Spring 1998 Lady Liberty League Report Published in CIRCLE Magazine Pluralism Project Update Vatican Opens Inquisition Archives Anti-Wicca Ad Dictionary Definitions Project Amended Codex Passes US Congress Church Vandalism Update Religious Freedom Article Published Illinois Campus Controversy Halloween Attacked Update on Wicca in Belgium Use this list to link directly to the article you wish to read, or simply scroll down for all articles Pluralism Project Update Paganism is among the religions profiled in a newly released diversity education reference tool, which already is making its way into libraries, classrooms, and homes across America and around the world. On Common Ground, World Religions in America is a multimedia CD-ROM that explores America's changing religious landscape. Published by Columbia University Press, it grew out of the work of The Pluralism Project, directed by Dr. Diana Eck, Professor of Religious Studies at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Students and colleagues of Dr. Eck helped compile the wide range of material in this CD-ROM, which includes over two thousand pages of text, hundreds of photographs, and many audio and movie files. Grove, a Pagan scholar and priestess, coordinated the research section on Paganism. Selena Fox and Circle Sanctuary were among the Pagans contributing photos, ideas, contacts, and information to this project. The Pagan section includes an introduction to Paganism, plus a discussion of Pagan religious freedom issues. Other sections focus on Afro-Caribbean, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Native Peoples, Shinto, Sikh, Taoist, and Zoroastrian religions. This educational tool can help broaden public awareness of religious diversity in America. In addition, since it includes information about the struggle for religious freedom of many religious groups, it also can expand understanding of these issues and be an aid to promoting religious tolerance. This CD-ROM, available in Macintosh and Windows formats, can be ordered from: Columbia University Press, Order Department, 136 S. Broadway, Irvington, NY 10533; telephone: (800) 944-8648; fax: (800) 944-1844. Discounted rates are available for non-networked individual users and for multi-packs to schools and libraries. Contact Columbia University Press for a free brochure and for price information. The work of the Pluralism Project is on-going and feedback is welcome. For more information about the project, visit its website on the Internet (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm). To give feedback, such as expressing appreciation that Paganism was among the religions profiled, contact the Pluralism Project office manager, Elinor Pierce, at (617) 496-2481, or email pluralsm@fas.harvard.edu. Vatican Opens Inquisition Archives In January, the Vatican announced that it was opening up its secret archives related to the Inquisition. Over 4500 volumes of files will now be available to scholars. Many records, including trial transcripts, were destroyed, but surviving documents include decrees, records of internal rules and personnel, and documents about theological controversies. Thousands of people, the majority of whom were women, were tortured and put to death as part of the Witch Hunts during the Inquisition, which was established as a Vatican Institution in 1542. Transformed into the Holy Office in 1908, the Inquisition is currently the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which remains an influential office within the Roman Catholic Church. A professor emeritus of church history from the University of Wisconsin, John Tedeschi, was quoted in the January 23rd issue of the New York Times as saying that the archives should shed light on how the Inquisition worked and will in turn shed light on Witchcraft and women's studies. Anti-Wicca Ad As a protest to the opening of Ancient Ways, a Pagan store in the mall in Yuba City, California, a militant fundamentalist "Christian" church organized a boycott of the entire mall and ran two full-page, paid advertisements in two December, 1997 issues of the local paper, the Appeal Democrat. These ads not only intensely attacked Wicca but also included gross misinformation about it, as well as lies about the owners of Ancient Ways. In a recent telephone interview, Ancient Ways owner, Ricky Miller, reported that she and her husband had received death threats and also were evicted from their home by their landlord, who received similar threats. Ricky and her husband, rather than attacking those who have attacked them, have instead countered with a campaign of education and tolerance. They have received widespread support from the local community and the mall management. Ricky stated that they cannot, in good conscience, sue for liable or slander, because all of the media attention they have received as a result of this hate campaign has been extremely good for business. Their original plans for Ancient Ways to be a seasonal store have expanded to plans to stay open year round. "We are not leaving," she stated. She sees her store as a support group for local Pagan s who are faced with prejudice. To help with Ancient Way's positive educational campaign, letters of support calling for the publishing of accurate, rather than untrue and hateful, perspectives about the Wiccan religion and Paganism can be sent to: Letters to the Editor, Appeal Democrat, PO Box 431, Marysville, CA 95901; appeal@syix.com. For more information, contact: Ricky Miller, Ancient Ways, Mall at Yuba City, 1215 Colusa Highway, Yuba City, CA 95991; (530) 822-0560. Dictionary Definitions Project The Pagan Educational Network (PEN), with the help of other Pagan organizations including Circle Sanctuary, recently headed a campaign to change the negative definitions of Witch and Pagan in major dictionaries. After much discussion between various Pagan leaders, suggested definitions were arrived at and sent to Merriam-Webster in the form of a "Resource Packet for Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft." A positive letter was received from a representative of Merriam-Webster thanking PEN for the information and stating that it will be considered by editors f or future editions of the dictionaries. Although the letter did not ensure that the definitions will be changed, it did state that resources listed in the packet would be ordered to obtain more information about this religious movement. This respect for Paganism as a religion makes it hopeful that the information will be given serious consideration by the editors. Contact: PEN, PO Box 1364, Bloomington, IN 47402-1364; pen@bloomington.in.us; http://www.bloomington.in.us/~pen. Amended Codex Passes US Congress As previously reported by Lady Liberty League, Pagans on our network have expressed concern about their continued ability to have access to herbs and dietary supplements that are an important part of their health care. As a result, we have been following the story of the international Codex Commission. World wide standards were being developed, spearheaded by major pharmaceutical companies on this Commission, to ban all over-the-counter sales of herbs and vitamin supplements. Member nations of the United Nations that did not comply with the standards were expected to face harsh sanctions. This issue recently came before the United States Congress, and although passed, dietary supplements were exempted from the Harmonization Language of the Codex through an amendment. John Hammell, a legislative advocate, has been working to support the Consumer Health Free Speech Act (Bill HR 2868 in the House), which exempts foods, herbs, and dietary supplements from the current definition of "drug." If passed, this bill would protect future threats, such as the Codex, to our access to the herbs and vitamins that are a vital part of our health. Those members of our network who have kept us informed about this situation ask that letters in support of this bill be sent to representatives in Congress. For more information, contact: John Hammell, 2411 Monroe St. #2, Hollywood, FL 33020; (800) 333-2553; (954) 929-2905; jham@concentric.net. The latest information on this situation can also be found on his website at: http://www.pnc.com.au/~cafmr/hammell/index.html. Church Vandalism Update The prosecution of the confessed perpetrator of vandalism to the outside sanctuary of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC), which occurred in April of 1997, has been stalled by county prosecutors. Pete Pathfinder Davis, Archpriest of ATC, a legally recognized Wiccan Church, reported that he received a letter from prosecutor Paul Stern. Stern stated that he did not intend to prosecute because of the questionable competency of the perpetrator, who was incited to the act of desecration by a local Christian evangelical lay-minister. Davis responded by informing Stern that ATC is prepared to exert pressure through the press and supportive religious organizations to make it clear that the protections granted by the US Constitution applies to minority religions as well as other faiths. Davis has not yet received any response as to whether Stern will reconsider prosecuting the case. Davis asks that short, courteous letters, signed with real and not magical names, requesting that the confessed perpetrator of this hate crime be brought to justice, be sent to: Dep. Prosecutor Paul Stern, Snohomish County Prosecutor's Office, 3000 Rockefeller, Everett, WA 98201. ATC can be reached at: PO Box 409, Index, WA 98256. Religious Freedom Article Published An article entitled, "Reports from the Trenches: A Case Study of Religious Freedom Issues Faced by Wiccans Practicing in the United States," by Catherine Cookson, was published in the Autumn 1997 issue (Volume 39) of the Journal of Church and State. The article outlines Wiccans' experiences of religious freedom, and concludes that, although great progress has been made through public education about Wicca, greater progress is needed before Wiccans will experience the same religious freedom that Christians enjoy in the United States. Included in the article was a thanks to the many Wiccans who responded to the author's ads and shared their experiences of religious freedom with her. Ordering Information about this and other back issues can be obtained from the Journal of Church and State, c/o Baylor University, PO Box 97308, Waco, TX 76798. Indiana Campus Controversy A controversy involving misinformation linking Wicca with Satanism occurred around Halloween for the second year in a row on the campus of Northern Illinois University (NIU). A student group, Campus Missions International (CMI), distributed orange flyers announcing an evening talk on devil worship and the rise of Paganism, which received positive press in the campus newspaper, the Northern Star. The presentation made no distinction between Satanists, Witches, and Pagans. It falsely claimed that they all practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism. To counter this, another student group, the Pagan Awareness Association (PAA), again distributed Halloween candy bearing a positive definition of Paganism around campus for a second year. PAA has also been protesting, along with other area Pagan groups, CMI's presentation and the newspaper article that further spread CMI's misinformation. The NIU University Programming and Activities office has refused to deem the flyers and presentation offensive. They will not be acting to curtail CMI's activities, but are open to receiving more information about Paganism. Letter writing campaigns to the campus newspaper have been more successful. The paper printed some positive letters about Paganism. They also printed a correction in their November 6th issue stating that they had not properly made a distinction between Satanism and Wicca in their article covering the CMI presentation. The clarification went on to state that Wiccans are not a part of Satanic groups and do not participate in any Satanic activities. Next Samhain, PAA is planning to host an educational lecture and submit a guest article to the school newspaper to combat CMI's misinformation. They need to purchase materials related to their public informational needs. They are accepting monetary donations, as well as any donations of authoritative written material on Paganism, which can be sent to PAA's president, Beth Hodges at: 1400 Twombly Rd. Apt 2001, Dekalb, IL 60115; (815) 754-4722. Halloween Attacked A member of our network reported that, during the week of Samhain 1997, NGTV, a television station in Queens, New York, ran a program that featured a Greek Orthodox priest who attacked the Wiccan religion and claimed that celebrating Halloween was dangerous. The person who informed us of this situation asked that letters giving correct and accurate information about Wicca be sent to: National Greek Television, 30-97 Steinway St., Long Island City, NY, 11103; (718) 726-0900; and/or to Time Warner Cable Queens, 41-61 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11355; (718) 463-4100. Update on Wicca in Belgium As previously reported in the Summer 1997 Lady Liberty League Report, the Belgium Parliamentary Commission on Sects published a list of 189 sects in Belgium which inaccurately included Wicca as a Satanic cult. Jan de Zutter, a Belgian journalist, organized a press release that stated that Wicca was a Pagan religion which has nothing in common with Satanism. The letter was signed by a variety of Pagan writers and professors, including Jan de Zutter, Wendy Griffin, Vivianne Crowley, Sabina Magliocco, Ellen Agard, Christel Manning, Nancy Ramsey, Geoffrey Samuel, Gus diZerega, Chas S. Clifton, Margot Adler, Walter Wright, C. E. Hardman, Michael York, Hellen A. Berger, Pat Baird, Tony van Loon, and Rik Pinxten. The list of sects has since been dismissed by the commission, largely due to protests from the Catholic church, because some of its official groups were included in the list. The Parliament is now debating further action and is considering creating an institute to control sects. Meanwhile, Zutter has informed LLL that Greencraft, a group of Alexandrian covens with which she is associated, contacted the Belgian State Security. Greencraft gave them copies of the covenss' training materials and correct information about Wicca, in order to show officials that what the covens are doing may be unfamiliar, but is certainly not illegal. After five meetings with state security, an agent told Zutter that Wicca would not be catalogued as a sect, due to the fact that they had received no complaints at all about it.