British tabloid The Daily Mail’s website has become the most-visited newspaper site in the world, surpassing The New York Times (though the Times disputes those numbers). Analyzing the rise of the Mail Online, Will Oremus at Slate.com notes that the site drifts away from the xenophobic nativism of its print version to focus on anything that will generate more hits.

“This is not news, really. It’s click bait, the stuff pageviews are made of. There’s no parochialism, no xenophobia, no mock outrage, and almost no politics—nothing that could limit the potential audience for these pieces, which is, in short, the entire English-speaking online world.”

The Mail’s online publisher, Marin Clarke, attributes the site’s rise to just publishing the news “that people want to read.” But the vision of a scrubbed and inoffensive Mail posited by Oremus isn’t quite true. The site has no trouble whatsoever taking regular aim at modern Pagans on their website, often distorting facts and writing lurid headlines to generate outrage (which generates hits). Some example headlines involving Pagans include: “Pagans are on the march – but are they harmless eccentrics or a dangerous cult?,” ”God save us from the crazy religious privileges in jails that cost the taxpayer millions,” “How to cure a witch: Catholic Church issues guide in Britain to turn the tables on Harry Potter,” and “Pagan prisoners given time off to worship the Sun God.”

Typical Daily Mail headline about Pagans.

The Mail’s lurid sensationalism in regard to Paganism is longstanding, and often I found myself responding to, and correcting, their shoddy “reporting”. There was the “British schools teach Paganism” distortion, the “BBC is too Pagan friendly” pile-on, the “museums are changing their policies because they are afraid of Pagans” exaggeration, and the scathing anti-Pagan vitriol from Melanie Phillips when The Druid Network won charity status. It  reached a point where I simply had enough, vowing to never link them again, and urging others to do the same.

“So that’s it. To quote a famous Bond villian: Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action. Five times in the span of three months? It’s a paranoid unhealthy obsession. They can’t seem to actually write something fair-minded about our faiths, as if the mention of Paganism, Druidry, or Wicca sparks some sort of Pavlovian urge to cast themselves as Sgt. Howie in The Wicker Man (sans the ending, of course). They are an unwitting parody of conservative thinking, a reactionary journalistic Chicken Little constantly warning of the sky falling, knowing that eventually something they scream about will be correct.

I’d call for a boycott, or angry letters, but that just feeds the beast. They thrive, crave, our attention. The outrage-baiting headlines, the choppy barely-rewritten-from-the-newswires prose interspersed with distortions and clumsily obscured personal opinion, it’s all an attention-generating machine. So it stops here. No more links. No more attention. Let’s stop pretending they are “news”, and deny them the page-views they so desperately desire. Don’t forward them, respond to them, Tweet them, or share them on Facebook. If you must comment on a story they do, find the kernel of a real story and report on that. Dig deeper. Don’t provide them with any more fuel. They are a parody of the news, but that joke isn’t funny anymore.”

For the most part, I’ve kept my promise to not link them. Though exhortations to my fellow Pagans haven’t really taken hold, and their articles are often forwarded through social media sites, and linked to on Pagan blogs. I can’t really blame them, the Mail Online works very hard to titillate or infuriate, making it hard to not engage.

The point, however, is not to simply renew my call for Pagans to deny the Mail linking oxygen, but to ask a larger question. If the Mail Online is now the most popular Internet paper in the world, how does that affect how people see modern Paganism? I posit that it reinforces the opinion that Pagans are strange outsiders who make unreasonable demands on government, undermine society, aren’t to be taken seriously, and are a symptom of societal collapse. Even when they aren’t openly villainizing Pagans, and simply rewriting reporting from other papers, it’s balanced out with stories about “black magic rituals” forcing the closure of woodland caves. In short, Pagans are only paid attention to when its a controversy.  To the Mail, we are either “harmless eccentrics” or a “dangerous cult,” there’s no in between.

When we interact with, and create, media, Pagans need to be more savvy than ever before. We have to think about how a story will play out in all kinds of outlets, and what the ramifications of our every word will be. We can’t control the hits-hungry amoral ethic of the Mail, but we can refuse to participate in their business model, deny them pull-quotes for their sensationalism, and work instead with outlets that have built a track record of responsible reporting. Better still, we can continue to work on lifting up our own media, so that there are strong advocates for Pagan voices on the Internet.

In a recent editorial for the Huffington Post Josh Schrei argues that the real difference between Hinduism and other world religions is that Hinduism is an “open source” faith, and that most of the others are “closed source” in their orientation.

The logo of the Open Source Initiative.

“However, the key point of differentiation between Hinduism and these other faiths is not polytheism vs. monotheism. The key differentiation is that “Hinduism” is Open Source and most other faiths are Closed Source. ”Open source is an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software’s source code.” If we consider god, the concept of god, the practices that lead one to god, and the ideas, thoughts and philosophies around the nature of the human mind the source code, then India has been the place where the doors have been thrown wide open and the coders have been given free reign to craft, invent, reinvent, refine, imagine, and re-imagine to the point that literally every variety of the spiritual and cognitive experience has been explored, celebrated, and documented. Atheists and goddess worshipers, heretics who’ve sought god through booze, sex, and meat, ash covered hermits, dualists and non-dualists, nihilists and hedonists, poets and singers, students and saints, children and outcasts … all have contributed their lines of code to the Hindu string.“

It’s an concept that could just as easily be applied to modern Pagan religions. Like Hinduism, Paganism is simply an umbrella term for a large number of individual faiths, traditions, and practices that happen to share a some commonalities that bind them together. Though I think Schrei might be overstating things when he initially claims that the differentiation isn’t about “polytheism vs. monotheism.” Isn’t it the theological openness of polytheism that allows both “atheists and goddess worshipers” to coexist and contribute to a religious culture? This point is all but conceded by Schrei later on in his piece.

“Western and Middle Eastern monotheistic faiths have simply not allowed such liberal interpretation of their God. They continue to exist as closed source systems.”

The similarities and shared outlooks of the Pagan and Hindu communities will be explored at the upcoming PantheaCon 2012 in San Jose, California, where members of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) will participate in a panel discussion entitled Hindus and Pagans: One Billion Strong. Perhaps the open/closed religion model idea will be discussed along with other topics.

On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich participated in a conference call to conservative Christian supporters. In a statistical tie with fellow contender Mitt Romney in the upcoming Florida primary, Gingrich is trying to win the support of as many evangelicals and religious conservatives as possible, a demographic that Romney has had a hard time winning over. During the call, which had around 1000 participants, and was moderated by Jim “Cracking Da Vinci’s Code” Garlow, Gingrich called same-sex marriage a “fundamental violation of our civilization” that illustrates the “rise of paganism” in the United States.

“It’s pretty simple: marriage is between a man and a woman. This is a historic doctrine driven deep into the Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, and it’s a perfect example of what I mean by the rise of paganism. The effort to create alternatives to marriage between a man and a woman are perfectly natural pagan behaviors, but they are a fundamental violation of our civilization.”

Gingrich also doubled down on earlier statements by saying during the call that “a lot of what surrounds us today is paganism,” drawing parallels to Christianity during ancient Rome. In Gingrich’s mind secularism and paganism seem to be one and the same, a force that joins Islam in a two-pronged “war” against Christianity. You can download and listen to the entire conference call, here.

Newt Gingrich has got your nose. Photo: New York Magazine

I have two responses to Gingrich’s comments, and this conference call. First, for a historian, Gingrich seems to have a shaky grasp on the history of marriage. Marriage has been an ever-shifting thing, practiced in a number of ways, and Christians did not always treat it as a holy condition. I’m certainly happy to agree that Pagans are open towards creating “alternatives” to the modern rigid constructions of this social contract envisioned by conservative Christians, but I part ways with candidate Gingrich on the idea that this is a “violation” of Western civilization. Perhaps he should remember that is was the “pagans” he seems to have no trouble vilifying that invented Western civilization.

My second response has to do with Florida. While it may seem like good politics to construct religious straw men that Christians can alternatively fear and revile, the state is far more diverse than many give it credit for. Florida has thriving Pagan, Hindu, Haitian Vodou, Santeria/Lukumi, and other non-Christian/non-Abrahamic faith communities. What could be beneficial in a primary might come back to harm you in a general election. I doubt that Gingrich much cares about this, but future politicians should. As I said not too long ago at The Washington Post:

America’s religious diversity isn’t simply a stock phrase to pull out when describing the virtues of our country. According to the Pew Forum, 16.1 percent of Americans claim no formal religion, while another 2.3 percent are part of religious tradition outside the Christian-Jewish-Muslim monotheistic paradigm. Those aren’t insignificant numbers, and they put the often lumped-together “other/unaffiliated” category on a statistical par with evangelical and mainline Protestants. Despite this, moral debates are almost always framed along a left-right Christian axis; Rick Warren gets to interview Obama and McCain, while Hindus, Pagans, Buddhists, and practitioners of indigenous traditions rarely get to ask questions on a national stage.  Gov. Johnson’s courage in talking to religious minorities might have been driven by a modicum of desperation in getting his message out, but it should be seen as a harbinger of what campaigning to religious groups will be like in the future.”

Declaring yourself in de facto opposition to America’s religious diversity and secular government should automatically disqualify you from running our executive branch. Our president is the duly elected representative of all its citizens, not just its Christian citizens. Assembling campaign faith coalitions that speak to one very narrow idea of religion alienates instead of unifies, and when that coalition claims that electing anyone outside their boundaries will bring about the end of civilization, it sends a dangerous signal. Americans shouldn’t be worrying about “Pagan behaviors.” Instead, they should worry about the “Christian behaviors” of Newt Gingrich and those like him.

Last month, North Carolina Pagan Ginger Strivelli decided to challenge her child’s school’s policy regarding the distribution of religious materials. Strivelli felt that the manner in which Gideon Bibles were made available violated the Establishment Clause, and ostracized non-Christian students who didn’t want to use a special break to obtain a Bible. The school, when challenged, said the policy applied to all faiths, so Strivelli decided to test their commitment to theological neutrality. According to local Pagan leader and activist Byron Ballard, who’s been assisting Strivelli, the school’s tune quickly changed.

Ginger Strivelli

“We were there to deliver the materials that she was assured would be “made available” in the same way the Gideon material was, right before the winter break. No surprise to find that, in consultation with the system’s superintendent Dr. Baldwin, the principal Jackie Byerly and asst principal Danny Fusco couldn’t do that at all because the central office was reviewing its policy regarding religious materials in schools. They suggested that they would “hold onto” the books, in case the school system needed to review them for appropriate content, once the policy was vetted.”

The school is now officially “reviewing” their policy on distributing religious materials. Since then, Strivelli’s story has been covered by a number of mainstream media outlets, including Fox News, CBC News, the Houston Chronicle, and several others. Due to the intense level of coverage for this issue, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that Ginger Strivelli recently received an anonymous death threat.

“Buncombe County investigators are looking into a threatening phone call made to a local woman who made headlines when she criticized a county school for making Bibles available to students. [...] Strivelli believes that the threat is related to her speaking out. “It’s definitely related. He (the caller) said he saw me on the news,” she said. “I’m hoping it’s just some idiot trying to scare me into shutting up.” The man called Thursday night, claiming he was calling from Moscow, according to Strivelli. He told Strivelli that he had 20 or 30 people working in this area, and “I was done for. I was dead,” Strivelli said Friday.”

The Lady Liberty League, along with a coalition of local and national Pagan organizations, are coordinating to support Strivelli during this time of trial, and have started a Facebook page for those looking to give aid and support. Here are the Lady Liberty League’s recommendations for those seeking to help.

• Do prayers, meditations, rituals of Protection, Healing, & Well-being to Ginger Strivelli & her family.
• Learn more & Post words of support for Ginger & her family on their support page on Facebook.
• Speak out in support of separation of church & state in comments sections of media sites carrying news and editorials about this issue.
• Those with interfaith and/or law enforcement contacts in North Carolina interested in working with Lady Liberty League in providing support to the family and this situation should contact: liberty@circlesanctuary.org as soon as possible.
• Share this email & support page link with others – by email, through social networking sites, on blogs & websites.

Prominent Pagan mom-blogger Mrs. B, from Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom,  who dealt with Christian death threats over a blog ranking contest, says that “there is nothing more frightening than thinking that some nutball is threatening your family.” These threats are part and parcel of any who have the temerity to challenge Christian norms or traditions that intersect with government-funded institutions, and represent a time when their cultural dominance when unquestioned. This is the reactionary shadow side of a religion who feels its dominance fading, the anxiety over changes they can’t control. The hope is always that these threats will amount to nothing, that they are ravings of powerless individuals wanting to inspire fear, but we must practice vigilance and solidarity in the off chance that this is no idle threat.

Our prayers and best wishes go out to the Strivelli family, may they remain safe and free of fear. The Wild Hunt will be keeping an eye open for future developments. In the meantime, you can get the latest from their support page on Facebook, and from Byron Ballard’s blog at The Citizen-Times.

A recent essay by Jay Michaelson at Religion Dispatches, and a post by fellow Patheos blogger Fred Clark, shone new light into a phenomenon that I’ve pondered for a long time now: the general anxiety over America’s (and more broadly, the West’s) shifting spiritual practices and demographics. Michaelson, taking note of a recent anti-Yoga hit-piece in the New York Times, blasted a certain tendency to “ridicule any non-Western, non-rationalistic, non-neurotic spiritual practice.”

“How ironic to criticize spiritually-minded people for indulging themselves, when what’s really indulgent is to coddle the fear of anything that might disturb the status quo, might actually attack the neurosis and doubt that make a successful reporter tick. Don’t lose your edge, that’s the important part. Don’t ever give in to—dare I say it—opening your heart.”

Michaelson goes on to equate this rationalist prejudice with “the fears of a Santorum or a Bachmann.” Which brings me to Clark’s post, which links to pieces discussing Public Policy Polling’s 3rd annual TV news trust poll. It found, as it did in previous polls, that while liberals and independents trust a wide variety of television news sources, conservatives tend to trust just one: Fox News. While this study says interesting things about political polarization and epistemic closure, I think it also says interesting things about religion and spirituality in the United States. For Fox News also plays on the anxiety concerning the shifting sands of spirituality, but does so in a manner quite different from the snobbish ridicule of a New York Times, for them its about a culture war between Christianity and the forces of secularism. See, for example, their coverage of Buncombe County Board of Education’s policy on distributing religious materials. While most outlets focused on Ginger Strivelli, a local Witch who challenged the distribution of Bibles, the Fox News piece emphasizes cultural change and upheaval.

“Traditionally, that “grand experiment” has involved Judaism and a handful of Christian denominations. But as non-traditional faiths spread into new communities, longstanding customs such as prayer, Christmas plays and Bibles that once went unquestioned in public schools are finding themselves under increased scrutiny. “Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, not on Wiccan principles,” Bobby Honeycutt, who attended public schools in Weaverville during the 1970s, said. “Our children have access to more non-Christian print material in the libraries and online than they really do Christian stuff,” he said.”

For someone who believes a move away from Christian principles is a vital threat to America’s power and stability, passages like that must only reinforce their worry. So in different ways, these mainstream media outlets from across the political spectrum continue to feed this anxiety, one that is then exploited by canny politicians.  So many stories involving non-Christian faiths or practices, when analyzed, just feed into this larger meme.

• The issue of “occult” Internet filters in public libraries, which stems directly from Christian attempts to block out any mention of non-mainstream religious practices.
• A school student in Minnesota being told to hide her pentacle necklace by a substitute teacher, a request not made to any other student wearing religious jewelry (luckily this particular story had a happy ending).
• The Roman Catholic Pope telling United States Bishops to beware “powerful new cultural currents” that run counter to “Judeo-Christian tradition” and are “increasingly hostile to Christianity as such.”
• The banning of more than 80 books by the Tucson Unified School District, including works by prominent Native American authors.
• Isolated horse murders in Cornwall are sensationally linked to “Satanism” and the growth of “Paganism” in the UK.

And on, and on, and on. As religious minorities continue to press for equal treatment, as more and more Americans engage with practices perceived to be outside the accepted cultural boundaries of normalcy, so the anxiety ratchets up. How Pagan is Halloween? How Hindu will Yoga make you? Should you even vote for a non-Christian? Who does this anxiety serve, and why is it being peddled so fiercely by so many? It all comes down to fear of a post-Christian planet, a world where the West is no longer dominated by one religious or cultural context.

Pagans dance in "nonreligious" Estonia. Photo: BBC.

Back in August of 2011, I wrote about statistical models and studies concerning the slow decline of Christian dominance, and how as the population of religiously non-affiliated individuals grow, their preferences start to become attractive to more and more people. While this shift will hardly see Christianity’s statistical dominance toppled any time soon, it does mean a future where compromise and coexistence will be emphasized over top-down hegemony.

“The future isn’t about dominance, but about coexistence. Many faiths and philosophies sitting at the table, instead of one (or two) faith groups telling everyone else what the agenda is. The numbers are shifting, generational plate tectonics slowly changing the old religious order. The near future will continue to be numerically dominated by Christian adherents, but they’ll soon lose their unified monopoly on social and political agendas. Alongside the accepted Christians-Catholics-Jews tri-faith understanding that emerged in the early 20th century will be the Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, atheists, practitioners of indigenous religions, and yes, Muslims.”

What can we do? While there’s little that can be done to stop the anxieties that come from slow and massive demographic changes, we can demand accountability and balance from our media outlets, engage in outreach and interfaith dialog where it is appropriate, and work to ensure that the boundaries between Church and State hold firm. At the end of the day, we have to understand that this anxiety is really a testament to how influential religious minorities in the United States, and in the West, have become. As trade unionist Nicholas Klein said in 1918: “First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you.” We are no longer being ignored, the time of ridicule and attack is at hand, but as visionaries we know that the time of monuments will come.

One thing that may escape casual observers of the modern Pagan movement is that we are now truly global in scope. Pagan revivals and reconstructions are happening across Europe, in South America, Lebanon, South Africa, Russia, and there are even Wiccans in India. Far too often our focus is on what’s happening with Pagans in English-speaking countries, forgetting that there are daily struggles by Pagans outside that paradigm. Recently, a major upheaval in the country of Hungary places a spotlight on the plight of Pagans in that nation, and gives a stark warning concerning the consequences of giving too much political power to one party or faction.

Hungarians protesting the new constitution.

On January 1st, 2012, Hungary’s new constitution went into effect. Voted on and approved by the dominant conservative political party Fidesz, who currently control a super-majority in the Hungarian parliament, the sweeping changes were made without the input or cooperation with the minority parties, and has been criticized by the United States and the European Parliament. Tens of thousands of Hungarians took to the streets last week in protest of the changes. Princeton’s Kim Lane Scheppele, who has done extensive field work on constitutional issues in Hungary, says she is “alarmed at the state of both constitutionalism and democracy in Hungary.” Of particular interest for my readership here are the enshrining of conservative Christian values into the constitution, and the mass-deregistering of 348 faith organizations from state recognition by a new law.

“The new constitution also accepts conservative Christian social doctrine as state policy, in a country where only 21% of the population attends any religious services at all. The fetus is protected from the moment of conception. Marriage is only legal if between a man and a woman. The constitution “recognize(s) the role of Christianity in preserving nationhood” and holds that “the family and the nation constitute the principal framework of our coexistence.” While these religious beliefs are hard-wired into the constitution, a new law on the status of religion cut the number of state-recognized churches to only fourteen, deregistering 348 other churches.”

The 14 recognized churches are Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, and a few Protestant groups only. Hindu, Islam, Buddhist, Pagan, and most Christian protestant groups, now have to re-apply for recognition with a number of high hurdles. A 2/3 majority vote in the Fidesz-controlled Parliament is ultimately required for every group to receive recognition and tax exemption. If that doesn’t seem too oppressive, imagine if a super-majority vote were required in the United States congress, or British parliament, to gain official recognition for any faith (and that those legislative bodies were controlled by conservative Christians). I have a feeling that there would be zero legally recognized Pagan groups in either country today under such a policy. Still, at least one Hungarian Pagan organization, the Celtic Wicca Tradition Keepers’ Church, is attempting to gain recognition.

“In order for the Celtic Wicca Tradition Keepers’ Church to be able to continue to operate as a church, 1000 adult Hungarian citizens’ signatures are required. I ask everyone who agrees that we should be able to continue our operation in the form of a church [religious organization] to print out the attached register, and deliver it, signed, with as many signatures as possible.

• a) by post to the following address: Kelta-WICCA Hagyományőrzők Egyháza 1034 Budapest, Nagyszombat u. 25. 1/52
• b) in person during business hours (M-F 10-6pm, Sat: 10-2pm) at the Old Oak Treasure Store or “The Bookstore” both of which are located at 1062 Budapest, Andrássy út 86.

By signing the register, the undersigned only expresses his/her support and consent that our organization should be able to continue its operations in the form of a church, and by signing does not undertake any other responsibility, or membership.”

That group runs www.wicca.hu, and was founded in 1998. By all accounts, it looks like they might not qualify even if they garner the appropriate signatures, and I don’t have high hopes that two-thirds of the current Hungarian parliament will be eager to approve them. There are several Hungarian Pagan groups currently active, though I believe almost all of them will be discouraged by the new rules. Hungarian-American Elysia Gallo, a Senior Acquisitions Editor at Llewellyn Worldwide, isn’t optimistic about Paganism gaining legal recognition under the new constitution.

“I find it ridiculous that religious organizations need to jump through these hoops after years of legitimate operation just to ensure/regain their tax status as a religious organization. Here in the US, organizations do have to jump through some hoops to get religious tax exempt status, and these can vary from state to state, but there’s probably not a single state that would require you to provide 1,000 signatures. The real test will be to see what the Hungarian government does when it is presented with thousands of signatures from the various organizations that have been de-listed — will they follow through on their word and grant these faiths their equal privileges, or will they act as our own VA did for years, kicking the can, procrastinating, and offering vague excuses on the veteran pentacle memorial issue? Let’s just say that the leaders in Hungary appear to be far more right wing than Bush ever was (especially because they currently have a super majority), and unfortunately it seems that most approval bodies in these cases take their cues from their leaders.”

What happens next is uncertain. The Fidesz government is trying to cement its new power grab as quickly as it can, and tensions are mounting as to what, exactly, the European Union is willing and able to do. There are so many issues of concern at play here, including media freedom, economic stability, and authoritarian slide, that it’s very likely the plight of minority religions may get lost in the shuffle. I will try to keep you abreast of this issue as it develops, and I’d like to thank Elysia Gallo for her input and translation skills in writing this post. I hope that our Pagan leaders involved in international interfaith will speak out on this issue, and help keep the spotlight on how these policies are affecting Pagans in Hungary.

Ever since the Air Force Academy in Colorado unveiled the Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle, an outdoor space dedicated primarily for use by cadets and staff who follow Pagan, Native American, and Earth-based religious traditions, its been dogged by controversy. The circle, which was created in response to a genuine need among Pagan cadets, was vandalized shortly after it first received press attention in 2010. Then, after its official dedication in May of last year, a wave of criticism and ignorant opinion pieces could be found from the usual corners. Things seemed to die down after that, but comment and controversy were stirred up once again after the LA Times wrote about Falcon Circle in November, noting its $80,000 dollar price tag.

Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle at the Air Force Academy. Photo by: Jerilee Bennett / The Gazette

“Still, the academy this year dedicated an $80,000 outdoor worship center — a small Stonehenge-like circle of boulders with propane fire pit — high on a hill for the handful of current or future cadets whose religions fall under the broad category of “Earth-based.” Those include pagans, Wiccans, druids, witches and followers of Native American faiths.”

That spurred a new wave of commentary about government waste and political correctness gone amuck, which prompted the Air Force Academy to defend the cost, and their commitment to religious plurality.

Rev. Dr. David Oringderff speaks with Lt. Gen. Mike Gould during a dedication ceremony for the Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel Falcon Circle May 3, 2011. Oringderff is the executive director of the Sacred Well Congregation and represented the Earth-Centered Spirituality community during a religious respect conference at the Academy in November 2010. Gould is the Academy superintendent. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

“The LA Times got the $80,000 figure from the Academy’s Cadet Chapel fact sheet. But the numbers on the fact sheet at the time were too high because they mistakenly included $26,500 that was spent to control erosion on the east side of the hill on which Falcon Circle is now situated. [...]  The scope of work in the $51,484 Falcon Circle contract included removing screws and nails from the inside of the circle and installing 1,225 square feet of flagstone. The boulders were moved in 2009 from the east side of the hill, where erosion threatened to send them crashing into the Visitors Center, where more than 500,000 people per year learn about the national treasure that is the Academy. By way of comparison, the Cadet Chapel that now houses Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist worship areas cost $3.5 million to build — in 1959. That would be more than $25 million in today’s dollars, or enough to build 500 Falcon Circles.”

That commentary by Don Branum, published on December 27th, movingly recounts the struggles of Pagans in the military, and declares that building Falcon Circle was “the right thing to do.” Branum’s defense trickled into the mainstream media yesterday via The Denver Post, who did note that the circle is available to all cadets, not just Pagans, and that the initially reported cost estimates are deceptively high. Whether these clarifications reach the critics who were quick to condemn Falcon Circle, or manage to change the minds of those who believe the Air Force Academy is being overrun by unholy forces is an open question.  Whatever the outcome from the latest round of publicity, this defense of Falcon Circle by the AFA is a welcome sign, and part of an ongoing initiative to create a culture of religious respect.

“You don’t have to be scared about sharing your religion or think you need to stay in the broom closet about it,” Cadet Johnson says. “People are very understanding. We have officers in charge of us who are very understanding, the Chaplains are very understanding so it’s very easy to be a Pagan at the Air Force Academy.”

Here’s hoping that it continues to be “very easy to be a Pagan at the Air Force Academy, “ and that Pagan cadets can get back to focusing on their lessons instead of being put under a microscope by those looking to prove some ideological point.