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.
- Are feminists less religious? Feminist sociologist Kristin Aune, looking at data from a survey of British feminists she co-conducted for the book “Reclaiming the F Word: The New Feminist Movement” notes that “feminists are much less likely to be religious, but a little more likely to be interested in alternative or non-institutional kinds of spirituality.” She jokes that perhaps Pat Robertson was right, and feminism does “lead women to reject traditional religion.”
- The Discovery Fit & Health network reality show “I’m Pregnant And…” is looking for Pagans, and PNC-Minnesota gets a brief response from Associate Producer Aundrea Posey, who claims they aren’t tying to exploit Pagans, or be sensationalist. Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent for the Guardian, skeptically notes that “previous shows included I’m Pregnant and …Morbidly Obese; I’m Pregnant and … a Drug Dealer. My favourite is a future show – I’m Pregnant and … May Be Having a Dwarf.”
- Dangerous Minds points to a Daily Telegraph article about a six-day conference being held at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome. According to organizers and exorcists there’s been a “revival” of Satanism and that “the rise of Satanism has been dangerously underestimated in recent years.” You think they include Pagans in that Satanic revival? For all my exorcism-revival coverage, click here.
- Alyssa Rosenberg heaps quite a bit of scorn on the new Arthurian Starz series “Camelot,” calling it “almost completely devoid of ideas or values, much less decent acting or writing.” Perhaps, like “Spartacus,” it will get (somewhat) better as the series progresses? One can always hope.
- In last week’s round-up I noted that the Ballan Autumn Festival in Australia had banned a vendor’s wares under a clause forbidding “products or services relating to the occult, black magic or devil worship”. Now, Moorabool Weekly reports that Mayor Pat Griffin and the local council “will be looking more closely at the events to make sure council regulations [regarding diversity] are being followed.” Pagan Awareness Network president David Garland acidly wondered if “flaming torches and pitchforks formed part of the festivities.” All this comes in the wake of a recently released Australian Human Rights Commission survey on religion, which found that there is pervasive distrust of modern Pagans in that country.
- The case of former TSA employee Carole A. Smith, who alleges she was fired and harassed for being a Witch, has sparked quite a bit of comment since the MSNBC article appeared. The Get Religion blog praises the piece, saying it is “must reading for anyone who cares about religious liberty and mainstream coverage of religion in the workplace.” Ruby Sara at Pagan Godspell critiques the idea that Wiccan’s don’t cast spells. Jezebel recaps MSNBC and helpfully reminds us that “magic isn’t real.” I weigh in at the Washington Post, and the Lady Liberty League is on the case.
- The New Apostolic Reformation’s planned 2011 Social Transformation Conference, hosted by the Harvard Extension Service & Leadership Society, has been under fire since the depths of their extremist rhetoric were revealed. Truth Wins Out placed a full-page ad in the Harvard Crimson, and is planning to protest due to the groups rampant homophobic comments. Now the Harvard Crimson reports that organizers have released a new statement promising that no “hateful comments” will be made at the conference. Wayne Besen at Truth Wins Out calls this latest PR move “outrageous and totally unacceptable,” that it would be “the equivalent of hosting David Duke on campus, but prohibiting him from talking about race.” Organizers also say they will reach out to LGBTQ and Muslim groups on campus, but there’s no confirmation that this will actually happen. More on this, here.
- Today is the 300th anniversary of the last witch trial to take place in Ireland. On this occasion University of Ulster lecturer Dr Andrew Sneddon announces he is writing a book on the history of witchcraft in Ireland entitled “Witchcraft And Magic In Ireland, 1586-1946.” The work is to be published in 2013.
- Things are getting combative in the James Arthur Ray “death lodge” trial, as the defense tries to push their “organophosphate theory,” that wood treated with insecticides were what caused the deaths, not the sweat lodge itself. Here’s a rather extensive run-down of the day’s events. More, here.
- Public schools are Satan’s tools, but you knew that, right?
- Bron Taylor thinks Stephen Colbert should try “Dark Green Religion” on for size.
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.
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