The Miami New Times reports this week that Santero Carlos Valdes is pushing to have a violent stalking case prosecuted as a hate crime, which, if successful, would make it the first official hate crime charge involving anti-Santeria sentiments.

Santero Carlos Valdes performing a ceremony at his home.

Prosecutors contend [Kellyd] Rodriguez has terrorized Valdes’s family for four years. It began with anti-Santería rants on the phone, Valdes says, and escalated into death threats, rock-throwing, drive-by shootings, and even heart-stopping phone calls to his young daughters’ schools. [...] The oriate is also pushing prosecutors to charge Rodriguez with the first hate crime connected to Santería. [...] ”I’ve had crucifixes thrown through my windows and a woman try to burn my church down,” says Ernesto Pichardo, the Hialeah santero who took the benchmark case [Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah] to Washington, D.C., in 1993. “So many people in Miami still don’t realize that a santero in his home has the exact same legal rights as a Catholic priest in his church or a Jewish rabbi in his synagogue.”

While this would be the first “official” case of a hate crime against Santeria being prosecuted, the circumstances are hardly unique. Anti-Santeria sentiments and  actions have been well-documented in the past, including harassment by local law enforcement and politicians.

“In 2006, for instance, three worshippers in West Dade were arrested during a sacrifice; charges were eventually dropped. Months later, a Miami-Dade firefighter was booked when a neighbor called 911 about a goat sacrifice. He too was exonerated. In January 2007, Valdes himself was detained during an animal sacrifice. That’s why he originally went on the radio — to talk about the need to better educate police about the religion. Seven month later, in August, Coral Gables Police swarmed a house on Casilla Street, disrupting a Santería service with their guns drawn. Worshippers were detained until officers realized no crime had been committed, but defiant Gables Mayor Don Slesnick vowed to stop all animal sacrifices in the City Beautiful and refused to apologize.”

I have extensively covered the harassment, demonization, and libel against Santeria and other syncretic Afro-Caribbean religions in the United States for some time. Any instance of dead animal parts being found, almost anywhere, results in a knee-jerk invocation of “Santeria,” despite the fact that these assertions are often debunked by various experts, including the ASPCA. It’s unsurprising that some of the old “occult experts” have added Santeria to their resumes when they now talk to police and local communities, these last few years there seems to have been an increasingly ugly dimension to some Santeria stories that point towards anti-immigration hostility, and have even led to what some have called racial profiling.

If anti-Santeria harassment and violence starts to fall under the rubric of religious “hate crimes” it could create a change in how adherents are treated by law enforcement and the media. Once Santeros and Santeras are seen as human beings, and not villainous caricatures, it changes the dynamic. They are no longer the “other,” but our neighbors, co-workers, and friends. Modern Pagans today have been building increasing ties with syncretic African traditions like Santeria and Vodou, with many seeking initiations and training. They are part of our extended family, and we should be concerned with how our “cousins” are being treated. The demonization and harassment of Santeria is but a hair’s breadth from the treatment modern Pagans have received in the past, and in some instances, still receive. Even if Carlos Valdes isn’t successful in his quest to have this case prosecuted as a hate crime, it should still be seen a call towards a new activist spirit regarding how minority religions are treated and portrayed.

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!

Top Story: Today is the beginning of the Gadhimai Mela in Nepal, a massive festival that occurs every five years in honor of the Hindu goddess of power, involving the mass-ritualized slaughter of over 250,000 animals.

“The world’s biggest animal sacrifice began in Nepal today with the killing of the first of more than 250,000 animals as part of a Hindu festival in the village of Bariyapur, near the border with India. The event, which happens every five years, began with the decapitation of thousands of buffalo, killed in honour of Gadhimai, a Hindu goddess of power … The dead beasts will be sold to companies who will profit from the sale of the meat, bones and hide. Organisers will funnel the proceeds into development of the area, including the temple upkeep … Chandan Dev Chaudhary, a Hindu priest, said he was pleased with the festival’s high turnout and insisted tradition had to be kept. “The goddess needs blood,” he said.”

The high-profile ritualized slaughter of so many animals has gained international attention from animal rights activists, including French actress Brigitte Bardot, who told the Nepalese Prime Minister that “hundreds of horrified tourists report their disgust at witnessing ritual sacrifices at various festivals in Nepal”. Also attempting to halt the animal sacrifices was Ram Bahadur Bomjon, the famous “Buddha Boy”, who met with organizers and plans to appeal directly to participants. Local opponents included the Anti-Sacrifice Alliance and the Animal Welfare Network Nepal. But the appeals have fallen on deaf ears and rural Nepalese along with throngs of Indian tourists have flocked to the gathering, animals in tow, to gain the blessing of the goddess, whom they believe will grant their wish within five years.

“Kushawa, who belongs to the opposition Maoist party that claims to be atheists, said almost 75 percent of the visitors at the fair – whose main attraction is the slaughter of tens of thousands of birds and animals – are from India. “While they are mostly from Bihar, there are others from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and other Indian states neighbouring Nepal,” he said.”

This rite no doubt shocks the sensibilities of many Westerners, who see them as unnecessary and barbaric. Then again, the slaughtered animals are cooked, sold, and eaten, so the main differences seem to be the religious aspect, and the fact that the slaughter is open to the public. America, by contrast, doesn’t  (usually) allow people to attend or sanctify their slaughter-houses. To compare scale, perhaps a half-million animals will be ritually killed at the Gadhimai Mela, while Americans will eat 45 million turkeys for Thanksgiving alone, with 250 million grown in 2008. We also killed and consumed over 34 million cows. Is context king? If they were kept out of sight, not ritualized, would we not care? I don’t think Bardot or the “Buddha Boy” are planning a trip to America’s meat-packing plants any time soon. How much of this outrage stems from people not conforming to what we consider civilized?

In Other News: We start off “below the fold” with some good news for South Jersey Vodou priest Houngan Hector Salva. Salva was embroiled in controversy after the death of a transgendered woman at a three-day Vodou cleansing ritual this past Summer. Officials have ruled the death accidental, and not suspicious.

“Her death – which was never considered suspicious — was ruled accidental on Monday by the Camden County prosecutor’s office and the case was closed. Lucie, a male-to-female transgender, died from the combined effects of “physical exhaustion, ambient room temperature and an oxygen-depleted atmosphere,” according to The Daily News.”

While Salva has been cleared of any criminal negligence, Lucie’s mother calls him “young, stupid and negligent” and wants people to know that her daughter died under his care. Salva has already moved from his former home, after the flurry of sensationalist press made it nearly impossible for him to continue his religious practice there.

The FBI has released hate-crime statistics for 2008, and offenses against religions are up across the board. This includes 212 offenses against “other” religions in 2008, up from 140 in 2007. Making up 12.8 percent of total religious hate-crimes. Unfortunately we have no way of telling who the “others” are, but we do know it isn’t any of the Abrahamic faiths (each of whom have their own category), so it’s probably of mish-mash of Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, and all the other “Others” combined. As ominous as this rise is, what isn’t reported may be even scarier.

“The FBI’s report reflects only the information gathered by participating law enforcement agencies. Experts warned that the numbers may reflect different standards for what constitutes a hate crime, as well as the inability of some law enforcement agencies to coordinate the report because of budget constraints. “The most frightening thing about these numbers is what goes unrecorded,” said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, the Hispanic civil rights advocacy group.”

One has to wonder how many hate-crimes get ignored by non-participating law enforcement agencies, and how many want to report these crimes but just don’t have the resources to do so. Addressing a problem often starts with having the data to support that there is, indeed, a problem. Let’s hope the FBI’s data improves, and that we someday learn who, exactly, the “others” are.

The press have reported on two Thanksgiving interfaith events that included Pagans and Wiccans, the first in Madison Wisconsin (sponsored by the Greater Madison Interreligious Association), where Selena Fox from Circle Sanctuary talked about Wiccan harvest festivals.

“Like many other religious groups, Wiccans have a tradition of giving thanks in connection with the harvest season, said the Rev. Selena Fox, of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church near Barneveld. Some contemporary Wiccans celebrate the first harvest at the beginning of August, the abundant harvest in September, and the end of the harvest in late October, Fox told a group of about 100 people Sunday during the fourth annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration.”

Meanwhile, Modesto, California’s Inter-Faith Thanksgiving Celebration included Pagans for the first time. The Pagans performed a song-chant, and local Pagan Edye Cheeseman said that it felt “very inclusive, very nice.” Both events seem like a warm-up of sorts to the up-coming Parliament of the World’s Religions, the largest interfaith gathering in the world, where the expected Pagan presence is thought to be substantial. More on that soon.

In a final god-adapting-to-modern-times story, it seems that the city of Chennai in India has flocked to the worship of Iraniamman Amma, the “highway goddess” to avoid accidents and ensure a safe journey on the roads.

“Daily thousands of vehicles stop by and queue up at the Iraniamman temple to offer prayer on the highway including two wheelers, autos, cars, buses, lorry drivers, etc People from across the nation come here to worship the highway goddess in Chennai, which keep them away from the deadly accident on that accident-prone highway. “The reason for coming here to this goddess is that I need to go safe and come back safe too. That’s why I always come here, put the lime before the vehicle and do the puja, for a good, wonderful and safe journey. I am a catholic but I do believe in this because it is a highway Goddess,” said Jude, a traveller.”

Which leaves me with the question, which god or goddess in your pantheon handles highway safety? How about computer health? How have your gods adapted to modern times?

Perhaps I’ve developed outrage fatigue from covering religious news for so many years, but I just can’t seem to muster much energy for the supposed controversy over vacuous morning-show host Kathie Lee Gifford’s “anti-pagan” comments.

The trivia question that spurred a tempest in a tea-pot.

“Wednesday June 25th on the Today Show, host Kathy Lee Gifford was quizzing guests of a wedding on wedding traditions. On a question as to the origin of wearing the wedding ring on your left ring finger, an option for an answer was that “Pagans believed it was bad luck to carry metal on the right side.” Reading the question aloud, Gifford chose to say “The Pagans, the nasty, bad, Pagans, believed …..” For any other religion, she would not have made the comment, and if she had, a public apology would most likely be released very quickly. The pagan community should not stand for it. Her personal belief may be that we are “nasty and bad”, but it does not make it alright for her to say so on national television.”

I watched the offending video clip in question, and I just don’t see anything worth threats of boycott or starting a petition. I certainly don’t agree with Ellen Evert Hopman & Dana Corby’s assertion that her off-the-cuff statement amounted to “hate speech”.

“Ms. Gifford’s hate speech has done harm to American Pagans’ ability to live in peace with our neighbors of other faiths. By allowing her hate speech to be broadcast, her direct employer the TODAY Show, and their network, NBC, participate in that hate speech.”

Hate speech is something very specific, and Gifford’s off-the-cuff riffing on a trivia question doesn’t even come close to qualifying. I very much doubt Gifford even realizes there is a modern Paganism movement, much less has a nuanced understanding of pre-Christian religion (she’s a born-again Christian). I question the petition’s assertion that any Pagan will have their quality of life affected in any way because of what a Regis Philbin cast-off said. This action by Pagans, far from chastising the folks at the Today Show, has only provided more grist for Gifford’s “comedic” mill.

I’d like to think that I’m fairly tenacious in defense of modern Paganism. I have worked daily to follow stories and bring important issues to light. There are many serious issues facing modern Pagan faiths, and we should remain vigilant and address them. However, the last thing I want to see is for Pagans to adopt the tactics of groups like the Catholic League. Constantly scanning the news looking for the next outrage, the next rallying cry for those who believe some great religious conflict is brewing. I don’t want us to become unable to laugh off something stupid, I don’t want us to become unable to tell the difference between an innocuous trifle, and real anti-Pagan hate speech.

Should you boycott The Today Show? Sure, if only because it’s stupid, lowest-common-denominator television that enriches no one. Not because Kathie Lee Gifford allegedly “hates” Pagans. Let’s turn our attention to the endemic discrimination against Pagans in prisons, or the improper influence of Christianity on our military, or the legislative strategies that seek to enshrine a Christian civil religion and relegate religious minorities to second-class status, or the role of modern Pagans in politics. Heck, we could even talk about the reality television shows that actually do some damage to our reputation. What we shouldn’t do is manufacture a controversy where one doesn’t actually exist.

PS If George Carlin has gone on The Today Show and called Chritianity “nasty” and “bad” (and he’s called it far worse things than that) would you call it “hate speech”? Would you think Christians were correct in calling for a boycott, or would you think such an action was an overreaction?

Perhaps I’ve developed outrage fatigue from covering religious news for so many years, but I just can’t seem to muster much energy for the supposed controversy over vacuous morning-show host Kathie Lee Gifford’s “anti-pagan” comments.

The trivia question that spurred a tempest in a tea-pot.

“Wednesday June 25th on the Today Show, host Kathy Lee Gifford was quizzing guests of a wedding on wedding traditions. On a question as to the origin of wearing the wedding ring on your left ring finger, an option for an answer was that “Pagans believed it was bad luck to carry metal on the right side.” Reading the question aloud, Gifford chose to say “The Pagans, the nasty, bad, Pagans, believed …..” For any other religion, she would not have made the comment, and if she had, a public apology would most likely be released very quickly. The pagan community should not stand for it. Her personal belief may be that we are “nasty and bad”, but it does not make it alright for her to say so on national television.”

I watched the offending video clip in question, and I just don’t see anything worth threats of boycott or starting a petition. I certainly don’t agree with Ellen Evert Hopman & Dana Corby’s assertion that her off-the-cuff statement amounted to “hate speech”.

“Ms. Gifford’s hate speech has done harm to American Pagans’ ability to live in peace with our neighbors of other faiths. By allowing her hate speech to be broadcast, her direct employer the TODAY Show, and their network, NBC, participate in that hate speech.”

Hate speech is something very specific, and Gifford’s off-the-cuff riffing on a trivia question doesn’t even come close to qualifying. I very much doubt Gifford even realizes there is a modern Paganism movement, much less has a nuanced understanding of pre-Christian religion (she’s a born-again Christian). I question the petition’s assertion that any Pagan will have their quality of life affected in any way because of what a Regis Philbin cast-off said. This action by Pagans, far from chastising the folks at the Today Show, has only provided more grist for Gifford’s “comedic” mill.

I’d like to think that I’m fairly tenacious in defense of modern Paganism. I have worked daily to follow stories and bring important issues to light. There are many serious issues facing modern Pagan faiths, and we should remain vigilant and address them. However, the last thing I want to see is for Pagans to adopt the tactics of groups like the Catholic League. Constantly scanning the news looking for the next outrage, the next rallying cry for those who believe some great religious conflict is brewing. I don’t want us to become unable to laugh off something stupid, I don’t want us to become unable to tell the difference between an innocuous trifle, and real anti-Pagan hate speech.

Should you boycott The Today Show? Sure, if only because it’s stupid, lowest-common-denominator television that enriches no one. Not because Kathie Lee Gifford allegedly “hates” Pagans. Let’s turn our attention to the endemic discrimination against Pagans in prisons, or the improper influence of Christianity on our military, or the legislative strategies that seek to enshrine a Christian civil religion and relegate religious minorities to second-class status, or the role of modern Pagans in politics. Heck, we could even talk about the reality television shows that actually do some damage to our reputation. What we shouldn’t do is manufacture a controversy where one doesn’t actually exist.

PS If George Carlin has gone on The Today Show and called Chritianity “nasty” and “bad” (and he’s called it far worse things than that) would you call it “hate speech”? Would you think Christians were correct in calling for a boycott, or would you think such an action was an overreaction?

WIVB in New York reports that an anonymous caller to the Olean police department claims to be the man who ran over a holiday Pentacle display in early December.

“Police believe they’ve received a phone-call confession from the person who ran-over a holiday pentacle display in olean. This all started earlier this month in Olean. The city allowed people to put up religious symbols in front of city hall..but not long after someone erected a Wiccan pentacle sign.. Someone ran it over.”

The vandalized Pentacle display.

Here is the content of the caller’s message:

“Hello there, this is a tough call for me to make… We were in Olean shopping.. We had dinner.. We were on our way home.. my girlfriend said, hey, there’s the symbol that was on the news I wish someone would run it over I had a few beers in me.. and was showing off, so I backed into it. I am truly sorry it wasn’t a hate crime..just an off color prank.”

See? It isn’t a hate crime if you had a few beers in you and did it to impress your girlfriend. This “beer + girlfriend” defense seems to be winning over the local police, who say that they only plan to charge the man with misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief (if they catch him). No word on if further charges will be entertained (like drunk driving for instance). What do you think? Is this a hate crime or an “off color prank”, what punishment do you think the driver (and possibly the girlfriend) should receive?

WIVB in New York reports that an anonymous caller to the Olean police department claims to be the man who ran over a holiday Pentacle display in early December.

“Police believe they’ve received a phone-call confession from the person who ran-over a holiday pentacle display in olean. This all started earlier this month in Olean. The city allowed people to put up religious symbols in front of city hall..but not long after someone erected a Wiccan pentacle sign.. Someone ran it over.”

The vandalized Pentacle display.

Here is the content of the caller’s message:

“Hello there, this is a tough call for me to make… We were in Olean shopping.. We had dinner.. We were on our way home.. my girlfriend said, hey, there’s the symbol that was on the news I wish someone would run it over I had a few beers in me.. and was showing off, so I backed into it. I am truly sorry it wasn’t a hate crime..just an off color prank.”

See? It isn’t a hate crime if you had a few beers in you and did it to impress your girlfriend. This “beer + girlfriend” defense seems to be winning over the local police, who say that they only plan to charge the man with misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief (if they catch him). No word on if further charges will be entertained (like drunk driving for instance). What do you think? Is this a hate crime or an “off color prank”, what punishment do you think the driver (and possibly the girlfriend) should receive?