Nicol Williamson 1936 – 2011

Last updated on: January 26, 2012 at 10:36 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

It has been announced to the public that actor Nicol Williamson died on December 16th, 2011, from esophageal cancer. Williamson was a mercurial actor who brought a tempestuous fearlessness and unpredictability to his many roles. While he starred in high-profile films like Robin and Marian, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and The Exorcist III, he is perhaps best known for playing Merlin in John Boorman’s Excalibur. A retelling of Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, the film was praised for its visuals, was a modest box-office hit,... Read more

The Solace of Vodou for Haitian-Americans

Last updated on: January 25, 2012 at 11:17 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

After the 2010 Haitian earthquake there was quite a bit of attention on the religion of Vodou, though largely that attention was not positive. Immediately after the quake there were triumphalist smears from figures like Pat Robertson, and allegations that it was Vodou that held Haitians back from progress. While there were emerging “Vodou voices” rising up in defense of the religion, most notably Max Beauvoir, but more often than not the centrality of Vodou to many Haitians was often ignored. So... Read more

Modern Paganism’s Role in Interfaith

Last updated on: January 24, 2012 at 10:47 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

While the concept of interfaith, constructive interaction between representatives of different religions, is truly ancient, its modern conception was largely birthed by the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions (re-dubbed the Parliament of the World’s Religions in more recent times) where representatives of “Eastern” religions (Hinduism, Taoism, Jainism, Buddhism) created lasting contacts with representatives from the “Western” traditions of Christianity and Judaism. The star of that parliament was Swami Vivekananda, credited by many for bringing Yoga to America, who spoke to a rapturous... Read more

Should We Worry About the Religious Right?

Last updated on: January 23, 2012 at 10:19 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

So, it has come down to this. The Republican Party, the unchallenged standard-bearer for conservative Christianity in America since Ronald Reagan was president, seems to be deciding between a sometimes-moderate, formerly pro-choice, Mormon, and an ethics-challenged serial philanderer with unfavorability numbers that would make any politician blanch, in their presidential primaries. The candidates who seemed to bank their support on evangelicals and conservative Christians: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum, have seen their campaigns run out of steam, dismantle in a stream... Read more

Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)

Last updated on: January 22, 2012 at 10:28 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up. The Hellenic Council YSEE of America has sent out a press release criticizing an exhibition at the Onassis Cultural Center of New York entitled “Transition to Christianity.” According to YSEE the exhibition’s use of the term “pagan” to describe Hellenic religion is demeaning, and... Read more

North Carolina Pagan Receives Death Threat After Challenging Bible Distribution

Last updated on: January 21, 2012 at 9:35 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

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... Read more

The Anxiety Over America’s Shifting Spirituality

Last updated on: January 20, 2012 at 11:12 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

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,... Read more

An End to Sectarian Prayers in Forsyth County, and How Wiccans Have Shaped the Debate

Last updated on: January 18, 2012 at 10:37 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

On Tuesday the Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari (judicial review) in the case of Forsyth County, North Carolina v. Joyner, which challenged the local government’s opening prayer policy. In this instance, Forsyth County had constructed an “inclusive” (and thus theoretically constitutionally protected) model where all comers could have a turn, but challengers to the policy noted that the prayers were overwhelmingly Christian, and created a chilling atmosphere towards non-Christian faiths. On Joyner and Blackmon’s account, the overall atmosphere made them feel... Read more

The Wild Hunt Stands in Solidarity With the SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Last updated on: January 17, 2012 at 9:47 pm By Jason Pitzl-Waters

While my hosts here at Patheos.com aren’t participating in the SOPA/PIPA blackout initiative, I will refrain from posting news today until 8pm (PST), January 18th, in solidarity with this cause. Here’s some information on why. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjrPuYLAIkk What is SOPA? The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261) is on the surface a bill that attempts to curb online piracy. Sadly, the proposed way it goes about doing this would devastate the online economy and the overall freedom of the web. It would particularly affect... Read more

Who’s a Religious “Minority” in the United States?

Last updated on: January 17, 2012 at 11:16 am By Jason Pitzl-Waters

On Monday Republican South Carolina Representative Tim Scott, at a South Carolina Tea Party conference that also included presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, made a rather dubious assertion concerning religion in America. [blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/mviser/status/159018959033729024″] Christians are the “greatest minority under assault today?” Where does that come from? While it’s true that “the religious beliefs and practices of Americans do not fit neatly into conventional categories,” the statistical pie, no matter how you slice it, shows Christianity is the dominant form of religion in the... Read more