament of Georgia (the country, not the US state) yesterday passed an amendment that will allow minority religious groups to register as legal entities. Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion in Georgia, and this may allow greater protections and rights for religious minorities.
• The novel “Gods Behaving Badly,” about a greatly diminished Greek pantheon sharing a flat in London, is being made into a movie, with an all-star (and somewhat bizarre) cast and a change of location to New York. Check out this lineup: Aphrodite played by Sharon Stone, Apollo played by Oliver Platt, Artemis played by Edie Falco, Demeter played by Phylicia Rashad, Dionysus played by Nelsan Ellis, Eros played by Gideon Glick, Hades played by John Turturro, Hermes played by Henry Zebrowski, Persephone played by Rosie Perez and Zeus is, get this, played by Christopher Walken. “Gods” was originally going to be a television series, but it looks like that never panned out.

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.

Back in April I mentioned the case of Roberto Casillas-Corrales, a Santero living in Utah. A local narcotics strike force raided his home looking for illegal drugs. They didn’t find any, so instead they arrested him for possessing two human skulls.

“Roberto Casillas-Corrales, 53, is facing two counts of third-degree felony desecration of a human body for the two human skulls found on his property, according to a court official. Clearfield police and Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force officers served a search warrant at the man’s home as part of a drug investigation Sunday. No drugs were found. The man told police he used the skulls and animal parts for religious purposes. He said he practices Santeria, a Caribbean religious tradition.”

Now it should be noted that it isn’t illegal to own a human skull, even two human skulls. But when you go to all the trouble of doing a drug raid, and don’t find any drugs, it must be hard to come back empty-handed. Now it seems that prosecutors are walking back on those charges, citing some “further investigation” they need to do.

Prosecutors have dropped the case against a Santería clergyman accused of keeping two human skulls in a shed behind his Clearfield home, saying they want to further investigate the case’s constitutional issues. [...] In documents filed last week in 2nd District Court, prosecutors asked Judge David Connors to dismiss the case because “due to the constitutional issues further investigation is needed.” “From the start there was a freedom of religion issue,” said Deputy Davis County Attorney Kathi Sjoberg. “Then there’s some question as to whether or not the process that he went through [in obtaining the skulls] was unlawful.”

Now, the judge dropped the charges without prejudice, so they could charge him again, but you’d think the prosecutor’s office could have found proof they were illegally obtained in three months. As for Casillas-Corrales, he claims he bought the skulls in/from Cuba for 3,500 dollars.

The case raises a lot of different questions. Do law enforcement have any solid evidence that Casillas-Corrales is involved with illegal drugs, or was this a bit of drug-war over-reach? If they were involved in a drug raid, and didn’t find drugs, why did they arrest him for possessing human skulls? Is this due to “occult experts” who like to emphasize ties between Afro-Caribbean religions and the drug trade? Local media reported that Casillas-Corrales was, by all accounts, “somebody who invites people in for celebrations and aids those in need,” so why didn’t anyone dig into the possibility that he was an innocent man practicing a religion that may seem strange and alien to those not exposed to it?

It may be that Roberto Casillas-Corrales is guilty of something. Drugs, improper handling of animals or human remains, or even an immigration issue (he’s not a U.S. citizen), but so far no charges stand against him. In the eyes of the law he’s an innocent man until proven otherwise. His life has been exposed in a way he most likely would not have chosen, and this will have deep ramifications to other practitioners of Santeria, Palo, and related faiths, who will now be even less likely to trust law enforcement (not to mention the press, or at least the mainstream press). I think my recent interview with Morgan Page Iyawo Odofemi fairly sums up the general state of things.

Practitioners of Lukumi, along with most other Afro-Diasporic Religions, have faced an incredible amount of persecution – including being murdered and having our religious altars desecrated. This ongoing oppression, combined with class issues, race issues, immigration status, and language barriers creates a climate where many elders (who are generally people of colour, lower-income, Spanish-speaking, etc.) do not feel comfortable speaking about the religion out of a very real fear of persecution. There are also some priests who are given taboos against being public about their religious beliefs. I don’t think that our lack of public spokespeople necessarily hurts practitioners. I think racism, classism, and xenophobia hurt practitioners. Secrecy is what helped our ancestors to survive and thrive. Ashe to those who want to take on the burden of being public, but I don’t think it’s something we necessarily “need.”

I think the press needs to take a cue from prosecutors and have a greater emphasis on the “constitutional issues” that arise in interactions with Afro-Diasporic Religions instead of going for the sensationalist stenography that seems to sometimes pass for journalism. These faiths are only growing in the United States, and the more we alienate them, the more secretive and hostile to outsiders they will become. If we want to ensure that justice and fairness happen, we can’t allow the tiny amount of outreach that’s happened in the last twenty years to be undone.

Time and time again, I’ve attacked the notion that dead animal parts, especially dead animal parts left lying around in public, were the result of Santeria or Vodou rituals, instead of an individual’s distressed mind. This is not just my opinion, officials within the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have noted that such actions “are most often the work of religious novices, teens or satanic dabblers.” Yet, the allure of some dark cult littering animal parts in various places endures within modern journalism, despite often flimsy or circumstantial evidence. So I think a recent story from WAVY in Virginia is most illuminating as to exploring the type of person who (allegedly) slaughters someone’s animals, leaves the heads in strategic places, and vandalizes local churches.

Accused pig killer and vandal Ashley Marie Fowler.

“The woman accused of killing and maiming two pigs, then leaving one of the pig’s heads on its owner’s front porch last week is in trouble again. Police say 21-year-old Ashley Marie Fowler was arrested at her place of employment last Wednesday after they found evidence in her car linking her to a recent church burglary.”

Another key ingredient to this story comes a bit further down.

“On Monday, warrants were secured for Fowler for the burglary of Northwest Baptist Church. She now faces one count of burglary and one count of grand larceny in addition to two felony counts of killing/maiming livestock, one count of vandalism and one count of prescription pills.“

So we have a young woman, seemingly abusing prescription narcotics, clearly suffering some sort of mental distress, allegedly acting out in a violent and confused manner. Barely covering her tracks, and allowing the police to easily track the evidence to straight to her.  This is the true face of most “occult” crime. The perpetrators of wantonly violent acts against Christian churches and animals. Troubled kids. Despite the mounting evidence that this wasn’t some sort of “Satanic” or “occult” crime, Animal Control officers and detectives are still “investigating” that possibility. Why? Because of “occult crime” experts who need for every animal death, every broken church window, every spray-painted pentagram to be connected to some illusory network of occult or religious practitioners. The men and women (but usually men, it must be said) who travel the country, spinning yarns about the “growth” of occult crime, who seemingly feel no remorse or sense of responsibility for their part in the last wave of moral panics that ruined the lives of thousands of people.

I know that human beings love a good conspiracy, and many media professionals spend a great deal of time giving the people what they want, but sometimes (to paraphrase Freud) a lone nut is sometimes just a lone nut. Or in this case, a troubled young person, is simply a troubled young person.  The more we allow law enforcement and animal control officials to be trained by these “occult” experts, the more “occult” crime they’ll see.

A few quick news notes for you today.

Trademarking the Gods: Video game company Nintendo just received permission from the Japanese Patent Office to trademark the name “Amaterasu” in relation to video games.

And you thought it was bad when Nintendo filed to trademark the phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong.” The Japanese Patent Office recently revealed that Nintendo trademarked the kanji “Amaterasu” as well as the katakana form in relation to video games. ”Amaterasu” certainly seems to refer to the Shinto goddess, but the full name for the deity is Amaterasu Omikami. This name was not trademarked, as it’s unlikely that the Japanese Patent Office would allow Nintendo to copyright an actual god or goddess.

While this may seem like no big deal to some, it could set a troubling precedent. If corporations and private businesses start grabbing trademarks to the names of deities within different contexts, what will that mean for the religions that worship and revere those figures? This is especially true as video games, art, and social interactions start to blur within contexts like Second Life. If someone can trademark a god’s name in one context, there’s little to stop them from doing it in others.

The Birth of Freedom: City Journal features an essay by Andre Glucksmann concerning the birth of the idea of freedom, and the differences between the “epic freedom” of Hegel or Marx and the “tragic freedom” of Athens and Socrates. Glucksmann notes that polytheism creates a more “radical” idea of freedom than most monotheistic conceptions.

With the Athenians, however—and this is an important difference—the gods are as imperfect as human beings, and the divine words are consequently doubtful and impure. In this sense, the Greek experience seems more radical than that of the monotheisms, since it presupposes no adherence to a unique word that would dominate the thought and freedom of men and women. For the Greeks, there was no way around the permanent crisis that constitutes the existence of a free human being.

Glucksmann also credits ancient Greek thinkers with providing the framework for the separation of church and state, and our modern ideas of “human rights.” The whole text is worth a look.

Telltale Signs of Santeria? What happens when you mix “occult experts” with animal parts? You get assertions that the dead animals are a “telltale sign” of Santeria.

“Don Rimer, who spent 30 years as a law enforcement officer and now provides training in the fields of ritual crimes and the occult, said the decapitated animals are telltale evidence of people who practice a faith known as Santeria. Followers brought the faith with them to the New World when they were taken from Africa during the slave trade, first establishing themselves in the Caribbean region, he said. Santeria is a blend of ancient African religion and Catholicism, Rimer said. A Utah state agency alerted Rimer to the Park City cases, he said. Rimer, who lives in Virginia Beach, Va., said the circumstances of the Park City discoveries resemble those of Santeria practices elsewhere. Rimer said people who adhere to the faith sacrifice animals and then place the carcasses close to transportation corridors like pathways, railroad tracks and streams in honor of the means slaves used to move about.”

Yes, you read that right. The expert was Don Rimer, who also happens to be an expert on Paganism, Satanic crime, and vampires. One wonders where he gets the time to become so knowledgeable when he’s so busy traveling the country giving talks. No doubt Rimer thinks his influence was positive because he asserted that animal sacrifice was legal and the alleged practitioners of Santeria meant no harm, but instead he verified the for many the idea that leaving dead bodies lying around is a normal practice for Santeria (instead of acknowledging that there could be other explanations).