When my youngest stepdaughter was ten, she was warned by her mother not to be too open, in school, about the fact that she comes from a Wiccan family. About ten minutes later she came running in, waving a dollar bill, and pointing at the words, “In God We Trust”.
“How come they get to put their God on the money, and we can’t even talk about ours?” she asked, outraged.
We laugh at that story now, but it hints at what it feels like to grow up in a family that fears to openly proclaim their religious identity. While I can’t speak to the issue of discrimination against Catholics, I can say that religious discrimination against Pagans and Wiccans and indigenous religions is omnipresent in the U.S.
Many people still associate our religions either with worship of the Christian devil (he’s not in our pantheon) or with the spell-casting, broomstick riding witches of fairy tales. Either we’re evil, or we’re unreal, satanic or deluded, the victims of the modern day inquisition or the butt of jokes. Many Wiccans and Pagans remain ‘in the broom closet’, fearing harassment, persecution, the loss of jobs or custody battles—all of which have happened in recent years—should they come out publicly and proclaim their faith.
Pagans in prison have faced restriction of their right to have chaplains of their faith minister to them and perform ceremonies, and restrictions on receiving books and materials. No Pagan who openly acknowledged her faith could run for public office, beyond the local level, and expect to win.
Pagans in the military have faced harassment, at times—while in other situations the military has supported their right to practice their religion and to celebrate their religious ceremonies. Currently, widows and families of Pagan soldiers are struggling to get the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to allow the Wiccan pentacle on their grave markers. The most active case is being pressed by Roberta Stewart, the widow of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, a Pagan soldier who was killed in Afghanistan, aided by Circle Sanctuary and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Personally, I’ve found discrimination but also openness and true fellowship from other religious leaders. In the 80s and 90s, I taught in Dominican Matthew Fox’s Creation Spirituality program at Holy Names College. There I met many priests, ministers, and religious sisters as students and fellow teachers, and found great commonalities in our faith and values.
The current Pope, who was then the head of the Commission on the Doctrine of the Faith, silenced Matthew Fox, because of his courageous writings and progressive theology, but in part also because he employed a Witch. The college refused to fire either him or me—but Dr. Fox eventually left the Dominican order and entered the Episcopal priesthood.
Many Wiccans and Pagans are deeply involved in interfaith work. Some are members of their local interfaith councils. Others devote their volunteer time to public education. Very slowly, the prejudice is changing. I look forward to a time when no one in this country need be afraid to be open about their religion, when every prisoner can be comforted and challenged by a chaplain of their faith, and any soldier who dies in action can be buried beneath the religious symbol of their choosing.
More information can be found on the following websites:
Military Pagan Network
http://www.milpagan.org/
Circle Sanctuary
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/
Matthew Fox: Friends of Creation Spirituality
http://www.matthewfox.org/sys-tmpl/door/
Covenant of the Goddess
http://www.cog.org/
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