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Wiccan/Neopagan news in the media
YEAR 2007
Sponsored link.
Wiccan news for 2007:
News about Wiccans and other
Neopagans in the media appears to be drying up.
We suspect that some of the reasons are:
 | Many new conservative Christian web sites and books have accurately
reflected Wicca instead of reprinting misinformation based on religious
propaganda from the Burning Times |
| The public has generally become much more aware of Wicca, and have
accepted it as a valid minority religion. |
| Enough Wiccans have enforced their rights through the court. Fewer public school districts
continue to ban religious jewelry; fewer municipal councils reject
non-Judeo-Christian representatives for the delivery of invocations. |
News items:
| 2007-JAN-21: Greece: Neopagans hold ritual
to honor Zeus: A group of 20 Neopagans held a ritual in honor of Zeus,
the "King of the gods and the mover of things."
Its purpose was to promote world peace. The ceremony was held at a 1,800
year old temple in the middle of Athens. This is believed to be the first
public pagan ceremony held in Greece since the Roman Empire established
Christianity as the official religion, banned all Pagan rituals, seized
control of Pagan temples, and exiled or executed Pagan officials. This
ritual was illegal because the Culture Ministry bans them to protect the
temple remains.
They are members of Ellinais, a group founded in 2006 that currently has 34
members. It won a court battle to attain recognition by the state. They are
now asking the government to register its offices as a place of worship.
1 |
| 2007-FEB-19: USA: Pentecostal chaplain
converts to Wicca and is fired: Don Larsen had a religious conversion
while on duty as a Pentecostal chaplain at Camp Anaconda, the largest U.S.
support base in Iraq. He converted to Wicca, an
Earth-base, environmentally conscious, non-sexist, non-homophobic, tolerant
religion. On 2006-JUL-06, he applied to become the first
Wiccan chaplain in the U.S. Armed Forces. By the end of the year, in spite
of an unblemished service record, his request was denied, he was withdrawn
from Iraq, and he was removed from the chaplain service.
2 More
details |
| 2007-APR-23: USA: VA caves in and follows U.S. Constitution: For
almost a decade, the Veterans Administration had refused to place Wiccan
symbols on grave markers of Wiccan soldiers. Faced with a lawsuit brought by
Americans United for Separation of Church and State that the VA was
certain to lose, the agency arranged an out-of-court settlement. It calls for the
Wiccan symbol, a pentacle, to be placed on grave markers within 14 days for all
families who have pending pentacle requests with the VA. This will provide the symbols in
time for Memorial Day. They also agreed to add the pentacle as #37 in a list of
allowable religious symbols so that future requests will be facilitated.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, director of Americans United said:
"This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging
that there are no second class religions in America, including among our
nation's veterans." 3
More details. |
| 2007-APR: UK: Article on teenage Witches: The Journal of Beliefs
& Values, a British journal published three times a year, has an article
titled "Consumer witchcraft: are teenage witches a creation of commercial
interests." The abstract reads: |
"The production of books, magazines, kits, films, TV programmes and
Internet sites aimed at teenagers, especially girls, on witchcraft,
Wicca and related topics, has been a growth industry of the late 1990s
and 2000s. This article examines whether Ezzy's distinction between
'traditional witchcraft', a serious religious path, and 'white
witchcraft', an aspect of consumerism, can be used to understand the
phenomenon of 'teenage witchcraft'. An analysis of some of the materials
available and of interviews with young women who identify as witches
attempts to answer the question of whether young people are being
exploited by commercial interests, or whether the 'teen witch'
phenomenon cannot be so easily dismissed. The author suggests that at
least some young people who identify as witches or Pagans are not mere
consumers of exploitative materials, but are well-informed, critical
thinkers articulating their own serious spiritual and theological
perspectives." 4
| 2007-JUL-02: India:
Government calls on Wiccans to reduce infanticide rate: Because of
traditional denigration of women in India,
infanticide of female newborns and neglect of girls is common in some areas
of the country. The government's National
Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) has nominated
Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, a Wiccan and social activist, to lead a panel
charged with improving the status of young girls. Chakraverti said: "This
is a triumph for Wicca as the establishment was against Wiccans for years."
According to WorldWide Religious News: |
"Domestic violence and sexual abuse involving
young girls is reported frequently in the country and a 2006 government
survey found that 45 percent of girls were married before the legal
marriageable age of 18."
"India's adult female literacy rate was 47.8 percent, compared to the
adult male rate of 73.4 percent in 2004."
"The sex ratio in the country is still one of the world's lowest, with
an average of 933 females recorded for every 1,000 males in the 2001
census."
" 'Education of girls even in big cities was dismal and census figures
show that the population of the girl child was dropping,' said
Chakraverti, adding that tough laws and education of parents were needed
to force change. 'Most cannot complete primary education'."
6
| 2007-SEP-04: MD: Wiccan
claims lottery winnings: Ellwood Bartlett, 40, a Wiccan, was one of the
winners in the $330 million Mega Millions lottery. His share is $82 million
($48.6 million after taxes). He is an accountant and plans to retire. He
plans to distribute some of his winnings to family members, and plans to
help improve a New Age gift shop that he considers his spiritual home, and
focus on teaching. He and his wife were on the way to the shop where he
teaches Wicca and Reiki healing when they stopped a a liquor store and
bought two $5.00 tickets. According to CNN News: "Bartlett, an
accountant from Dundalk, said he made a bargain with the multiple gods
associated with his Wiccan beliefs: 'You let me win the lottery and I'll
teach.' Both tickets he purchased had numbers chosen randomly from the
computer." 5 |
Reference:
- "Zeus makes a comeback in Greece," CNN.com, 2007-JAN-21, at:
http://www.cnn.com/
- Alan Cooperman, "For Gods and Country: The Army Chaplain Who Wanted to
Switch to Wicca? Transfer Denied," Washington Post, 2007-FEB-19, at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
- Scott Bauer, "VA Allows Wiccan Symbols on Headstones," Associated Press,
2007-APR-23, at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
- Denise Cush, "Consumer witchcraft: are teenage witches a creation of
commercial interests?" Journal of Beliefs & Values, Volume 28, Issue 1,
2007-APR, Pages 45 to 53. See:
http://www.informaworld.com/
- "Wicca teacher says he has a winning ticket in Mega Millions," CNN News,
2007-SEP-02, at:
http://www.cnn.com/
- Bappa Majumdar, "Govt turns to Wiccan queen to save
girls", Reuters, 2007-JUL, at:
http://wwrn.org/
Copyright © 2007 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance.
Originally published: 2007-JAN-22
Latest update: 2007-SEP-07
Author: B.A. Robinson
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