Patrick McCollum has been fighting for years to overturn the State of California’s “five faiths policy”, which limits the hiring of paid chaplains to Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American adherents. The lawsuit began with Patrick and a number of pagan inmates claiming that it was unconstitutional for the state to deny the pagan inmates their religious rights, their religious materials, and their religious services through a pagan chaplain.

The defense is arguing that “traditional” faiths are first tier faiths and that those faiths were meant to have equal rights and protections under the United States Constitution, but that all of the other faiths (including pagans) were second tier faiths, and were not meant to have the same equal rights and protections under the United States Constitution as the first tier faiths.

A conservative activist organization called WallBuilders, argues that Patrick has no standing because modern pagans aren’t guaranteed the same Constitutional rights and protections as Christian or monotheist citizens:

“The true historic meaning of “religion” excludes paganism and witchcraft … paganism and witchcraft were never intended to receive the protections of the Religion Clauses.”

Should this argument be accepted, the equal protection of all religious minorities in the United States could be cast into doubt. The First Amendment is supposed to guarantee religious freedom. What is happening is clearly unconstitutional.

The most comprehensive outline of the whole situation can be found at the Wild Hunt, and is essential reading for all pagans. Elysia Gallo of Llewellyn has added her voice. Cherry Hill Seminary has issued a press release supporting Patrick. Circle Sanctuary has expanded upon the recommendations in the Wild Hunt for action to be taken.

This case highlights the absolute necessity of the need for pagans to stand together. As a recent example of what can be accomplished when we stand united, was the Air Force Academy chapel agreeing to add a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions. The military has been adopting a more liberal attitude towards minority religions over the past few years. To quote a member of the Sacred Well Congregation, “If we speak together, we are a chorus to be heard. If we whisper alone, we are but a sigh in the dead of night.”

Patrick suggests that we should write our demands to Jerry Brown, the California Attorney General, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mathew L Cate, the Secretary of the CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation).

The time to act is now. We must demand equal treatment, equal accommodations, and equal access to our religious items for institutionalized persons. Once the rights we take for granted are taken away, it will be too late.

Tony Mierzwicki

posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 4:35 am
filed under: Legal, Pagan Issues, Politics
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January 30 & 31, 2010 saw the 6th Conference on Current Pagan Studies held at Claremont Graduate University. Scholars and practitioners gathered to discuss Sustainability. Keynote speakers were Donald Michael Kraig and T Thorne Coyle. The conference was organized by Dorothea Kahena Viale.

While not every presenter was an academic, there were a large number of people who either had PhDs or were well on their way to being awarded their PhDs. In a world where there are many people who buy dodgy unaccredited online degrees in an effort to enhance their profile, it’s gratifying that old fashioned scholarship is still valued.

Cherry Hill Seminary was well represented by Macha Nightmare (who did not present this year), William Blumberg and myself. I presented a paper on “Greek nature Deities and Gaia Consciousness.” At PantheaCon, I will be expanding on this paper and incorporating an invocation of the nymphs.

I had a great time at the conference and found it a wonderful opportunity to network with pagan academics and “pagan friendly” academics. If you missed it this year, definitely check it out next year.

Tony Mierzwicki

posted by Jo-Ann @ 2:46 am
filed under: Events
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There’s nothing like a tragedy to bring out the best and the worst in people. You have those who contribute to aiding victims in whatever way they can on the one hand, and the profiteers on the other.

A magnitude-7.0 earthquake on January 12 killed an estimated 200,000 people, left 250,000 injured and made 1.5 million homeless in Haiti, according to the European Union. Following this, there were 49 aftershocks of magnitude-4.5 or greater. January 20, saw a magnitude-5.9 aftershock send already frightened Haitians racing into the streets, collapse buildings and crack roads.

Governments worldwide have pledged nearly $1 billion in aid, and thousands of tons of food and medical supplies have been shipped. Only a fraction of those in need have been reached, and the situation remains critical. Inadequate supplies are resulting in unnecessary deaths in hospitals. There are thousands of US troops in Haiti assisting with the distribution of aid. Search and rescue missions are still searching for survivors. There are security concerns with outbreaks of looting.

In stark contrast to the frantic efforts to assist the survivors of the tragedy, American Christian televangelist, Pat Robertson, said that Haiti had been “cursed by one thing after another” since they “swore a pact to the devil” to free themselves from the yoke of the French. He added that Haitians need to have a “great turning to god.” Robertson has perverted a tragedy to suit his religious agenda. As a Christian, Robertson would be familiar with the Bible’s Book of Job, clearly shows that bad things can happen to good people. There is in fact a common theme in the old testament showing that evil doers appear to prosper, while the righteous seem to remain unrewarded. It is obvious that compassion plays little role in Robertson’s version of Christianity. A concern worth pondering is just how much influence Robertson has on the thinking of fundamentalist Christians.

Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines has docked a ship on private Haitiian beach 60 miles from where people are trapped beneath the rubble. Passengers “enjoy jetski rides, parasailing, and rum cocktails delivered to their hammocks” as well as pass their time “shopping for trinkets at a craft market” under the watchful eyes of armed security personnel. Since 1986, the Royal Caribbean line has provided the largest source of tourism revenue to Haiti, paying the Haitian government $6 per passenger and employing about 300 locals, including security guards, beach monitors, waiters, cleaners, as well as some managers. Approximately 200 more locals find work here selling their wares or by providing entertainment.

While the ship admittedly brought in 40 pallets of relief supplies and there is an injection of capital from tourists buying trinkets, the whole thing seems somewhat distasteful. To quote one passenger, “I just can’t see myself sunning on the beach, playing in the water, eating a barbecue, and enjoying a cocktail while there are tens of thousands of dead people being piled up on the streets, with the survivors stunned and looking for food and water.” I find myself thinking about World War II with townspeople just outside concentration camps living their lives totally desensitized to the suffering of those whose only escape from their torments was through the crematorium chimneys. An unfair comparison perhaps, but the same sort of desensitization is required.

Profiteers have already launched aid scams for those suffering in Haiti. Those wishing to donate should stick to reputable aid agencies as there are scam artists attempting to capitalize off the Haitian tragedy. There are email and telemarketing scams to be watchful of. There is good advice available on-line including that from the FBI.

I find it heartening that in the face of disaster there is a surge of compassion from so many people. I am, however, prevented from putting on my rose-tinted glasses by those who are profiteering from the tragedy, either monetarily or ideologically.

Tony Mierzwicki

posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 7:19 pm
filed under: Fundamentalist Yuck, Pagan Issues
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I have previously written about the controversy surrounding the Eurocentric definition of paganism proposed at the Parliament of World Religions (PWR) as reported by Ed Hubbard in his commentary on the PWR. Andras Corban-Arthen, who was at the centre of the controversy, provided a clarifying statement in The Wild Hunt. The matter has not died down, as those who have been left out of the definition are still bitter.

I had the privilege and pleasure of chatting to Patrick McCollum yesterday about the PWR definition (more…)

posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 9:29 pm
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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I had a recent conversation with a friend who is very prominent in the Australian pagan community about the issue of just who should represent pagans at events such as the Parliament of World Religions (PWR).

Organized mainstream religions have the benefit of hierarchies with clearly defined leaders. It is thus very easy for such religions to send either leaders or spokespersons to events, so that all their members can be spoken for. Would it be possible to have generally agreed upon leaders or spokespersons representing pagans in a similar fashion?

In my last couple of posts, I’ve discussed my displeasure regarding the Eurocentric definition of paganism proposed by the PWR, and have pushed my own idea of paganism being an umbrella term for the many small religious groups outside of the world religions. However, because the term pagan was initially one of derision, there are some people who I would consider to be pagans, who dislike the term and refuse to use it.

There are obvious advantages in terms of gaining recognition in being a part of a large group. Consider for instance the victory won by wiccans in the military who are now allowed to have pentagrams on their gravestones. This came about due to (more…)

posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 3:54 am
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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On 16 December, I wrote about the difficulties in defining paganism so that none of us were left out in the cold. The definition proposed at the Parliament of World Religions (PWR) was very Eurocentric. I would like to explore one of the issues I raised a little further.

Reconstructionists and those within rigidly defined orders, covens and other magickal groups have a set curriculum – a very structured system of lessons to assimilate. While it is true that many reconstructionists are self-taught, the reality is that they are largely poring over the same source texts.

There is, however, a rather large group of pagans, called eclectic solitaries (or solitary eclectics), who have the benefit of being totally flexible when cobbling together their personal magickal system from often disparate sources. While there was a time when eclectic solitaries (more…)

posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 5:14 am
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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The Parliament of World Religions (PWR) plays a vitally important role in facilitating interfaith dialogue. This year’s PWR had a strong emphasis on indigenous spiritualities.

The pagan contingent at the PWR sparked off controversy in allegedly proposing a very restricted definition of paganism. The information was provided by Ed Hubbard in his on-going commentary on the PWR:

http://paganmichigan.ning.com/forum/topics/updates-from-the-parliament-of

The core definition was:

“’Paganism’ is a collective term that most aptly defines Indigenous cultures of pre-Christian Europe, the Celtic and Germanic Tribes, The Balts, The Scandinavians, The Basques, The Slaves [sic] and many others.”

The problem with this definition is that it limits itself to reconstructionists and (more…)

posted by Tony Mierzwicki @ 6:29 am
filed under: Pagan Issues, Politics
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