• First off, I hope all my readers, friends, and supporters out on the East Coast, and in the path of Hurricane Irene, are safe and have taken proper precautions. Though the storm is less intense than first expected, there’s still plenty of damage a storm of that size can do.  COG First Officer Peter Dybing offers a prayer for safety, as does ADF Archdruid Kirk Thomas. Some Wild Hunt readers are checking in at this site’s Facebook page.
• New York City Councilman Dan Halloran, one of two openly Pagan/Heathen elected officials in the United States, appears in the new documentary “9/11: Reflections Then and Now.” Halloran lost his cousin, Lt. Vincent Halloran, that day, and nearly lost his brother, Patrick. At a special screening of the film, Halloran said that “one of the most important things to remember is almost every New Yorker was touched by this tragedy, a 9/11 family in New York is not a unique thing.”
• At his blog Morehead’s Musings, John Morehead does a follow-up interview with attorney Dan Stidham (original interview, here), who represented Jessie Misskelley of the West Memphis 3 until 2008 (at which point he became a judge). Stidham says that “Satanic Panic convicted the WM3 and the hard work of many people from all around the world refused to let this injustice stand.” I would suggest reading the whole thing, as there’s a lot of great information to be found there. You may also want to read Peg Aloi’s further commentary on the WM3′s release.
• Remember the mini Internet tempest that was the Circle of Moms contest? In short, a group of Pagan mom-bloggers did better than expected in the “faith” category ranking contest, sparking some unfortunate behavior by some Christian participants (though several Christian mom-bloggers did apologize for the behavior of their coreligionists). In any case, the fruits of that victory, in which the top 25 get special featured site interviews, is now up. Congrats once again to Mrs B., Angela, Lily, Joni, and all the other Pagan mom-bloggers who made it.
• Bill Keller at the New York Times Magazine argues that we should be asking presidential candidates tougher questions about their faith, and shares the general questionnaire that he sent out to all the candidates. While Get Religion slammed Keller’s editorial as “bizarre” and called the questions “loaded,” I would love to hear honest answers from the candidates to the question: “(a) Do you agree with those religious leaders who say that America is a “Christian nation” or “Judeo-Christian nation?” (b) What does that mean in  practice?” Meanwhile, Dave Niose, president of the American Humanist Association argues at Psychology Today that concerns over the religious right aren’t overblown.
• The sensationalism-drenched case of Angela Sanford, a Wiccan who killed Joel Levya in what some media described as a ritualistic sacrifice, has seemingly come to an end.  Sanford has plead no contest to second-degree murder, and will face sentencing in October. Sanford originally said the killing was in self-defense against an attempted rape, but that story soon unraveled as the details didn’t fit, and her cell phone listed Levya’s number under “sacrifice.” What really sparked Sanford to violently murder this man remains unknown.
• Here at Patheos, P. Sufenas Virius Lupus discusses the roots of homophobia, and bluntly states that it has no place within modern Paganism, and that Pagans supporting political candidates who engage in homophobia is an affront to our religious values. Quote:  “If modern Pagan religions and forms of animism and polytheism, which are supposed to revere nature to some extent or another, maintain homophobia of any sort (even if it is out of adherence to some ancient texts or traditions, which themselves often have resulted from Christian influence or inadequate modern interpretations of difficult terminologies), then they are aligning themselves with fundamentalist religious viewpoints that would happily seek to outlaw, and even execute, those who are “guilty” of homoeroticism or gender variance. Voting for conservative candidates who have espoused a religious position like this because one agrees with them on fiscal issues is a direct affront to every religious value one upholds as a modern Pagan or polytheist.”
• It looks like all the recent direct-action activism to protect the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona is having some effect, the business magazine Fast Company has run a spotlight on the Hopi Tribe’s new litigation against the wastewater pipeline currently underway. Fast Company’s article is too glib by half, but it is at least getting the story back on the radar of mainstream media. You can read all of my coverage on this story, here. For ongoing coverage of direct-action activism, check out Censored News and Indigenous Action Media.
• In a move that should surprise no one, Texas governor Rick Perry continues to woo influential and high-rolling conservative Christians, including David “paganism and witchcraft were never intended to receive the protections of the Religion Clauses” Barton. Perry has a long history with Barton, a fact that should make any Pagan nervous, if the giant prayer rally featuring several NAR participants didn’t already.
• Reviews of “The Wicker Tree,” the forthcoming companion film to the classic 1973 Pagan-themed horror film “The Wicker Man,” are pouring in from FrightFest 2011, and they aren’t pretty. Total Film complains of a “near-absence of momentum or intrigue,” while WhatCulture! says this film is far sillier than “The Wicker Man,” and that the “film suffers through not making us care” and calls the Christopher Lee cameo a “pointless waste.” Ouch! You can read all of my “Wicker Tree” coverage, here.
• Zeus and Hera have been removed from the Acropolis for safe-keeping, their Parthenon metope will be replaced with a copy, while the originals will be on display a the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
• Has King Arthur’s famous round table been found? The answer is a firm maybe.
• An important lesson in framing Pagan pride from Hecate.

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.

“The true historic meaning of “religion” excludes paganism and witchcraft, and thus, does not compel a conclusion that McCollum has state taxpayer standing … paganism and witchcraft were never intended to receive the protections of the Religion Clauses. Thus, in the present case there can be no violation of those clauses … Should this Court conclude that McCollum has taxpayer standing … this Court should at least acknowledge that its conclusion is compelled by Supreme Court precedent, not by history or the intent of the Framers.”

That quote is from an amicus brief written by Barton in the case of Patrick M. McCollum; et al., v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, currently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. McCollum v. CDCR centers on the state of California’s discriminatory “five faiths” policy, which limits the hiring of paid chaplains to Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American adherents. Right there, on the record, Barton straight-up denies Pagans equal religious protections under the law. This is why I become concerned when politicians say his views should be taught in public schools. Not because he’s Christian, or a bad historian, but because he flatly denies minority faiths equal treatment under the constitution. If the mainstream media had any teeth, they would be pressing Barton, and any politician who seeks his approval, on this issue.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKr-4tgvIrY

The fact is that early Americans did indeed consider the issue of non-Christians gaining equal rights under the constitution, and spoke (and debated) at great length on the subject. The idea that the Free Exercise Clause doesn’t apply to non-Christians is dangerous, ahistorical, and stupid. That Barton is preaching this lie weakens the very foundations he claims to revere. The fact is that the Founders were educated and far-sighted men who understood quite well what they were constructing and its implications. Barton would have them be short-sighted dolts. So long as the depth of Barton’s extremism is glossed over, we’ll never get a chance to pin him down on this very, very important issue.

Easter Witches in Sweden.

The Ganges in New York: The New York Times reports on how Hindus near Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York have turned the body of water into a local Ganges, a place to leave offerings for a variety of rituals. The problem is that the large number of offerings are disturbing the local habitat and creating an eyesore for park officials.

“We call it the Ganges,” one pilgrim, Madan Padarat, said as he finished his prayers. “She takes away your sickness, your pain, your suffering.” But to the park rangers who patrol the beach, the holy waters are a fragile habitat, the offerings are trash and the littered shores are a federal preserve that must be kept clean for picnickers, fishermen and kayakers. Unlike the Ganges, they say, the enclosed bay does not sweep the refuse away. The result is a standoff between two camps that regard the site as sacrosanct for very different reasons, and have spent years in a quiet tug of war between ancient traditions and modern regulations. Strenuous diplomacy on both sides has helped, but only to a point. “I can’t stop the people and say, ‘You can’t come to the water and make offerings,’ ” said Pandit Chunelall Narine, the priest at a thriving Ozone Park temple, Shri Trimurti Bhavan, who sometimes performs services by the bay. “We are at a dead end right now.”

The article does a good job of capturing the tensions as both sides try to find a workable compromise. I feel that as religions that engage directly with nature grow these tensions will continue. I anticipate that this will not be the last story I read about religious groups and law enforcement confronting how offerings impact a particular area.

A Queer Theology: In his latest Patheos.com column, P. Sufenas Virius Lupus confronts the “queerness” of theology within modern Paganism.

“I mentioned in an earlier article in this column that some modern Pagans have suggested that theology doesn’t really have a place in modern Paganism, and that Paganism as a religion isn’t really appropriate to the concerns of theology.  It was mentioned on that earlier occasion, though, that ancient Pagans in Greece and Rome invented most of the vocabulary of theology—including the term itself. The reservations of some modern Pagans on theology are understandable, and the ways in which Christianity has dominated the discourse on theology for the past several millennia are certainly a concern and something of which any Pagans actively engaged in theological work should be aware. Nonetheless, it is an area that is not only historically relevant to Paganism and polytheism, but one that is quite necessary to confront for modern Pagans.”

As always, Lupus is thoughtful an well-worth reading. Be sure to also check out his wonderful personal blog.

Who Gets Their Religious Freedom Protected: There’s a general election being held in Canada on May 2nd after the conservative government collapsed in a no confidence vote. It is in this context that Canadian Pagan and philosopher Brendan Myers looks at Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s plan to create an Office of Religious Freedom, and wonders whose freedoms it will work to protect.

“…given the Christian fundamentalism that dwells in the Reform Party’s agenda (pardon me, the Conservative Party’s agenda), therefore you can bet that this office will almost certainly not be used to help voudouisants in Africa, Tibetan Buddhists in China, Jews in Palestine or Muslims in Israel, or for that matter any religion at all which is not Christian. The only exceptions, the only non-Christian religions which this office might support in other countries, would be religious communities that are wealthy and well-organized enough in Canada to pressure the government to help their co-religionists in other countries.”

It seems that conservative Christian outlook in Canada isn’t too dissimilar from their brethren in the United States.

That’s all I have for now, have a happy Sunday, no matter what your activities or beliefs.

• The New York Times looks at Vodou, noting how recent negative news portrayals have “shaken the tight-knit and largely secretive” community. The piece also interviews academic and progressive activist Dowoti Desir, founder of Ogun’s Task Force for Haiti, a member of the Haitian Diaspora Coalition. There’s also a photo slideshow and video to check out.
• Speaking of Vodou, Foreign Policy Magazine looks at the recent election of Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly as Haiti’s next president. They note that Martelly’s extensive involvement in rara music and culture, “often affiliated with Vodou congregations and believed to be under the patronage of a spirit in the unseen realm,” was a key element in his campaigning. More on Martelly, here.
• Stephen Hodgson, a Wiccan in Minnesota’s prison system, has “filed a federal lawsuit against the state alleging his religious rights have been violated.” Nor is this some unfounded jailhouse complaint, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights says that “probable cause exists to believe that an unfair discriminatory practice was committed.” According to Hodgson, prison officials have “decided Christianity is the way to go and everybody else should fall in line.” Which reiterates the opinion and experience of activists like Rev. Patrick McCollum in his testimony to the US Commission on Civil Rights. I’m in contact with the PNC-Minnesota bureau now about following up on this story in the near future.
• Has the Supreme Court undermined the Establishment Clause? That’s the opinion of the Interfaith Alliance and Justice Elena Kagan, who says that the 5-4 ruling on Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn “threatens to eliminate all occasions for a taxpayer to contest the government’s monetary support of religion.” SCOTUSblog notes that the decision “came very close on Monday to taking away altogether the right of taxpayers to go to court to challenge government programs that provide financial aid to religion.” Potentially scary stuff for minority faiths in the United States.
• Erynn Rowan Laurie notes that launch of three new reconstructionist Pagan blogs, The Presence of the Past by Disirdottir, A Wolf-Man, Not a Wolf in Man’s Clothing by Faoladh, and Finnchuill’s Mast by Finnchuill. Be sure to also check out the essay concerning “Aisling, Ársaíocht, agus Agallamh” that follows the news of that link.
• A Murray State University college paper profiles Wiccan Kyra Ledbetter, a senior who notes that the religion helped her transform “from that terrifying girl in middle school to a member of volunteer programs.”
• Have you been missing 70s-era occult-influenced metal? Meet Blood Ceremony, whose latest album ‘Living With The Ancients’ was released by Rise Above on March 7th 2011. Check out their track “The Great God Pan.”
• Over at Patheos.com columnist P. Sufenas Virius Lupus examines “coming out theology” and whether it’s necessary for modern Pagans.  This is an excellent examination, and I urge everyone to head over and read this.
• Speaking of Patheos.com, Brendan Myers responds to criticisms of his recent piece “Thinking Shall Replace Killing.”
• What happens when you expose monotheists to polytheistic festival culture? They love it.
• Immortals director Tarsem Singh wants to fight the “idea that all gods that were wise had to be old.”

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, of course, all kinds of questions that can be asked about religious tax exemptions over all, but the Maetreum’s $5,400 tax bill is unlikely to rival the multimillion-dollar exemptions of conventional religions. Still, with unconventional religions on the rise, it poses issues that go beyond the old inn here. The Cybelines are facing possible foreclosure proceedings for the $13,800 they owe and appealing for money. But in the smorgasbord of religious law, they may also have weapons of their own if they want to pursue a discrimination claim. They say they just want to get back to where they were.”

It truly seems that this battle will hinge over who runs out of resources for this fight first. The Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater are clearly the underdogs, holding continual fundraisers to offset their mounting legal bills, but the Town of Catskill has also stripped its budget for these kinds of cases bare. The question now is who will blink first? With the New York Times writing a sympathetic article about the tax-fighting Goddess worshipers, it may not be in the town’s best interests to continue.

Did Religious Conflict Play A Role? The News Tribune in Alaska reports on the retrial of Rachelle Waterman, accused of plotting the 2004 death of her mother with two older men when she was 16. The first trial resulted in a hung jury, and now the Ketchikan District Attorney is trying again with a second indictment. At issue in Waterman’s defense is whether she truly meant for the two men to kill her mother, and what her mental state was at the time she allegedly discussed having her mother killed. In recent testimony from the woman’s father, Carl “Doc” Waterman, he claims that there was religious conflict in the home.

“He said Lauri was stricter on Rachelle than he was on some things but he never saw any evidence she hit their daughter and Rachelle never told him about anything like that. Neither of them used physical punishment, Waterman said under questioning by prosecutor Jean Seaton of Sitka. Other witnesses have testified that Rachelle told them her mother tried to push her down the stairs, became angry if her grades slipped, and withheld food, telling her she was fat. Prosecutors say she told even more to Jason Arrant and Brian Radel, the men who carried out the killing. Lauri Waterman was a strict Catholic and was upset when Waterman began experimenting with Wicca, a pagan religion and form of witchcraft, Doc Waterman said.”

This case got a lot of Internet buzz when it first made the news in 2004, due to the fact that Waterman had (and still has) a LiveJournal account. Many noted that Waterman claimed to have been grounded over her interest in Wicca (among other things). Now it’s for the jury to decide if grown two men in their 20s (one of whom was dating Waterman) took the irrational rantings of a disgruntled teenager as mandate for murder, or if Waterman, as the prosecution attests, was the mastermind for the killing. I’ll keep you posted as this case develops.

Dan Halloran and the New York Snow Removal Controversy: The New York Times looks at the ongoing story regarding allegations that New York City sanitation workers staged a slowdown after the Dec. 26 blizzard. At the center of this story is New York City councilman (and out Heathen) Dan Halloran, who claims that sanitation workers came to his office and informed him of the planned slowdown (allegedly to embarrass Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg). But evidence has been hard to pin down, and Halloran currently risks professional embarrassment. Recently, Halloran has been softening his story as he nears giving testimony to a federal  grand jury.

In an article that appeared in The New York Post on Dec. 30, he said the workers had been told “to take off routes” and “not do the plowing of some of the major arteries in a timely manner.” “They were told to make the mayor pay,” Mr. Halloran said in the article, “for the layoffs, the reductions in rank of the supervisors, shrinking the rolls of the rank and file.” More recently, the councilman has said the workers were not explicitly told to take part in a slowdown, but were subtly informed there was no need to rush while clearing the snow.

The NYT piece runs down Halloran’s career so far, including his election as an out Theodsman, run-ins with parking enforcement, and recent bankruptcy and divorce proceedings. Halloran now says that his goal “was never to make headlines or anger people,” but that damage may already be done, and he could be forced to give up the names of those who came to him when he testifies. For more on Dan Halloran, check out this recent Pagan+Politics interview.

BBC and a Witch Queen: The Romanian witch tax story keeps on chugging along, this time the BBC interviews “Queen Witch” Mama Bratara, who has threatened to curse the lawmakers.

“Life for witches, astrologers and spiritual mediums in Romania has always been tough. Under the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, the supernatural industry was banned, and now witches say they are being hit again – this time by new tax laws. Once Ceausescu was ousted from power the witches re-emerged to carry on their craft. Their work has a considerable following, particularly in rural areas. Now the government has angered the witches again by making them register as self-employed and requiring them to pay tax, social security, and pension contributions.”

I recommend checking out the video embedded in the story, which gives an interesting look at the formidable Mama Bratara.

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

“Now, with three decades of prosperity under their belt — the first significant period of relative stability in more than a century — the Chinese are in the midst of a great awakening of religious belief. In cities, yuppies are turning to Christianity. Buddhism attracts the middle class, while Taoism has rebounded in small towns and the countryside. Islam is also on the rise, not only in troubled minority areas but also among tens of millions elsewhere in China.”

The article focuses on two important people in China’s Taoism boom, Abbess Yin Xinhui, who is a favorite of the people, and travels the country playing music and raising money to rebuild temples, and wealthy businessman Zhu Tieyu, “the king of building materials.”

Until recently, Zhu mostly ignored the contradiction [between Communism and Taoism], but he has become more cautious, emphasizing how he loved Taoist philosophy and playing down the religion. Still, Zhu continues to support conventional Taoism. His staff takes courses in a Taoist form of meditation called neigong, and he has sent staff members to document religious sites, like the supposed birthplace of Laotzu, who is worshiped as a god in Taoism. He also has close relations with folk-religious figures and plans to establish a “Taoist base” in the countryside to propagate Taoism. “The ancients were amazing,” Zhu says. “Taoism can save the world.”

The whole thing is worth a leisurely Sunday read, and really does a nice job of showing that Taoism never really went away, just went underground during the height of Communist repression.

“The speeches were barely over when Abbess Yin picked up again. As the ceremony reached its climax, more and more people began to appear, seemingly out of nowhere, on the barren mountain face. Four policemen tried to keep order, linking arms to barricade the door so the nuns would have space for the ceremony. “Back, back, give the nuns room,” one officer said as the crowd pressed forward. People peered through windows or waited outside, holding cameras up high to snap pictures. “The Jade Emperor,” an old woman said, laying down a basket of apples as an offering. “Our temple is back.” Abbess Yin moved in front of the statue, praying, singing and kowtowing. This is the essence of the ritual — to create a holy space and summon the gods to the here and now, to this place at this moment.”

What the growth of these different faiths within China will mean for the country’s future remains to be seen. For now the government sees religion as a way to keep their regime in power, but that can change as the various religious leaders start having their own ideas. If China’s Communist leadership ever crumbles, what will it mean for the millions of polytheists living there?