More on the Pagan Angle to those "I Believe" Plates

November 13, 2009 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 1 Comment

Remember how I said a couple days ago that the entire process that led to South Carolina’s “I Believe” license plates being ruled unconstitutional was haunted by Pagans? It turns out that I’m not the only one who thinks so. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is currently running to become the state’s next governor, released a video two days after the license plate ruling to decry the imagined assaults on “freedom of religion” in his state stemming from the Great Falls Darla Wynne case.

“In Great Falls, we had a Wiccan witch, a Wiccan high priestess, who brought a lawsuit…the ACLU brought a lawsuit for her because they were opening the meeting at Great Falls – the Town Council – with a prayer, which typically included Jesus, a prayer to Jesus. And they said that was unconstitutional,” McMaster says in the video. “So, we got involved in the case. And we told them that we would fight for them,” says McMaster. “As I have said, under the Constitution, you are allowed to pray the way you want to pray. If you want to pray to Jesus, which of course many people do, then that’s the way that you ought to be allowed to pray.”

McMaster then offers to defend anyone in the state who is “on the receiving end on an ACLU lawsuit”. That this invoking of uppity Wiccans to win votes is tied to the recent “I Believe” ruling is pretty apparent. McMaster was reportedly “utterly disappointed” at the ruling, and was well-known to be an ardent supporter of the license plates, attending pro-plate rallies that featured a greatest-hits reel from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ”. But for all his bleating on the subject, there is little, legally, he can do at the moment. His current role as Attorney General prevents him from appealing the case, so no doubt his message that he’ll “support” and “defend” anyone in a lawsuit most likely means that he’s looking for someone to get litigious regarding the plates, or public sectarian prayer, so he can get in their corner (and win votes).

What’s troubling is that we don’t know what this will do to Darla Wynne, or other Pagans living in South Carolina. If “Wiccan witches” are being lumped in with the ACLU (one of the great Satans of conservative Christianity), how long will it be before people start blaming us for the perceived slights against their “religious freedom”? Is McMaster invoking something he can’t ultimately control, something that may end up harming the lives of innocent Pagans, just to win an election? I’d hate to think that such a man may soon be governing the entire state, a state that includes many modern Pagans (and several other religious minorities) who are just as concerned about their own religious freedom and safety as any Christian.

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"I Believe" Cross License Plates Ruled Unconstitutional

November 11, 2009 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 4 Comments

News broke yesterday that U.S. District  Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that South Carolina’s controversial “I Believe” license plate violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

“In finding the sectarian plate unconstitutional, Judge Currie held, “Such a law amounts to state endorsement not only of religion in general, but of a specific sect in particular.” The judge noted that legislators and other state officials have unnecessarily drawn the state into an expensive lawsuit.”


I don’t see why non-Christians would have a problem with this.

This case had been a joint effort of local clergy and Americans United who felt the plate amounted to a state-sponsored endorsement of Christianity. This entire process has also been haunted by the Pagans in South Carolina and their own quest for equal treatment under the law. From the local politicians pushing the plates under the assumption that “any” religion could have their own tags, just so long as those tags weren’t from a Pagan faith, to the fact that the judge on this case also ruled in favor of Wiccan Darla Kaye Wynne during the Great Falls invocation saga. Our presence played a small part in reminding politicians, judges, lawyers, and journalists that  minority religions exist everywhere, even in the “Christian” South. That a Christian cross emblazoned on these plates sent a message of exclusion, not inclusion.

Of course the saga of Christian license plates is hardly over, the state of South Carolina could try to appeal the decision, and other states, most notably Florida, are engaging in the same shenanigans. But at least a message was sent today that America is not merely a “Christian” nation, but a nation of many religions, or of no religion at all, and you can’t raise one up in the government without pushing the others down in some fashion.

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A Few Quick Pre-Lammas Notes

July 31, 2009 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 6 Comments

Before we head into the holiday weekend, here are a few quick news items I’d like to share with you, starting off with a very sympathetic (with some slight inaccuracies) article from the Charleston City Paper about being Pagan in South Carolina.

“…one of the problems with being a spiritual minority in America, especially in a culturally conservative state like South Carolina, is that you and your religion are frequently misunderstood by the population at large. Pagans and Wiccans, one of the many groups in this broad religious category, have long been associated with casting spells, riding broomsticks, and otherwise committing godless mischief. From Macbeth to Bewitched to Charmed, they have been the source of terror and spoof — as well as the object of ridicule and persecution. For that reason, many local Pagans remain undercover, or — to use the Wiccan vernacular — they choose to stay in the broom closet.”

They go on to interview several local Pagans, the chair of the Lowcountry Council of Alternative Spiritual Traditions, and even touch on the saga of South Carolina resident Darla Wynne, who successfully sued the town of Great Falls over the matter of sectarian invocations (and garnered 32 votes in her bid for a seat on the Town Council in 2008). Nice to see a journalist go to several sources and local groups to get a broader journalistic picture of modern Paganism.

Meanwhile, in New York, park rangers and the head of a local watchdog group are freaking out about animal sacrifices in Queens. Filled with your usual cult-hysteria sensationalism, the topper is the inclusion of an incident that seems to have nothing at all to do with Vodou, Santeria, Satanism, or the occult.

“Geoffrey Croft, who runs the watchdog group New York City Park Advocates, said he has stumbled upon gruesome examples of animal sacrifice in at least five city parks … “It’s a public-health issue, it’s disgusting, and it freaks people out with the whole voodoo thing,” said Croft … In another grisly discovery, Croft said he once found the dead carcass of a dog that was shot and eaten by a man.”

What does that have to do with animal sacrifice? Seemingly nothing, but why should that stop “journalists” James Fanelli and Rich Calder from throwing it in there anyway. Why let things like context and responsible journalism get in the way of a good guy-eating-a-dead-dog story? It goes without saying that no-one who knows anything about African diasporic religion or the occult were quoted or consulted for the story.

In a final, and more positive, note, today is the start of the massive three-day Faerieworlds festival right in my back-yard of Eugene, Oregon. Expected to draw thousands, it is a celebrations of all things mythic and magical.

“In just seven years, Faerieworlds has become the premiere mythic music festival on the West Coast. Featuring world renowned fantasy artists, Grammy-award winning musicians, spectacular performances and entertainers, an amazing arts and crafts vending village, thousands of fans from around the globe travel each year to Eugene, Oregon to experience the magic of Faerieworlds. We believe that the revitalizing, healing and transforming spirit of faerie is alive and moving actively in our lives: faerie inspires and provokes, heals and reveals, illuminates and transcends. At Faerieworlds, we invite you to enter the Realm as your magical self and release the beautiful, magical faerie spirit that’s inside you!”
Of special note this year is that European Pagan band Faun is making their US debut as musical headliners for the festival! I’m a big fan, and I’m hoping to attend their second performance on Sunday. You can read a story about the festival in the the local Eugene paper out today.
That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

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“I Believe” These License Plates Are Now Subject to an Injunction

December 12, 2008 By Jason Pitzl-Waters 12 Comments

Yesterday U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie issued a preliminary injunction halting the issuing of the Christianity-endorsing “I Believe” license plates in South Carolina. The matter will now have to be resolved in court before the plates can adorn the cars of Christian believers. The move was hailed by Americans United head the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, whose organization is sponsoring the pending litigation.


I don’t see why non-Christians would have a problem with this.

“‘The ‘I Believe’ license plate is a clear example of government favoritism toward one religion,’ said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. ‘The court drove home an important point: South Carolina officials have no business meddling in religious matters.’ … Americans United brought the Summers v. Adams legal challenge on behalf of four local clergy the Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Summers, Rabbi Sanford T. Marcus, the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Knight and the Rev. Dr. Neal Jones as well as the Hindu American Foundation and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.”

Supporters of the cross-emblazoned plates have argued that they are legal since any religious group can sponsor similarly biased tags, an argument that quickly falls apart when you speak to local officials about what exactly counts as a religion.

“In South Carolina, Baptists wanted the tag on cars here and pitched the idea to Republican South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer’s chief of staff. State Sen. Yancey McGill, a Kingstree Democrat, got the bill passed in a couple of days without even having a public hearing or debate. “It’s a great idea,” McGill said Tuesday, calling it an opportunity to express beliefs. “People don’t have to buy them. But it affords them that opportunity. I welcome any religion tags.” What about Wicca, commonly referred to as witchcraft? “Well, that’s not what I consider to be a religion,” McGill said.”

That sentiment doesn’t just apply to Wiccans of course, Muslims are right out too.

“Asked by a reporter if he would support a license plate for Islam, Rep. Bill Sandifer replied, ‘Absolutely and positively no… I would not because of my personal belief, and because I believe that wouldn’t be the wish of the majority of the constituency in this house district.’”

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, who is expected to release a written opinion concerning the injunction on Monday, is no stranger to protecting the rights of minority religions. In 2003 the judge ruled in favor of Darla Kaye Wynne, a Wiccan, who was battling against exclusively Christian invocations in the town of Great Falls. There is no word if Currie will also be overseeing the actual trial (though we can all hope). Whomever presides, this case will most likely be litigated for quite some time. South Carolina has become a “hot zone” for battles over church and state issues, and things are just getting warmed up.

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