Here are some updates on stories The Wild Hunt<\/em> has reported on previously.<\/p>\n Teaching Paganism in British Schools: <\/strong>On Sunday I deconstructed the sensationalist Daily Mail\u2019s assertions regarding the teaching of Paganism in British religious education courses<\/a>, specifically in Cornwall. I pointed out that there is no hard-and-fast mandate requiring schools to insert Pagan religions into their curriculum, and that the RE advisory council is exactly that, advisory. Still, why let facts and reason get in the way of a good rant? That\u2019s seems to be the position of conservative Catholic columnist Christina Odone, who uses the story as a jumping-off point to rail against any who dare place non-Christian faiths on equal ground with Christianity<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGod, Gaia, whatever: school children are already as familiar with the solstice as with the sacraments. In pockets of Cornwall, children will point out a nun in her habit: \u201cLook, a Druid!\u201d Their parents will merely shrug \u2014 one set of belief is as good as another. How long before the end of term is marked by a Black Mass, with only Health and Safety preventing a human sacrifice?<\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n How long indeed! It seems that individuals like Odone are all for pluralism when it\u2019s the other groups being tolerant and inclusive, but watch the knives come out when Christians are asked to make a bit of room to allow differing views. You know things have gone off the rails when a columnist makes The Daily Mail seem restrained by comparison (heck, even The Christian Post simply rewrites The Daily Mail\u2019s article with no further editorializing<\/a>).<\/p>\n The Problem With Passive Distribution: <\/strong>Last week I reported on the latest developments regarding\u00a0the\u00a0Buncombe County School Board in North Carolina\u2019s policy regarding religion in its schools<\/a>. The new policy passed at that meeting\u00a0was\u00a0the culmination of months of activism<\/a> that began when North Carolina Pagan Ginger Strivelli\u00a0challenged her child\u2019s school\u2019s policy<\/a> regarding\u00a0the distribution of religious materials<\/a>. However, the larger question about the distribution of religious materials by non-student groups was tabled until next year, with talk of a religion fair of sorts where local churches could distribute literature. Now, advocacy group Americans United<\/em> weighs in on that idea<\/a>, warning the school board to tread carefully.<\/p>\n \u201cCan we really expect that future incidents of favoritism in distribution would not occur?<\/strong> What would happen if a Muslim group tried to drop off Korans, or Hindus left the Bhagavad Gita? Would local residents and the school board be open to letting impressionable minds read literature from minority faiths or anti-religion groups?\u00a0There is absolutely no need to allow outside organizations to engage in \u201cpassive distribution\u201d of materials at public schools, plus one would like to think that the school board has better things to do with its time than deciding whether or not a copy of the Satanic Bible is appropriate for students. [\u2026]\u00a0Getting religious materials into student hands is simply not a void that public schools should fill.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Local activists have noted that constant\u00a0vigilance\u00a0will be needed to make sure schools don\u2019t seek out loopholes to their new rules, or try to create an unfair distribution policy once the glare of national attention is off of them. For more on the school board\u2019s new policy, check out the<\/a> two-part post from local Pagan activist Byron Ballard<\/a>. She wisely notes that \u201cwe won\u2019t be resting on our laurels but we will take a breather and figure out the next steps. Because it ain\u2019t over. Not by a long shot.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A Brief Update on the \u201cOccult\u201d Library Filtering Case:<\/strong> Back in January I reported on a lawsuit filed by\u00a0the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Eastern Missouri against\u00a0the Salem Public Library<\/a>, accusing the institution of \u00a0unconstitutionally blocking access to websites dealing with minority religions, and \u201cimproperly classifying them as \u2018occult\u2019 or \u2018criminal.'\u201d<\/em> I\u2019ve taken a keen interest in this case as I believe there shouldn\u2019t be an option to block the sites of minority religions for institutions receiving federal funds, and no library committed to free expression should enable such a filter if provided. Since my initial report there hasn\u2019t been much word as the case slowly worked its way towards trial, though Religion Clause<\/em> does have a brief update on the city of Salem, Missouri being dismissed from the lawsuit<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026a Missouri federal district court dismissed as to one defendant a free expression and and Establishment Clause challenge to the Internet filtering policies of the Salem, Missouri public library. \u00a0Plaintiff, who was attempting to conduct research on Native American spirituality and on the Wiccan Church claimed that the library\u2019s\u00a0policy of blocking religious websites categorized as \u2018occult\u2019 or \u2018criminal skills\u2019 while allowing access to the websites of more mainstream religions\u201d was a content and viewpoint-based restriction on speech and has the effect favoring one religious viewpoint over another in violation of the Establishment Clause. The court dismissed the city as a defendant finding that the city retained no control or oversight over the library that was governed by a separate Library Board. The suit however will move forward against the Library Board and the library\u2019s director.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n So not much has changed other than the city itself being removed from the case. I posted this update because I want to keep this story, which I think is very important, fresh in our minds. The results of this case could have far-reaching\u00a0implications\u00a0for adherents to Pagan and minority faiths looking for information in federally-funded institutions, and may even change the Internet filtering industry itself. Once the trial starts, or there\u2019s more\u00a0information to be shared, you\u2019ll find it here. Oh, there is one other thing, the Library Board did file a response in March, which you can find here<\/a>.\u00a0They, naturally, deny all the allegations (seriously, \u201cdeny each and every allegation\u201d<\/em> is repeated at length).<\/p>\n Spotlight on Project Conversion (Spoiler: He Didn\u2019t Actually Convert): <\/strong>Amanda Greene writes a profile for the Religion News Service (RNS)<\/a> on\u00a0Andrew Bowen\u2019s Project Conversion, which I\u2019ve mentioned a couple times previously here at The Wild Hunt<\/em><\/a>. The goal, \u201cconvert\u201d to 12 faiths in 12 months<\/a>, including Wicca<\/a>, and share what he\u2019s learned. The RNS piece constructs the story as a personal journey through tragedy (his wife\u2019s ectopic pregnancy that had to be aborted), the 12 religions were each there to help him \u201cfind faith in humanity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201c\u2026the 29-year-old Lumberton resident doesn\u2019t call himself by any of the 12 faiths he practiced for a month at a time last year <\/em>[\u2026]\u00a0It was an obsession \u2013 his personal intervention. <\/em>[\u2026] Bowen was one of the best students of Wicca Greenville resident Melissa Barnhurst has had.\u00a0\u201cHe gave it a lot more than some students who\u2019ve come to me wanting to become Wiccan,\u201d<\/strong> she said.\u00a0Meanwhile, his wife worked as a labor and delivery nurse at a local hospital. Things were hard financially, at times, because Bowen wasn\u2019t working.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Interestingly, this personal journey isn\u2019t even referenced in the \u201cabout\u201d page of Project Conversion<\/a>, or his bio, which claims that \u201ctheology is a playground\u201d<\/em> to Bowen<\/a>. Project Conversion caused some controversy in the Pagan community<\/a> for what was seen as a too-blithe tourism through the Wiccan faith,\u00a0nor did his account of an experience he had with some from-the-book \u201cshamanism\u201d he engaged with in 2003<\/a>,\u00a0do much to reassure folks. Bowen mentions in his Paganism wrap-up post the \u201cfirestorm of criticism\u201d<\/em> he received, and how he managed to rise above it all and find the true meaning of Wicca<\/a>. In a sense, Bowen is just another \u201cembedded\u201d journalist<\/a>, tasting our wares, and passing his judgment from a limited engagement. Very few such arrangements ever end up with the writer or journalist converting, but does lead them to have stories to tell at parties about that time they did a Pagan ritual.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all I have for now, have a great day!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here are some updates on stories The Wild Hunt has reported on previously. Teaching Paganism in British Schools: On Sunday I deconstructed the sensationalist Daily Mail\u2019s assertions regarding the teaching of Paganism in British religious education courses, specifically in Cornwall. I pointed out that there is no hard-and-fast mandate requiring schools to insert Pagan religions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[113,191,3093,328,495,3121,1329,1348,1670,3640,1890,3301,2106,2125,2537,2633],"class_list":["post-9486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paganism","category-religion","tag-andrew-bowen","tag-au","tag-buncombe-county","tag-byron-ballard","tag-cornwall","tag-filtering-software","tag-libraries","tag-litigation","tag-occult","tag-paganism","tag-project-conversion","tag-religious-education","tag-schools","tag-separation-of-church-and-state","tag-uk","tag-wicca"],"yoast_head":"\n