“For the fourth year in a row, Circle Sanctuary is honoring and supporting active duty Pagan service members through Operation Circle Care. This year, we are widening our focus and sending Yuletide care packages to active duty Pagan troops serving in any overseas theater of operation, including Germany, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, or on board Navy ships. The success of this program is due to the generous support and donations from Pagan community members from many paths and places. With your continued support, it is our goal to honor and remember each and every Pagan US military service member we can with a special personalized gift for Yule, just as we have in years past.”

Operation Circle Care is looking for contacts, donated items, and funds to help in this project. You can find details at their web site. If you know of similar efforts in other countries, or other Pagan organizations that are organizing care packages or other services, please let me know in the comments.

A Warrior’s Conscientious Objection: On a somewhat related note, we turn to the issue of conscientious objection to war. Up till now its been largely treated by the US government as an all-or-nothing enterprise, you either had to be a pacifist who objected to all conflict (like Quakers or some Pagans), or you were signed up to follow orders no matter what (lest risking dishonorable discharge or even a tribunal). But now a coalition of religious leaders and veterans are calling for the right to morally object to individual conflicts.

“In a report issued Wednesday (Nov. 10), the Truth Commission on Conscience in War called on the military to revise its rules to include “selective conscientious objection,” and urged religious leaders to address issues of conscience during wartime … The report states that current rules about conscientious objection requires an objection to “war in any form,” creating a conflict for those who may have specific moral objections to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ”It denies freedom of religious practice and the exercise of moral conscience to those serving in the military who object to a particular war based on the moral criteria of just war, which the military itself teaches and upholds as important,” the report reads. The report notes that military rules dating to the time of the Vietnam draft leave no legal basis for objection for someone who believes “participation implicates them in an immoral war or in war crimes.”

Such a change would be very much in keeping with many Pagan and Heathen ideas of warrior ethics and culture. Allowing participation in honorable or just conflicts while also leaving room for non-participation in situations that they feel could violate their personal/religious/cultural code of honor. Whether the military would ever be open to such a change is an open question. For those who want more information about this initiative, check out the Truth Commission on Conscience in War’s web site.

The Fate of Ali Sibat: When we last checked in with Lebanese citizen Ali Sibat, who was nearly executed for the crime of sorcery in Saudi Arabia but given a last-minute reprieve due to protests and political maneuvering, was still in a cell awaiting some word of his ultimate fate. Now news has come that a Saudi court has formally rejected his death sentence and that he be deported after a new trial.

“Saudi Arabia’s high court has rejected the execution sentence of a Lebanese man convicted of sorcery and recommended that he be deported after a new trial, a newspaper reported Thursday. The Supreme Court in Riyadh said that the death sentence for Ali Sabat was not warranted because he had not harmed anyone and had no prior offences in the country, Okaz said. The court said his case should be sent back to a lower court in Medina to be retried and recommended that Sabat, who has spent 30 months in Saudi prison since his May 2008 arrest, be deported, Okaz said.”

How long this process will take remains to be seen, but it does look like this long nightmare is finally ending for Sibat. Sadly the same can’t be said for other men and women being held in Saudi Arabia for crimes of “sorcery”, like Sudanese citizen Abdul Hamid al-Fakki, or Fawza Falih Muhammad Ali. One can only hope that discontent with the religious police grows, and we see an end to this madness.

The Further Unintended Consequences of Oklahoma’s Anti-Sharia Amendment: I’ve already discussed some of the problems with the recent anti-Sharia amendment passed by Oklahoma voters, but now even more voices are emerging to discuss the unintended consequences of this move to theoretically protect us from “creeping Sharia” law. First, the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission released an official memo on October 20 opposing the amendment, saying it could affect the “damage the sovereignty of all Oklahoma tribes.”

SQ 755, as written, prohibits an Oklahoma state court from applying any law but Oklahoma or U. S. law to settle a dispute. Further, the proposed constitutional amendment inhibits state courts from looking to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures for a decision. The language of this proposed amendment starkly reminds us that some Oklahoma lawmakers forgot that our nation and state were built on the principles, blood, and backs of “other nations and cultures,” namely, our tribes. It also ignores that Oklahoma tribes have become valuable economic partners with the State that it cannot afford to ignore or exclude.

If SQ 755 is approved, the lack of specific tribal law language could easily be interpreted by a state judge to leave no room to refer to a tribe’s law to determine the existence of a valid waiver of a tribe’s sovereign immunity, for example. Thus, SQ 755 has the potential to provide state court judges with yet another opportunity to further erode tribal sovereignty. A state court judge could rely on the amendment’s absence of recognition of any tribal law to avoid or disavow its application. Tribes and tribal members should be aware of this glaring omission for Oklahoma courts to look to and apply our tribal laws when appropriate, and vote on this question accordingly.

In addition to possibly damaging tribal sovereignty in the name of fighting Muslim theocracy the amendment is getting knocked about by the majority of commentators at the center-right politics site Politico. A judge has granted a temporary block to the amendment while the court battles commence.

Medicine Man Confidentiality: A murder trial in Canada is testing whether minority faiths and cultures are afforded the same privileges as the dominant religious traditions. Minneconjou historian Donovin Sprague claims that confidentiality between a medicine man and their clients is a well understood concept in that culture and should be respected.

Sprague said he based his opinions on his own traditional upbringing and knowledge of tribal culture, as well as on his discussions with spiritual leaders Arvol Looking Horse, Rick Two Dogs and Wilmer Mesteth. Seventh Circuit Judge Jack Delaney tried to pin Sprague down on just how far that commitment to confidentiality would go. If a child were found murdered in a traditional camp and someone confessed to a medicine man, he asked, would the medicine man still maintain confidentiality? “Traditionally … I don’t think it would be revealed,” Sprague said, but he was quick to say that one medicine man might not operate in the same way as another medicine man would. “There wasn’t like a written set of rules governing what we’re talking about here, really. … He would use his discretion what he wanted to do.”

The trial involves John Graham, who is charged with the 1975 rape and murder of Annie Mae Aquash. The motion on whether confidentiality would stand has not been ruled on yet. Whichever way the judge decides could have lasting ramifications on indigenous and minority religions in Canada, and how far confidentiality between a spiritual/religious leader and their client can go.

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

“This measure amends the State Constitution. It changes a section that deals with the courts of this state. It would amend Article 7, Section 1. It makes courts rely on federal and state law when deciding cases. It forbids courts from considering or using international law. It forbids courts from considering or using Sharia Law. International law is also known as the law of nations. It deals with the conduct of international organizations and independent nations, such as countries, states and tribes. It deals with their relationship with each other. It also deals with some of their relationships with persons.”

Last year, as ThinkProgress points out, Oklahoma passed, with many of the same backers, the Ten Commandments Monument Display Act, which ordered “a monument to the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol” to be erected, and goes on at some length about how Biblical law has influenced American law and judicial decisions. Well, no longer, according to Rick Tepker, a member of the University of Oklahoma School of Law faculty.

“Many of us who understand the law are scratching our heads this morning, laughing so we don’t cry,” he said. “I would like to see Oklahoma politicians explain if this means that the courts can no longer consider the Ten Commandments. Isn’t that a precept of another culture and another nation? The result of this is that judges aren’t going to know when and how they can look at sources of American law that were international law in origin.”

Oops! Aside from the foot-shooting irony at play here, the main problem was overreach. You see, many of the activists/politicians/pundits really, really worried about the implementation of Sharia law are also very, very, concerned about Americans being subject to “international law”, and want us to pull out of the UN and ban US judges from considering legal precedents from other countries when making decisions. The problem is who decides what’s “international law”? The Ten Commandments certainly weren’t written in Oklahoma.

Now, this amendment is being challenged, and may never be enforced (and for some very good reasons), but what a lost opportunity! Imagine a gay marriage decision where judge is banned from even “considering” Christian law! Pagan custody cases and religious discriminations cases would have to be decided on secular law alone without a hint of Christianity lest the case be open to challenge. But this is just an idle musing on my part, in the end this amendment will be rolled back because there are too many unintended consequences to deal with.

“It’s hard for me to believe the current surge of paranoia about Sharia law, and growing hostility to any kind of accommodations to our Muslim minority, won’t ultimately unleash forces of intolerance that will undercut our [Judaism's] own hard-won games as a religious minority with special needs. This also touches on the issue of religious land use, which I blogged about the other day, and the idea that the surge of hostility to Islam that is already resulting in fierce resistance to mosque building projects across the nation will almost certainly come back to bite us.”

If these legislators and voters were really as concerned about “creeping Sharia” on American soil as they say they are then we should be more concerned about integrating Muslims into secular American society than alienating them by passing dodgy laws and cranking the rhetoric up to “11″. However, even if you think we need to enact nationwide bans on Sharia law and pass draconian laws to “control” the Muslim “problem”, there’s still one issue all religious minorities need to consider. If we allow ourselves to single out a faith for censure in our law-making, no matter how noble we believe we’re being in the process, how long before that slippery slope is turned towards the next belief system to cause anxiety?

It seems ridiculous, but there was a time when mainstream politicians were working to ban Pagans from the military. There was a time, not so long ago, when innocent men and women were being locked up for imaginary “Satanic” crimes (with some still in prison awaiting justice). Some Witches and Pagans were so paranoid during that time that they were more than ready to throw actual Satanists under the bus. It isn’t so hard to envision a new moral panic to come ’round the bend and catch us in its sights once the Muslim threat stops being politically expedient. Or maybe it will be Santeria getting conflated with illegal immigration and drug-running, or Vodou being blamed for our economic hardships, the roulette wheel of fear is always turning and you never know when or where it will stop.

When you play around with our laws and constitutions to score political points there are always unintended consequences. The further we stray from our core principles because we fear the “creeping” menace of some religion, philosophy, or political party the more we open ourselves up to injury. The more we feed the beast of fear, the hungrier it gets. Stir in bad economic times and entrenched polarization and you flirt with disaster. As Pagans we need to be be wary of any “solution” that focuses on a single people, faith, or way of thinking, lest we find ourselves on the next ballot initiative.

“Henry said students are already allowed to express their faith through voluntary prayer and other activities. He said the legislation was well-intended, but vague and “may trigger a number of unintended consequences that actually impede rather than enhance such expression.” Schools could be forced to provide equal time to fringe groups that masquerade as religions and advocate behaviors such as hate speech.”

One of the “unintended consequences” of the act was laid out by the Texas House’s own research organization, which stated that the law, if enacted, would most likely privilege the Christian majority (though some feared it would empower “Wiccans and anti-Christians” to spread their message to Christian students).

“The bill’s constitutionality is questionable … The bill could serve as a tool to proselytize the majority religious view, Christianity, in Texas schools. The United States is a nation made up of people of many faiths. Children are required to attend school and should be permitted to do so without someone else’s religion being imposed on them … A school should be a religion-free zone – leaving religion for homes, places of worship, and individual hearts.”

I was beginning to wonder if any lawmakers or politicians in the “red” states had the guts to stand up for religious minorities (and real religious freedom). With Texas passing the Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act, and South Carolina passing the Public Invocation Act, its nice to see that Oklahoma won’t fall in line with the conservative Christian activists trying to circumvent Church-State separation with vaguely worded legislation and baseless legal challenges. If we had more Governors of conscience, perhaps this anti-religious minority legislation trend would come to an end.
]]> http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/06/oklahoma-takes-stand-against-fake.html/feed 0 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/02/updates-on-past-stories_29.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/02/updates-on-past-stories_29.html#comments Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:34:00 +0000 Jason Pitzl-Waters http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/02/updates-on-past-stories-7.html Psychic Wars in Livingston: It looks like a legal battle over a religiously-motivated Livingston Parish ordinance banning fortune telling will be headed to court. Despite being warned by their lawyer that they would most likely lose a lawsuit, the Parish Council decided to not address the issue at their most recent meeting, much to the dismay of some Parish residents.

“Taxpayers might question the council’s insistence on spending public money to fight a lawsuit on an issue that has no purpose other than to pacify a particular religious group. The council’s attorney, Blayne Honeycutt, has advised that it probably would lose the Wiccan suit if it persists in defending the ordinance. When no member of the council would offer a motion to repeal the soothsaying ordinance, Honeycutt advised the council it needs to hire special counsel to handle such a case. Parish government, which has a history of being strapped for funds, could be putting that money to proper uses on roads, drainage, water and sewage rather than waging war for or against particular religious groups. Instead, the council will spend money it says is in short supply defending a lawsuit against a problem its attorney told council members apparently doesn’t even exist in the parish.”

The Parish is being sued by local businessman and Wiccan Cliff Eakin, who wishes to offer fortune-telling and divination services at his store, Gryphon’s Nest Gifts. Eakin maintains that the ordinance is an attempt to promote Christianity over Paganism.

Thelemites Fight Pedophillia Charges: Australian couple Vivienne Legg and Dyson Devine have been released from prison after apologizing to a judge for defying an order to remove material from their website that groundlessly implicated a local O.T.O. organization in an underground pedophile ring. The couple served two months of a nine-month sentence for contempt of court.

“Yesterday both apologised to Judge Harbison and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and undertook not to repeat, or help anyone else to publish, the vilifying material about the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). But David Leggatt, for the OTO, complained that the vilification had a “grapevine effect”. It had been removed from the pair’s website, Gaiaguys.net, in December, but soon appeared on Adam Dodson’s site. Simon Moglia, for Mr Devine and Ms Legg, said they had not helped the new website. He said they at first saw their non-compliance as individuals standing for their beliefs. But when they realised that resisting the tribunal encouraged others to disobey the law, they closed down their website.”

While the OTO in Australia have certainly won this battle, they may find themselves pestered by dozens (if not hundreds) of conspiracy theorists who see Legg and Devine as martyrs in the quest for “the truth”. The original actionable paper written by Dr Reina Michaelson inflated in importance and virally spread across the Internet.

Fighting For (Christian) Religious Expression: Arizona joins Oklahoma in trying to pass a “student religious expression” law similar to the one recently passed by Texas.

“On Wednesday, the Arizona House Education Committee narrowly approved, and sent on to the full House of Representatives, HB 2713, a bill that would prohibit public schools from discriminating against students on the basis of their religious belief or expression. It permits students to engage in prayer and religious activity on an equal basis with other activities, but does not permit the school to require participation in religious activities. It includes provisions prohibiting banning of religious attire and jewelry when similar secular items are permitted and another section that prohibits discrimination for or against a student in grading coursework in which the student expresses a religious viewpoint or religious content.”

While these laws may sound innocuous enough to some, they ultimately benefit the religious majority, a point driven home by the Texas House’s own research organization who stated: “the bill could serve as a tool to proselytize the majority religious view”. These proposed laws claim to protect a student’s freedom to express religious viewpoints, but I fear they instead encourage a hostile environment towards religious minorities, dis-empower teachers from keeping order in their classrooms, and give Christian students a sense of immunity from consequences. I encourage Pagan groups in in Arizona (and Oklahoma) to send a message to their representatives ensuring them that Pagans, Witches, and Heathens oppose this legislation, but will gladly use their new “rights” as often and as loudly as possible if it is enacted.
]]> http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/02/updates-on-past-stories_29.html/feed 1 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/01/tulsa-and-sectarian-prayer.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/01/tulsa-and-sectarian-prayer.html#comments Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:42:00 +0000 Jason Pitzl-Waters http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/01/tulsa-and-sectarian-prayer.html The Tulsa City Council has decided to change their “unwritten” policy concerning opening prayers to now allow references to specific deities.

“Tulsa’s City Council voted Thursday to change an unwritten policy so that people can name a deity when praying before the council’s regular weekly meetings … The council’s previous prayer policy, which prohibited the use of the name of Jesus, Allah or other religious figures, had prompted complaints. Councilor Rick Westcott, who sponsored the change along with Councilors Bill Christiansen, John Eagleton and Cason Carter, said it was warranted because of Tulsa’s rich history of a variety of faiths. “I think it’s important for this council to open this meeting with prayers that allow people to express the fullness of their faiths,” Westcott said.”

The new policy passed 7-2 despite critics invoking conservative Christianity’s ongoing fear that their “religious freedom” chickens will eventually come home to roost.

“Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry Executive Director James Mishler also spoke against the change, questioning who would decide what is a “recognized congregation.” “I think the very people who have been encouraging you to make this change are going to be very uncomfortable when the priest from the Hindu temple is standing here chanting in the name of Krishna or when someone from the Wiccan community offers prayers to the earth mother,” he said.”

Do you lead a Pagan congregation in Tulsa? I encourage you to contact the city council and volunteer to give an opening prayer. Councilor Bill Martinson has said that he wants “varied” faiths to participate so that “one denomination does not dominate the prayer week after week.” Lets see how strong their commitment to religious freedom really is.

Brief Updates on Past Stories

I would also like to give a couple brief updates on stories I have reported on previously. First off, Livingston Parish in Louisiana has decided to hold an open hearing on Feb. 11. to discuss repealing its anti-soothsaying ordinance.

“Councilman Randy Rushing, who said the ordinance is “not going to hold up” in court, made the motion to hold a hearing on the proposal to repeal the ordinance, which was enacted last year. Rushing’s proposal was approved 5-2. The hearing will be held during the council’s next meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 11.”

This move comes after a local Wiccan brought federal litigation against the parish, and the parish’s lawyer advised the council that they would most likely lose in court. I’m no soothsayer, but I predict that ordinance will be repealed before the end of February.

Secondly, police investigators in San Diego have ruled that the death of Wiccan priestess Mimi Rohwer is indeed a homicide, and not accidental.

“Investigators ruled the death a homicide Thursday after the autopsy, which showed she was strangled by hands and not with an object, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.”

The prime suspect is Julio Cesar Jacobo-Curiel, a day-laborer who had been staying with Rohwer, and who has been missing since her death. Witnesses claim that Rohwer had been having problems with Jacobo-Curiel, and wanted him to move out. Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. To leave an anonymous tip, call (888) 580-TIPS.
]]> http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/01/tulsa-and-sectarian-prayer.html/feed 0 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/01/more-fighting-for-christian-religious.html http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/01/more-fighting-for-christian-religious.html#comments Sat, 05 Jan 2008 16:12:00 +0000 Jason Pitzl-Waters http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/01/more-fighting-for-christian-religious-expression.html Back in May of 2007 I reported on legislation passed by the Texas House that forced schools to adopt policies to “protect” students who “voluntarily” express their religious views. Despite the fact that the Texas House’s own research organization warned that it will most likely privilege the Christian majority, that didn’t seem to concern Gov. Rick Perry at all.

“Freedom of religion should not be mistaken for freedom from religion and I want to thank the more than 100 members of the Texas House who voted to give religious expression in our schools the same protection as secular expression”

Now nearly identical legislation is being introduced in Oklahoma in order to fight “religious discrimination” (against Christians).

“Reps. Mike Reynolds and Sally Kern, Republicans from Oklahoma City, have introduced nearly identical bills for the upcoming session called the Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act. The legislation would require that an expression by a student of a religious viewpoint be treated in the same way as an expression of any secular viewpoint. Both measures would prohibit school districts from discriminating against students based on religious viewpoints and would require every district in the state to adopt a written policy to prohibit such discrimination.”

The problem with legislation of this sort, besides the fact that it is unconstitutional, are the unintended consequences of trying to privilege one single faith group in a pluralistic society.

“Opponents say that the bill further erodes the separation of church and state. They note that as an unintended consequence, school districts could find themselves obligated to give Wiccans or those with anti-Christian views a chance to lead prayers before football games. ‘What are you going to do the first year that a Wiccan calls upon the great mother goddess to watch over the students that day?’ said [Texas] Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth. ‘You are not prepared to have schools inclusive enough to meet the law.’”

While Wiccans and other minority faiths taking advantage of the law could be embarrassing for the conservative lawmakers, they know such laws ultimately benefit the majority opinion (and aren’t easily overturned like policies on a local level). Also, the dictate to treat religious speech in the same manner as secular speech in pubic schools is nonsensical (unless you happen to be teaching a course on religion). A religious opinion or belief isn’t categorically the same as a secular statement. There is no workable definition of “treating them the same” in the proposed legislation. If passed into law, all it will do is encourage a hostile environment towards religious minorities, dis-empower teachers from keeping order in their classrooms, and give Christian students a sense of immunity from consequences.

This legislation, like similar legislation being considered in South Carolina, is an attempt by Christian conservatives to muddy the legal waters and create “constitutional confusion” in order to delay and discourage litigation against the laws (once enacted), and ultimately roll back secular advancements. One can only hope that Oklahoma’s lawmakers have a better grasp of the constitution than Texas’s lawmakers. In the meantime, I encourage Pagan groups in in Oklahoma to send a message to their representatives ensuring them that Pagans, Witches, and Heathens oppose this legislation, but will gladly use their new “rights” as often and as loudly as possible if it is enacted.
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