Book Launch – Radical Transformations in Minority Religions

Inform online launch of "Radical Transformations in Minority Religions", edited by Beth Singler and Eileen Barker. 

    February 10, 2022

    5:30  -  7:30 pm GMT (London, UK)

    Via Zoom

    Register

About the book:

All religions undergo continuous change, but minority religions tend to be less anchored in their ways than mainstream, traditional religions. This volume examines radical transformations undergone by a variety of minority religions, including the Children of God/ Family International; Gnosticism; Jediism; various manifestations of Paganism; LGBT Muslim groups; the Plymouth Brethren; Santa Muerte; and Satanism. 

As with other books in the Routledge/Inform series, the contributors approach the subject from a wide range of perspectives: professional scholars include legal experts and sociologists specialising in new religious movements, but there are also chapters from those who have experienced a personal involvement. The volume is divided into four thematic parts that focus on different impetuses for radical change: interactions with society, technology and institutions, efforts at legitimation, and new revelations. 

This book will be a useful source of information for social scientists, historians, theologians and other scholars with an interest in social change, minority religions and ‘cults’. It will also be of interest to a wider readership including lawyers, journalists, theologians and members of the general public.

Respondents will include: 

• Professor Emeritus James A. Beckford, University of Warwick 
• Michael Langone, Executive Director, International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA), USA 
• Professor Linda Woodhead, King’s College London 

Register:

• To register please make a donation via Paypal at https://inform.ac/upcoming-events/. 
• A link to the event will be sent to the email address associated with your PayPal account. 
• Note: If you cannot make a donation at this time, please email Inform@kcl.ac.uk to register. 

 

For more information on "Radical Transformations in Minority Religions":

Table of Contents

Part One: Internal Forces Leading to Radical Changes

1. Radical Changes in Minority Religions: Reflections - Beth Singler
2. What Did They Do About It? A Sociological Perspective on Reactions to Child Sexual Abuse in Three New Religions - Eileen Barker
3. Children of Heimdall: Ásatrú Ideas of Ancestry - Karl E. H. Seigfried
4. Varieties of Enlightenment: Revisions in the EnlightenNext Movement around Andrew Cohen - André Van Der Braak
5. "Not all Druids wear robes" - Countercultural Experiences of Youth and the Revision of Ritual in British Druidry - Jonathan Woolley

　

Part Two: Technology and Institutions as Drivers of Change

6. Santo Daime: Work in Progress - Andrew Dawson
7. A Song of Wood and Water: The Ecofeminist Turn in 1970s-1980s British Paganism - Shai Feraro
8. When Galaxies Collide: The Question of Jediism’s Revisionism in the Face of Corporate Buyouts and Mythos ‘Retconning’ - Beth Singler

　

Part Three: Change as a Part of a Process of Legitimation

9. Regulating Religious Diversification: A Legal Perspective - Frank Cranmer And Russell Sandberg
10. Revision or Re-Branding? The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church in Australia under Bruce D. Hales 2002-2016 - Bernard Doherty And Laura Dyason
11. Appendix to Revision or Re-Branding? The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church 2002-2016 - PBCC
12. Diversification in Samael Aun Weor’s Gnostic Movement - David G. Robertson
13. Using the New Religious Movements Framework to Consider LGBT Muslim Groups - Shanon Shah

　

Part Four: New Prophecies or Revelations

14. Digital Revisionism: The Aftermath of the Family International’s Reboot - Claire Borowik
15. The Mexican Santa Muerte from Tepito to Tultitlán: Tradition, Innovation and Syncretism at Enriqueta Vargas’ Temple - Stefano Bigliardi, Fabrizio Lorusso, And Stefano Morrone
16. From the Church of Satan to the Temple of Set: Revisionism in the Satanic Milieu - Eugene V. Gallagher
17. The ‘Messenger’ as Source of Both Stabilization and Revisionism in Church Universal and Triumphant and Related Groups - Erin Prophet

https://www.routledge.com/Radical-Transformations-in-Minority-Religions/Singler-Barker/p/book/9780415786706 

Pagan sues Panera Bread Company alleging religious discrimination

A former baker for the chain said she was told that she “needed to find God," according to a court filing.

RNS

Heather Greene

March 27, 2021

(RNS) — A Pennsylvania woman filed a lawsuit Wednesday (March 24) against Panera Bread Company, alleging that she was discriminated against and fired due to her Pagan beliefs. 

Tammy McCoy of Clairton, Pennsylvania, was hired as a baker at the Panera location in nearby Pleasant Hills, a Pittsburgh suburb, in October 2019. According to the filing, she “never discussed her religion or religious beliefs at work” because she felt the subject was private. 

Paganism is an umbrella term used for a number of different growing religious and spiritual practices centered on nature and magic.

According to the lawsuit, the subject of McCoy’s religion came up in late May of 2020, when  McCoy was on break with the store’s assistant manager, Lori Show, and the manager, Kerri Ann Dubs. Show asked McCoy what her religion was, and Tammy responded, “I am Pagan.”

Show reportedly responded by telling McCoy that that she was going to hell and Dubs “vigorously nodded her head in agreement.”

The lawsuit then goes on the describe a series of other discriminatory actions. Among the complaints are that McCoy’s hours were cut, and when she asked why, she was told that she “needed to find God” before returning to her “previous schedule.”  She was reportedly docked pay for breaks that she did not take.

McCoy alleged that she asked to be transferred to a different store, to which the district manager reportedly said “No,” and “We’re probably going to rid of you anyways.”

A call to Panera’s corporate human resources went unanswered. 

According to the lawsuit, the threats continued and turned violent, at times, creating a “hostile work environment.”

On July 27, McCoy said she was told to give notice that she was leaving her job.  Both she and her husband, who also worked at Panera and was not otherwise mentioned in the case, were fired, according to the suit. 

The lawsuit, which was filed in a Pennsylvania federal court, states that McCoy’s civil rights were violated under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prevents discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. 

McCoy declined an interview.  Panera did not answer a request for comment.

The Rev. Selena Fox, executive director of the Pagan civil rights organization Lady Liberty League and senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, has reached out to both McCoy and Panera Bread Company. 

“Pagans are continuing the quest for full equality, liberty, and justice in the U.S.A. and other parts of the world,” Fox said.

“Although there have been a variety of Pagan rights legal victories, unfortunately, anti-Pagan prejudice, harassment, discrimination, and defamation still happen.”

Lady Liberty League (LLL) was founded in 1985 during the “Satanic Panic,” when Pagans were regularly confronted with similar situations at work and in their communities. “It is essential to stand up to anti-Pagan hate and attacks whenever and wherever they occur, ” Fox said.

Most typically, Lady Liberty League fields complaints related to “child custody, business, zoning, housing, and job discrimination.”  

Fox added that there has been a noticeable uptick discrimination over the past four years

The LLL team is “in the early stages of looking into the case” and that they are concerned for McCoy and for the great community.  “Discrimination against Pagans not only harms the individuals directly impacted in a case, but Pagan People and society as a whole,” Fox said.

As of Friday, the organization has not spoken to McCoy or received a response from Panera’s corporate headquarters.

LLL is chiefly interested in speaking with the company’s Diversity officers, said Fox, who added that she “understands an unwillingness for a company to discuss particulars of a lawsuit that is process.”

“It is our hope to be able to have direct dialogue with Panera Bread at the corporate level about the importance of stopping and preventing discrimination against Pagan workers.  We have had positive experiences with such conversations with other corporations and institutions we have contacted over the years.”

McCoy’s lawsuit claims that she was fully qualified to do her job and that the harassment and firing were solely due to her Pagan religious beliefs. 

The series of actions taken by the store’s managers, and later by the district manager, as stated in the filing, were “committed with intentional and reckless disregard for [McCoy’s] protected rights.” 

McCoy’s lawyer, Michael J. Bruzzese, is asking the federal court for a jury trial.

https://religionnews.com/2021/03/27/pagan-sues-panera-bread-company-alleging-religious-discrimination/

Deconstructing Pagan religions

DEBORAH GREY
DNA
February 18, 2017

Considered a derogatory term until the early 20th century, many aspects of paganism shared similarities with most traditional Indian religions that were later brought under Hinduism. Here’s list of some modern Pagan movements.

Before the birth of Abrahamic religions and other monotheistic cultures, most parts of the world followed a variety of Pagan religions. These were mostly polytheistic religious practices with deities representing forces of nature as that is what man feared most. In what is commonly referred to as classical antiquity, and later in the middle-ages, Paganism, was widespread among Nordic, Celtic, Slavic and Germanic tribes.

Pagan cultures existed across the world. In fact, most traditional Indian religions that were brought under the umbrella of the common Hindu way of life shared many similarities with Pagan religions from regions as far as Greece and Central Asia. In fact, the Greek and Roman pantheon is identical, just the names are different.

Meanwhile, Indian goddess Saraswati has Greco-Roman counterparts in Athena/Minerva. Pagans also worshiped goddesses associated with rivers and water for their ability to create and sustain life. These include Anahita (Zoroastrian), Ganga (Indian), Tethys (Greek), Chalchiuhtclicue (Aztec) and Dewi Danu (Balinese).

The word ‘Pagan’ comes from the Latin word ‘Paganus’ which meant ‘related to the country side’ or ‘village dweller’. It came to mean a person with little or no knowledge or what is popularly called ‘village bumpkin’. But the word Pagan wasn’t used until the early Christian Church began using it to describe people from distant rural places who were considered backward because they did not practice monotheism.

‘Pagan’ was therefore considered a derogatory term until the early 20th century when Wiccans made Paganism ‘cool’ and acceptable again and re-branded it as neo-Paganism. Neo-Paganism is a group of new religious movements inspired by historical Pagan beliefs of pre-Christian Europe. Polytheism and animism is common among all these movements, however, they do not share any common text and maintain separate identities. Let’s take a look at some modern Pagan movements:

Goddess Movement
It is a worship of the ‘sacred feminine’, something that was lost to patriarchal religions. Here the female form, sexuality and maternity are celebrated. The followers of this movement see matriarchy as natural, egalitarian and pacifistic as opposed to destructive and aggressive patriarchal cultures. Goddesses worshipped vary from region to region and include Diana, Hecate, Isis, Ishtar, Saraswati and Kali.

Heathenry
This is also a neo-Pagan movement which aims at reviving the cultural beliefs and religions of Germanic people from the Iron Age and Early Medieval Europe. Heathen communities rely on historical records, archeological evidence as well as folklore for information about lifestyles in pre-Christian Europe. Scandinavian and Icelanding Old Norse mythological texts and old Anglo-Saxon folk tales are popular in this regard. Heathen communities are known as kindred’s or hearths, who gather together in specially constructed buildings to conduct their rituals which always involve raising a ceremonial toast of an alcoholic beverage to their deities. Some Heathens have however, unfortunately become rather racist and started associating with white supremacist movements.

Neo-Druidism
Druidry originated in England in the 18th century mainly as a cultural movement aimed at increasing appreciation for nature and how people are connected with it. The movement subsequently became spiritual and developed religious undertones with an increasing emphasis on nature worship and environmental protection. The neo-Druids adhere to no dogma and there is no central authority, it is just a form of nature-centred spirituality. Almost all Druids are animists, but some have elaborate ancestor worship rituals. Their festivals include celebrating the Autumn and Spring Equinoxes and Winter and Summer Solstice. Most rituals are carried out in day light outdoors. Neo-Druidry is popular in Britain and North America.

Wicca
It is the fastest growing religion in the world. It was developed in England in the early twentieth century by Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente. While Wicca has no central authority, its core values are similar across various traditions (sects and denominations). Wicca is duotheistic, i.e., it has two deities, the Moon Goddess and the Horned God. You have probably seen the five point star or pentacle associated with witchcraft. It is just a harmless image depicting the five elements: Earth, Fire, Air, Water and Spirit. While Wicca talks about magic as a part of its rituals, it is actually defined as channelising one’s will to achieve a goal. An important Wiccan rule is that a follower of Wicca can never do any harm to another person. There is also the concept of Threefold Return, according to which if you do good or bad, it will ultimately come back to you with thrice its original intensity. This is a bit like the Indian concept of Karma. Though often used interchangeably with witchcraft, Wicca is distinct from Satanism and Luciferianism, whose followers also call themselves witches and wizards.

What pop-culture gets wrong about witchcraft according to a witch

Millions of people across the world identify as pagans

Independent
Kashmira Gander
22 December 2016

From Tarot readings at Topshop and rugged crystals at Urban Outfitters, witchcraft is having a moment.

But for millions of pagans across the world, witchcraft is more than a passing fad.

Among them is Ashley Mortimer, 47, from Nottingham. The business consultant and web developer is a Wicca witch and the director for the Centre for Pagan Studies.

Wiccans, along with Druids, make up the UK's long and rich history of paganism. While druidism dates back to the Iron Age, Wicca was developed by Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente in the early twentieth century in England and borrows from the former as well as other pagan traditions known as the "old ways". Official figures suggest over 60,000 people in the UK identify as pagan.

Such regions celebrate what they view as the divinity of the natural world, the seasons and "sacred feminity" and are generally polytheistic. Some Wiccans believe in the "craft" and the manipulation of supernatural forces.

To mark winter solstice - an important occasion in the Wicca calendar - The Independent picked Mortimer's brains to find out what it means to be a 21st century witch.



How long have you been practising witchcraft?

I've been involved in Paganism and witchcraft since my teens, I am an initiate and High Priest of the Wicca of the Gardnerian variety, because it comes largely from the work of Gerald Gardner in the middle of last century.

This means I celebrate the seasonal cycles of the Sun and the Moon and the Earth with a reverence for the divine as it manifests in nature and personified as a great Goddess of the Moon and her consort, a horned God of the Sun.

How does being a witch change how you live your daily life?

Being a witch means taking responsibility for oneself, one's life and one's quest for happiness, truth and wisdom. It means looking differently as every aspect of life, seeing through the world of form to the more subtle and powerful world of force behind it. The truth isn't always physical or manifest.

I have a number of daily routines including morning meditation exercises, keeping of a daily journal recording insights and thoughts including dreams. I observe ritual celebrations of the full Moon and the annual sun cycle including solstices, equinoxes and the so-called “cross quater” days between them like May Day, or Beltane, and Halloween or Samhain.



Can anyone become a witch? What is a good way to start for people who are a little nervous?

The first advice is always the same: read widely and believe nothing. Following that people can find their way to other Pagans and Witches through organisations like the Pagan Federation and the Children of Artemis who organise local social gatherings called “moots”, as well as larger conference events like Witchfest in Brighton in November. The best way to discover modern pagan and Witchcraft practices is to meet others already engaged in them and sincere seekers are always welcomed.

The internet can be a double edged sword with a lot of misinformation and, as with any other interest group, common sense and good safeguarding practices are always to be advised. Sincerity is a two way street.



What are the most common misconceptions about witchcraft?

Preconceptions and misconceptions are changing all the time, I think the popular view of what witches “are” and what they “do” are much closer to the truth than they used to be. There are still many stigmas and it's been through people like myself, willing to stand up and identify as a witch, that we have begun to take a more respected and better understood place in society.

So I remain patient about dispelling the myths which are still put forward, perhaps the most common one being some association with the devil or Satan which is, in fact, an early Jewish or Christian concept with no real bearing on the religious beliefs of witches, ancient or modern.

What do you think of the rise if "witchy" fashions. Pentagrams and crystals are everywhere at the moment. Do you think this is a good way for people to find out more, or do you think your beliefs are being exploited?

I think it's part of our culture to exploit “trends”. We've seen in the past 20 years explosions of interest through popular media and culture, for example the Harry Potter phenomena, which always brings a wave of new interest to the genuine practice of the Craft. I've found that when these waves of interest subside we are often left with some very good and committed new practitioners and without newcomers to the Old Ways then they won't survive.

But yes, I do find the levels of some commercial exploitation of trends somewhat distasteful and all the more so when it springs up from within our own community. I believe that the craft calls its own, initiates frequently speak of a feeling of “coming home” and this is all to the good, but many have to wade through a lot of nonsense in books and information to find the real thing and I think that's a pity but also provides a natural filter too.



What is the most important thing people should know about witchcraft?

That it is modern, religious interpretation of beliefs and practices that are as old as human civilisation. In its modern form it's central tenet is to discover happiness through the truth, find your own individual truth (or “will”) and practice that as hard as you can without bringing harm to others. That's a pretty good start for any religion, I'd would think.



http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/witchcraft-pop-culture-myths-wicca-magic-witch-ashley-mortimer-a7487636.html

Pagan priest wins right to wear goat horns in license photo, saying they are 'religious attire'

By Peter Holley 
Washington Post
December 17, 2016

It doesn’t matter how many articles of clothing Phelan Moonsong puts on before walking out the door each day: If he’s not wearing his favorite pair of goat horns, the Pagan priest might as well be naked.

Unless the 56-year-old Millinocket, Maine, man is sleeping or bathing, his beloved horns are rarely far from his scalp.

It’s been that way since he first laid eyes on the horns at a Pagan men’s group gathering in 2009. A friend whose goat had recently died offered the horns to group members. Nobody else wanted the dead goat’s hardware; Moonsong couldn’t believe his luck

So he took the horns home, drilled small holes in each one and attached them to his forehead using stretchy, 50-pound fishing line that he wrapped around his head like an invisible skull cap.

His life was never the same.

“As a practicing Pagan minister and a priest of Pan, I’ve come to feel very attached to the horns, and they’ve become a part of me and part of my spirituality,” Moonsong said, noting that he periodically soaks the horns in patchouli and cedar oil to keep them fresh and leathery. “The horns are part of my religious attire.”

Moonsong feels so attached to his horns that he refuses to take them off for anyone — including the state of Maine. In August, Moonsong said, officials at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Bangor told him that he would need to remove the horns to receive a state-issued ID.

When he tried to explain to bureau employees that he is a “Priest of Pan” — one who considers the horns his “spiritual antenna” — they were not moved. They told that the horns would have to be approved by Maine’s secretary of state.

“She told me that I had to send in some documentation or religious text to show why it was required for me to have my horns on,” Moonsong said. “I said, ‘Okay, I’ll go ahead and do that,’ but it seemed like an onerous requirement.”

Moonsong said he sent the state a personal essay explaining the importance of his horns, along with four scholarly works, including one titled “Pagan Religions: A Handbook for Diversity Training.”

Though he didn’t realize it at the time, Moonsong had joined a religious freedom battle that is being fought in DMV offices around the country.

At least 30 states offer residents high levels of constitutional protection for religious expression, some of them even higher than the protection offered by the Constitution’s First Amendment, according to Charles Haynes, the founding director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute.

“Generally speaking, even in states without a high level of protection, officials have to have a pretty good reason for saying no to a religious accommodation for a driver’s license photo,” Haynes said. “How strong that reason needs to be depends on where you live.”

But it also depends on the quality of the citizen’s case, Haynes said. When people argue for the right to cover their faces in a driver’s license photo — such as a Muslim woman who believes it’s immodest to uncover her face — states often have the upper hand because it’s in the interest of the state to assist police in being able to identify people.

“However,” Haynes added, “if the person’s religious garb doesn’t cover the face or obstruct law enforcement, those folks are likely to win.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Christian woman who accuses DMV officials of discriminating against her by refusing to make a religious accommodation. Yvonne Allen says she was forced to remove her headscarf — which she wears for religious reasons — to have a photo taken for her driver’s license, according to the complaint.

“When Ms. Allen explained her religious beliefs,” the complaint states, “the county officials responded with a remarkable claim: They admitted that there was a religious accommodation available for head coverings, but contended that it applied only to Muslims.”

“They also ridiculed Ms. Allen’s sincerely held religious beliefs, with the Chief Clerk informing her that she was herself a Christian and did not cover her head,” the complaint adds. “Left with no choice if she wished to renew her license, Ms. Allen — with tears in her eyes and feeling sick to her stomach over the violation of her religious beliefs — removed her head covering.”

Heather L. Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, said DMV offices sometimes rule in favor of one faith and against another not because of bigotry so much as ignorance.

“Sometimes it comes down to them not understanding certain faiths,” Weaver said. “That’s when we come in to educate DMV officials about particular religious headgear and explain that something is a legitimate religious belief that should be accommodated in the same way you might accommodate a Jewish yarmulke.”

Allen’s case is ongoing, but Moonsong said he managed to avoid hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit.

After several months of waiting to hear from the state’s motor vehicle office following his initial visit, he says he informed the bureau that he was in touch with the ACLU. His ID arrived in the mail days later, he says.

A spokeswoman for the Maine secretary of state told the Bangor Daily News that Moonsong had not mentioned that the horns were religious in nature during his initial BMV visit.

“He did not cite religious reasons,” said the spokeswoman, Kristen Muszynski. “There are exceptions for religious headdress.”

The newspaper reported that the state of Maine follows American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators guidelines, which state that license photos “may only show the cardholder with headgear, if the cardholder is a member of a religion requiring the wearing thereof and provided that the headgear does not present as an obstruction or present a shadow and render the portrait inadequate for the identification of the cardholder.”

Moonsong, who changed his name earlier this year, said he was “elated” with the result of his BMV battle — not only for himself but for others who quietly share some of his beliefs.

“A lot of Pagans are in the closet and — as with the LGBT crowd — there’s a lot of misconceptions and discrimination that they face,” he said.

“Many practicing Pagans are afraid of being public,” Moonsong added, “but when they see my horns it reminds them it’s okay to be yourself.”

There are personal benefits to having an ID as well, he noted. Though he doesn’t drive, Moonsong will finally be able to use his ID to board a plane to California, where some of the best Pagan festivals are found.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/12/17/maine-man-wins-right-to-wear-goat-horns-in-license-photo-saying-they-are-religious-attire/?utm_term=.768c69dc7f2b&wpisrc=nl_most-draw8&wpmm=1

CultNEWS101 Articles 11/22/2016

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Fraudulent psychic sentenced to 30 months

"A woman who operated a psychic readings business in Albemarle County was sentenced Friday to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $5.4 million in restitution to the clients she defrauded."

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/fraudulent-psychic-sentenced-to-months/article_97ebbe54-adec-11e6-a394-2f3cdad1806b.html

Federal Judge Sentences Self-Proclaimed #Psychic  to 14 Months

"Sandra Marks claimed she could see the future and provide insight into the past, but now the only thing in her future are prison bars.

A judge sentenced the self-proclaimed psychic on Friday, November 18. Marks had pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count money laundering. She will spend the next 14 months in prison."

http://www.nbc29.com/story/33748482/federal-judge-sentences-self-proclaimed-psychic-to-14-months

Google fights radicalisation with new technology

"Google’s think tank, Jigsaw, is in the process of trialling a new technology, aimed at curbing radicalisation online.

The project, called ‘Redirect’, will pick up on users searching for jihadist information and push them towards content designed to counter online terrorism recruitment."

http://www.9news.com.au/technology/2016/11/19/15/33/google-fights-radicalisation-with-new-technology

A look inside Scientology wedding ceremonies - NY Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/scientology-wedding-ceremonies-article-1.2879221

Leah Remini bashes Scientology for ruining lives and families

"The Church of Scientology may be trying to drag Leah Remini through the mud — but she's fighting back."

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/leah-remini-bashes-scientology-ruining-lives-families-article-1.2880165

Meet the (heavenly) parents: Mormon leaders are mentioning this divine duo more often

"Mormonism's "heavenly parents" are getting more earthly mentions from top LDS leaders, especially since the Utah-based faith published an essay last yearaffirming its belief in a divine mother."

http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/4549096-155/meet-the-heavenly-parents-mormon-leaders

Paganism Growing in The U.S. Army: Choose Your Own Gods

​​"[O]ne of the biggest Pagan congregations in the U.S. Military [is] at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Each week 90 – 130 soldiers attend the Sunday Pagan service on this Army base."

http://heatst.com/life/paganism-growing-in-the-u-s-army-chose-your-own-gods/

French anti-terror judges charge French teen #jihadist

"The 17-year-old boy was allegedly in touch with French-born jihadist Rachid Kassim, who is believed to have inspired an attack this year in which a senior French policeman and his partner were knifed to death and another in which an elderly priest's throat was cut."

http://www.thelocal.fr/20161119/french-anti-terror-judges-charge-french-teen

Maajid Warns Young White Men Are Being #Radicalised

"Maajid Nawaz says that just like young Muslims, young white men are now being radicalised on-line.

Addressing the rise of the alt-right and Donald Trump, Maajid brilliantly explained the parallels between the movement and the radicalisation of young Muslims."

http://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/maajid-nawaz/maajid-warns-young-white-men-are-being-radicalised/

Growing up with The Family: inside Anne Hamilton-Byrne’s sinister cult

"Cruel and charismatic, Anne Hamilton-Byrne was the Australian leader of a doomsday cult who thought she was the Messiah. Abigail Haworth on the woman behind The Family"

"The survivors recall being given daily doses of Mogadon and Valium as children to keep them docile. Then, usually when they reached the age of 14, they underwent formal initiation into the cult by being given “huge, relentless doses of LSD” in trips that often lasted several days, says Chris Johnston. LSD was part of the cult’s fabric. The prolonged doses were harrowing, even for adult followers. The effects were catastrophic on some of the young."

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/20/growing-up-with-the-family-inside-anne-hamilton-byrnes-sinister-cult

Charlene's memoir: Undertow: My Escape from the Fundamentalism and Cult Control of The Way International™.

Advanced praise for Undertow: “How could a smart woman join a cult that asked of her everything, and took her all in the process? … There is something in this book for anyone who has ever wholeheartedly embraced a questionable theology, only to find that what was meant as a salve eventually becomes a sword.” —Susan Campbell, author of Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism, and the American Girl

http://www.charleneedge.com/

​

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Oklahoma Pagan Family Targeted for Religious Beliefs

Cara Schulz

The Wild Hunt
April 12, 2016

 

ANADARKO, Okla. – Two months ago Pagan practitioner Angel Hawks moved with her two children from Texas to the small town of Anadarko, Oklahoma. She was looking for an opportunity to start over after a break-up with her long-term girlfriend and a storm left her home heavily damaged. However, within weeks of moving into her new apartment in Anadarko, Hawks began experiencing repeated vandalism and the hostility of neighbors and teachers. She said that people are targeting her due to her religion.

“We don’t deny our faith nor blast it either,” said Ms. Hawks, adding that she lives a normal life. She works at a local store and her children, ages 12 and 14, attend the local public middle school.

Although she doesn’t “blast her faith,” Hawks does perform some practices that are very common in Pagan religions. She meditates.

Hawks said that she and her children meditate under a tree most every day: “My upstairs neighbors yelled from the window ‘devil worshippers’ and said they are calling [Child Welfare].”

Those same neighbors now believe Hawks’ son put a curse on their son and caused him to become ill.

Both of Hawks’ children attend Anadarko Middle School, and she claims that, on Mar. 31, her children were offered Bibles during school hours by agriculture teacher Mr. Edmund. It was reportedly part of a community religious observance called Revival Week. When her children refused the Bibles, Hawks said that she was called into the school.

“It was horrible I was called to school because my son and daughter refused them. My daughter being very proud said she does not need words made up of man. She trusts in what she feels. She didn’t deny god, just the hate [and] the spew,” explained Hawks.

When contacted, Cindy Hackney, Superintendent of Anadarko Public Schools said, “I have been unable to confirm that Bibles were distributed at Anadarko Middle School by any school employee nor have I received any complaints from any parents or employees about any such activity. I am unsure of the reference to Revival Week activities as there were no school activities related to any form of revival.”

Hawks said the vandalism started soon after that incident. On Apr. 5, she noticed the porch light was broken, leaving her walkway leading to her apartment door in the dark. On the following morning, she saw that someone had spray painted “witch” with a cross on the wall facing her front door. Then, on Saturday, Apr. 9, her apartment was egged.

She called police to report the vandalism, but didn’t feel that they had taken her seriously. “They don’t care,” she said. “Oh no not at all. [It was] more like I bothered them. Told me: ‘Darn kids.’ ” Ms. Hawks added that she doesn’t believe the police took down a formal report.

Hawks also described other ways in which the townspeople are letting her family know that they aren’t welcome due to their religion. Her son is unable to join boys scouts, and the family was told that they could no longer volunteer at the local food bank.

“I was helping out until someone told the Pastor I was a witch,” said Hawks. It was at that point that the pastor of Grace Church said her help was no longer needed.

The family plans to leave Anadarko as soon as they can save the money to move. Hawks said that most of her extended family is gone; it’s just her and her children. Although she’s on an extremely tight budget, she hopes to save enough money to move within a few months. Until then, they are stuck in a community in which they are feeling increasingly concerned for their safety.

Hawks added, “If I had money and means I would be gone today. I would almost rather be homeless living in a tent then all this hate.” The family is asking for blessings from the Pagan community.

* * *

Update and Additional Information 4/12 4:00 pm ET: The Wild Hunt has attempted to contact both the Police and the Agriculture Teacher. Neither has responded to our calls. Additionally, Ms. Hawks has stated that she only wants community blessings and is not accepting money.

http://wildhunt.org/2016/04/oklahoma-pagan-family-targeted-for-religious-beliefs.html

9 Things You Never Knew About Real-Life American Witches

Alex Mar
Cosmopolitan
October 15, 2015

Witches 

Witches are among us, and far more of them than you think. Today, when people talk about "witches" in this country, they are often talking about members of the "Pagan" movement, a group of perhaps as many as 1 million Americans whose practices draw from a combination of pre-Christian European religions, Western occult and Masonic societies, and forms of witchcraft. I spent much of the last five years immersed in the American Pagan community — first at arm's length, as a journalist; then as someone personally curious about the rituals I'd observed; and finally, for a couple of years, as an active student and participant. The result is Witches of America, both a snapshot of present-day witchcraft across the United States and a memoir of my own searching and questioning. Now that we're in the thick of Halloween season, here are some facts about witches that may surprise you.

1. Witches are often invisible.

Not literally, of course. But the women and men who consider themselves witches or Pagans don't always announce themselves in goth gear, tattoos, and piercings. Many are just as likely to dress in utterly innocuous ways — in the daily uniforms of, say, a single mother driving her kid to track practice, a grade-school teacher, a tech entrepreneur, or a cashier at Trader Joe's. Morpheus, the Pagan priestess who served as my personal entrée into the witchcraft community in the Bay Area, was actually working for an environmental protection group when I first met her. She'd drive to work in a pickup, dressed in khakis and a hoodie, her hair in a long red braid. The local ranchers she consulted with had no idea that she regularly hosted rituals under the moonlight out on her property, just a few miles away.

Some witches choose to remain "in the broom closet," as they call it — because they work for the government or with children, live in a conservative community, or are simply afraid that the word "witchcraft" still carries too much baggage. At the same time, since the '80s, Pagans have been gathering in outdoor festivals and indoor hotel conferences all around the country, sometimes in groups of a few thousand. And with the rise of the Internet in the '90s, vast networks have also spread online, making it that much easier for someone Craft-curious, in an area without a visible Pagan presence, to connect with a mentor in a chat room.

2. While Hollywood horror films have (unfairly) made witchcraft out to be the work of the Devil, they've gotten plenty of details right.

Pagans are not interested in worshipping the Devil — many would say that the Satan of Christianity is a god they don't even believe in — so that's a major strike against the Hollywood horror-movie depiction of witchcraft. On the other hand, there is a certain amount of drama and flair to ritual magic that the movies have come close to getting right. Witches do gather in a circle to perform rituals, sometimes outdoors, under the moon. They use wands and ritual daggers (or athames) to guide magical energy in the right direction; they chant, sometimes in ancient languages. Depending on the specific tradition a person trained in, they may also practice magic while "skyclad," or in the nude. This isn't an invitation to sex but instead a way of letting go of the mundane, material world and entering a heightened state that allows for more powerful magic.

3. Most witches follow a strict moral code.

Returning to the sinister Devil-worship thing: the horror-movie assumption that anyone who labels herself a "witch" is out to harm others is false and unfair. This community follows an ethical standard that's similar to a concept of karma: The Threefold Law warns that any action you take will come back at you three times over. Or, for witches of the Wiccan tradition, there's the Wiccan Rede: "An' it harm none, do what thou wilt" — follow your own lead, as long as you don't cause harm to anyone else.

Yes, some witches perform "hexes," and a personal or coven rivalry might, in a rare situation, escalate into a "witch war." But this kind of behavior is frowned on. The goal, as with many religious practices, is to bring yourself closer to spiritual enlightenment and balance — which is that much harder to achieve if you're busy creating chaos.

4. Witches often do practice in "covens."

A witchcraft tradition can spawn many "lines" (or splinter sects) founded by the disciples of a particularly influential priest or priestess. And those lines, in turn, are each often made up of at least a few covens.

At the same time, while many old-school Pagans believe that the only way to become a full-fledged witch is through disciplined, in-person training with — and initiation by — a coven, the Internet helped spawn an entire generation of "solitary" witches who learned through mentors online, connecting with looser, long-distance covens and practicing alone in their own homes, backyards, or nearby woods. (There are no churches or synagogues in Paganism: any natural place can be made into a place of worship.)

5. Many men also call themselves "witches."

Because Pagans believe the universe is driven by forces that are equally male and female, the community seems to be equal parts men and women. (For women, there's the significant appeal of having the opportunity to become priests, something that's rare in more mainstream religious traditions.) The person credited with founding Wicca was a man: Gerald Gardner. A retired civil servant from a well-off merchant family, Gardner spent most of his life in Asia before returning home to England and eventually claiming he'd uncovered a long-practicing coven in the New Forest.

A side note: Pagan men today are much more likely to label themselves "witches" rather than "warlocks." Though the words "pagan" and "witch" started out as historical slurs and have since been revived and reclaimed, "warlock," for some reason, is still mostly considered an insult, taken to mean "oathbreaker."

6. The Salem witch trials had nothing to do with real-life witchcraft.

In spite of our relentless fascination with the trials, in pop culture and literature, there's still no real evidence that those tried and executed in Salem back in the 1690s practiced witchcraft. There is also no clear proof that the people executed as Satan-worshipping "witches" in Europe during that same time period — possibly as many as 60,000 between the late 1500s and early 1700s — practiced anything connected to the witchcraft of the Pagan movement today. Some American Pagans, however, consider these persecuted women and men their spiritual ancestors, identifying with these victims as outsiders who somehow did not fit into the larger Christian culture.

7. Many witches are polyamorous.

The witchcraft movement spread throughout this country largely because of its absorption into '60s counterculture and second-wave feminism, and it's just as open-minded about sex and different stripes of sexuality. While plenty of Pagans may be in conventional relationships or marriages — they may live in a house in the suburbs with three kids and a collection of family pets — there has long been an overlap with the polyamory movement. By this I mean that it's not uncommon for a witch, particularly on the West Coast (the Bay Area is the nucleus of American witchcraft), to find herself in more than one committed relationship at a time. Some Pagans say that if you're devoted to multiple gods, it makes sense to devote yourself to multiple partners.

8. Witches do celebrate during Halloween season, but, for them, it's a very different holiday.

During Halloween, our annual time of Spider-Man costumes, candy binges, and slasher films, hundreds of thousands of Americans are observing the high holiday of Samhain (pronounced SAH-win). For Pagans, this is the time of year, from late October into early November, when they say that "the veil" — the boundary between the living and the dead — is thinnest, making it a special time to commune with lost loved ones or distant ancestors. All around the country, witches hold particularly intense rituals, evoking people who have passed away and hoping to receive a message or help from the other side. Many will dance and drink and eat the things the person they are remembering enjoyed, giving the dead the pleasure of living again through their own body, if just for that one night each year.

9. Unlike many other religious groups, witches have no interest in converting you.
Witches are not out to convert you or your kids. They don't believe in proselytizing — in fact, they find it rude. There are many ways to live a spiritual life, the consensus goes, and you don't have to subscribe to ours.



http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a47749/real-life-american-witches/