Halloween, Samhain, All Saints Day

What the public and various faith
groups believe about Halloween

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Attitudes of the public:

A poll of visitors to the Beliefnet.com website before Halloween for the year 2000 showed that a wide range of beliefs exist about Halloween:

The second category might be confusing to some. The high number (28%) was probably generated largely by Wiccan and other Neopagan surfers. Even though the total number of Neopagans in North America probably doesn't exceed 1 million, they seem to be over-represented in religious Internet surveys. 

The third category (12%) probably represents mainly conservative Christians who tend to take a very dim view of Halloween, because it includes references to Witchcraft, Witches, ghosts, vampires, death-related topics, etc. 

A survey of American adults was conducted by Scripps Howard News Service and the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, about one month before Halloween on 1999. One of the results was:

Philosophy professor Cynthia A. Freeland of the University of Houston has published a study of horror films about supernatural evil. She has found that they are watched almost entirely by teens and young adults. Freeland said that young adults,

"said they believe the genre is harmless." On the other hand, "older Americans are overwhelmingly concerned. People who have attended worship services in a church of synagogue recently are much more likely to be worried about occult books and films than are those who have not. Women and parents were much more likely to be concerned than were men or adults who have no children."

However, all of these concerns did not seem to dampen adults' enthusiasm for Halloween. The same survey showed:

Attitudes of various religious groups:

Late in each October, newspapers throughout North America traditionally publish articles about Halloween. In the past, many of these have consisted mainly of interviews of local Christian leaders. They frequently contained expressions of hatred against Wiccans, Witches and other Neopagans. 

A noticeable trend has developed in recent years. Some newspapers now include Neopagans when sampling local religious opinions. The Bergen Record newspaper in Bergen, NJ, is an excellent example. ₁They published a Halloween article on 1999-OCT-28. Their first interview is of a local Wiccan, Ellie, who apparently prefers to remain anonymous.  (This is fairly common among Wiccans; many remain deeply in the [broom] closet and celebrate their religion in secret for reasons of personal security.)

The Bergen article included interviews of representatives of Christianity, Ethical Culture, Islam, Judaism, and Wicca. On the other hand, an article in the Salt Lake Tribune discussed only Christians' attitude towards Paganism and Halloween. The writer did not bother to ask either a Pagan or other non-Christian for their opinion. ₂ An article in the L.A. Times just before Halloween in the year 2000 also ignored the Pagan view. They mentioned negative views from Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, and United Methodist spokespersons. They included neutral views by a representatives of the Episcopal church and of Mariners Church, Irvine CA. But they did not include a Wiccan or other Neopagan's view. ₄

There is a wide range of beliefs about Halloween among Protestant churches. This is indicative of the conservative / mainline / liberal split within Protestant Christianity. Listed below are some responses from both articles:

" We're light-hearted enough to understand it's [Samhain] a celebration for everyone, but we will do our spirituality work...and we will be serious. But we also like to have fun...Wicca is a pre-Christian religion that is not harmful, that has nothing to do with the devil."

 "... not a religious holiday at all. It glorifies evil. It's a Pagan holiday, and it glorifies devil worship."

A special problem for 2004, and any other year where Halloween is on Sunday:

Halloween is gradually increasing in popularity each year. There is considerable opposition to its celebration by many religious conservatives, both Christian and Muslim. But for one in seven years when Halloween falls on a Sunday, a special problem surfaces. Some religious folks do not like little demons and witches ringing doorbells on a Sunday -- a day traditionally set aside by most Christians for God-honoring activities. Some municipalities switch Halloween to the previous night. Some comments:

Many children like the chaos generated by a Halloween on Sunday. They go out on Saturday and Sunday and clean up on all the goodies they can collect. Some people solve the conflict by simply turning on their front lights if they are open to trick-or-treating, and turn the lights off if they are not. ₅

Banning Halloween angers community:

The school board of Puyallup, WA decided to ban Halloween festivities during class time for 2004. They had a number of reasons:

The public reacted angrily. UPI reported that: "Noisy parents and children, most in costumes and bearing picket signs, angrily denounced the decision..." One Neopagantold the board and the hundreds of parents at the meeting that Witches are not slighted by the event. Larry Klingele said: "I want to assure you that Wiccans, Pagans and Witches and other members of our faith community on the whole are not offended."

Local parent, Bebe Colley, said: "It's rare for our town of Puyallup to make the national news. Unfortunately we did not make it by greatness of achievement -- we made it by being ridiculous."

United Press International referred to Klingele as a "self-proclaimed Wiccan." The term "self-proclaimed" is often used by the media when describing Wiccans and other minority religions. Followers of Christianity are called "Christians;" followers of Islam are called "Muslims." But followers of Wicca often become "self-proclaimed Wiccans." ₆

A UK petition to ban Halloween:

Harry Griffin of The Erasmus Foundation has initiated a petition to the UK government to ban Halloween. The Foundation is based in Suffolk England and channels the teachings of Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch philosopher and humanist.

His petition states:

"Should we be doing something to ban Halloween?"

"Should we really be sending out our children on a dark night to knock on strangers’ doors to demand money? Although the Christian Church celebrates All Hallows Eve, Halloween has always been and continues to be a celebration of Satanic ritual, witchcraft and a salutation of black arts that promotes sending children out on a dark night, sometimes on their own. Are people that ignorant about paedophilia and often its connection with the darker side of life?"

"It is also becoming the practice of older children to blackmail people by demanding money or face physical damage to their person or property. What kind of sad world are we living in where we celebrate the black arts by dressing our children in ghoulish costumes and send them out on a satanic festival to highjack people for material gain?"

Reference:

1. "Halloween: harmless fun or wicked influence?," The Bergen Record, Bergen, NJ, 1999-OCT-28. Online at: http://www.bergen.com:80/home/round28199910283.htm
2. Bob Mins, "Christians long leery of Paganism," The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT,  1999-OCT-30. Online at: http://www.sltrib.com:80/1999/oct/10301999/religion/42697.htm 
3. T. Hargrove & G.H. Stempel III, "Poll indicates a haunted nation." Nando Times, 1999-OCT-27. Describes a poll by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University during 1999-SEP/OCT. Margin of error: 4%. Available at: http://www2.nando.net/noframes/story/ 
4. Dr. Muzammil Siddiqu, "Questions of faith: Is Halloween a holiday that should be celebrated?," L.A. Times, 2000-OCT-28, Orange County Edition, Metro section, Page B-6.
5. "Sunday Halloween Irks Some in Bible Belt," Associated Press, 2004-OCT, at: http://beliefnet.com/story/
6. "School Halloween Ban Riles Parents," United Press International, 2004-OCT-26, at: http://beliefnet.com/