About Wicca and other Neopagan traditions

Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Wicca

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Overview of Dr. Laura:

Laura Catherine Schlessinger (1947 -; Dr. Laura) broadcasts a 3 hour long, radio program each weekday on a network of over 500 radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. She holds a Ph.D. in physiology -- not psychology as many have assumed. "Dr. Laura" has an estimated audience of 20 million people.

She was raised in a secular home but became interested in Judaism as a young adult. She and her son Deryk converted to Conservative Judaism in 1996, and switched to Orthodox Judaism two years later. According to NNDB:

"In 2003, Schlessinger announced on the air that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew, that she felt frustrated by the effort she had put into the religion, and complained that she felt little or no connection with God." ₁₀

In 2000, Schlessinger became the first non-Christian to receive the Chairman’s Award from the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB).

She signed a contract with Paramount TV to develop a syndicated daytime talk show which was tentatively called "My Kid's Mom." It was later renamed to "Dr. Laura."  By early 2000-FEB, it was already scheduled to be in 85% of U.S. television markets; this rose to 91% by mid-March. ₁ The program premiered on 2000-SEP-11. It received very poor ratings. Paramount had difficulty attracting national sponsors to the show because of a campaign led by gay-rights groups. They "objected to Schlessinger being given a TV forum because of her comments regarding homosexuality, which she has termed 'deviant' and 'a biological error.' " ₇

On 2001-MAR-30, Dr. Schlessinger released a statement confirming that the last episode of her TV show had been taped on the previous day. The movement to have Dr. Laura taken off TV was spearheaded by StopDrLaura.com. Their co-founder, Joel Lawson, said: "We generated a lot of press about her worst statements, and advertisers didn't want to read about themselves in the same sentence. The web site fueled protests, the protests fueled media coverage, and the coverage fueled more interest in the web site. We hit PR nirvana." ₈

The show was last aired on 2001-SEP-07. On SEP-21. a panel of network executives was asked if there were programs on television they didn't feel they could defend. Garth Ancier, president of NBC's entertainment unit, said:  "I'm not embarrassed about anything on television, with the exception of 'Dr. Laura,' "

"Dr. Laura":

Dr. Laura and homosexuality:

According to Wikipedia:

"Prior to 1997, Schlessinger was very supportive to gay callers during her radio show. In those years, she took issue with Christian religious leaders who were opposed to gay relationships, and said that it was cruel to deny love and happiness to gay couples. She renounced this view in 1997, however, and said she had been misinformed in her earlier views. Soon, her monologues approvingly mentioned ex-gay groups who claimed they could help homosexuals become heterosexual, and she attacked the American Psychological Association for condemning the position of ex-gay groups. Schlessinger cited Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, a Harvard-, MIT- and UT-educated psychiatrist, as support for her revised views on homosexuality." ₉

She holds very conservative views on the nature of homosexual orientation:

Stephen Spurgeon, Communications Director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), listed matters of concern "It's really three points: One is her vocabulary and the terminology that she uses; secondly, she only cites conservative sources, like the 'Family Research Council;' and third, she just has a lack of respect for any view unlike her own." ₅

Dr. Laura and Wicca:

The Magickal Cauldron issued a Press release on 1999-MAY-1. They monitored a series of episodes of her radio program in which she offered negative comments about Neopaganism. 

It is difficult to assess exactly from where Dr. Laura obtained her thoughts of Wicca and Neopaganism. However, from the short comments on her radio program, it may well be that:

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