We talked last week about the landmark decision regarding Jose Merced, a Santeria priest in Texas. In this Friday's Wall Street Journal, his attorney, Eric Rassbach, explains why it's so important to defend religious practices even if we find them a little bit squicky.
Rassbach, who is National Litigation Director at The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, makes the point that "freedom of religion doesn’t mean much if it protects only those beliefs that the government, or the general populace, decides it likes. It is first and foremost unpopular beliefs that need the protections afforded by the First Amendment..."
We frequently discuss stories here on the blog in which neighbors complain about someone's private religious practices. They say things like, "Those people wear funny hats" or "They might sacrifice my cocker spaniel next," and it really all comes down to the fact that folks say they want religious freedom for everyone, but they don't really mean it. Not when it comes to stuff they disagree with. Thanks to people like Eric Rassbach, those whose religious practices might be a little off the beaten path will still have the right to follow their beliefs.
Meanwhile, the lawyers for the city of Euless, Texas, are filing an appeal with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court. They claim that the decision puts municipalities in the position of evaluation religious practices, and say, "Cities have no business evaluating the religious practices and whether that particular practice is burdensome or not."
I’m Wiccan but I totally disagree with animal sacrifice. All of Life is sacred. The idea of sacrificing an animal to a god/gods is based somewhat on the Christian idea of sacrifice, which is totally off base in my view. Religious freedom has to be tolerated, but when it takes the lives of people or animals the line must be drawn. This gives the impression all pagans disregard life forms or life in general, and only use it to their own ends. I find this highly unpleasant and is really another symptom of our ailing world. Please, if you ever feel the need to do this to an animal, stop what you are doing and seek psychiatric help.
That’s an ethnocentric view. Animal sacrifice was being practiced by the animists of Africa before Santeria and VooDoo came into existence and European Pagans sacrificed not just animals but people (The All-Father is the Gallow Lord partly because we used to hang criminals and prisoners in his honor)while the Greek and Roman Pagans sacrificed animals as a matter of course.
It is the Christian ban on animal sacrifice that drives modern Wiccan disgust at this sacred practice. It is petty bigotry aimed at an actual traditional occult practice by people who predominately learn their practice on Ning networks and Barnes and Noble. Wiccans need to step back and realize that their religion is not the be all and end all of paganism. I’m a pagan and while I don’t make sacrifice a practice I do make offerings of food or meat to the gods. That’s no different than animal sacrifice.
MCH,
You know alot of christians feel pagans need psychiatric help, and not just the ones who sacrifice animals.
Wow I’m really surprised to see these kinds of sentiments here. Sacrificing any life form is wrong no matter what. If you see all life as sacred, why in the world would anyone want to sacrifice anything for a deity, even if the reason was positive? This is really an elementary understanding and I’m shocked to see people defend the cruel killing of an animal in the name of their religion, no matter what the religion may be. I’m pro choice, so I’m not some nutty person who thinks women shouldn’t be able to control their bodily functions. However, animal sacrifice is just plain wrong no matter how you look at it. I’m just shocked anyone would justify this.
Well you know the animals sure don’t see each others lives s sacred. Don’t believe me? Watch a cat ‘play’ with a mouse, sometimes for hours, eventually kill it and then walk away without eating it. It is all part of the life cycle. Nature worshippers often forget just how cruel Nature can be.
MCH your “elementary” views put man beyond nature and keeps humanity from keeping it’s proper place within. I’m not sure what being pro-choice has to do about it.You’re arguing a aesthetic Buddhist/Jainist view of nature but forcing it onto Pagans and Santeria practitioners (who ARE NOT Pagans) in a way I doubt you’d force on some politically correct religious group, like say Muslims.
The gods provide you with a bounty and in Santeria the people return part of that bounty to the gods. They eat chicken and goats, so they give slaughter the animals in a sacred context so that the spirits are sustained. You’re understanding of their practice is based on petty bigotry and the ability of modern people to live on completely unnatural diets like vegetarianism, which would not be possible in Europe or North America were it not for cheap oil, refrigeration and modern preservation techniques. And of course White privilege, the ability to decide you will spend more money on some fad.
The Santeria practitioners have large families to feed, they live often a semi-substance agrarian lifestyle. You judge them using the values of a person who shops at Whole Foods and learned anything they know about Afro-Carrib traditions from known racist Jason Louv’s awful Generation Hex. The idea that all sacrifice is wrong borders on racism as it claims that thousands of years of African tradition are simply morally wrong, because you said so.
Explain to me why sacrifice is wrong. All life is a manifestation of the sacred, but does that mean it’d be wrong to kill a person who was attacking you? Is a pedophile a manifestation of the sacred? If killing is wrong why are there predators?
I believe sacrafice has been around for longer than written history. What we really need is someone who can state exactly what happens to the animal sacrafice before, during and after. But I thought the animal was sacraficed in a relitively humaine fashion and was consumed after the sacrifice.
Can anyone refute or confirm this? Does anyone know how often these sacrifices are done?
I don’t condone sacrifice, but really, how does this differ from farmers less than a century ago killing the fatted calf/pig/goat/chicken to feed his family? Only difference I can see is that sacrifice is done with reverence directed towards a personal deity.
Lori – that’s a good point. My understanding, from everything I’ve seen about Santeria, is that prior to sacrifice the animals are treated very humanely, and that the kill itself is done quickly and efficiently so that the animal doesn’t suffer. Afterwards, the meat is eaten so that nothing goes to waste. I’d love it if someone who is an “actual Santero” could stop in and contribute to this thread.
I’m annoyed by people who make want to pass jugement on other cultures based on their own values and beliefs. MCH, have you studied the culture, the societies these practices come from? Or what the practices and beliefs are surrounding the actual killings you are saying are absolutely wrong? There has to be understanding. It seems as if you are grabbing things out of the air to support your argument.
I was raised a vegetarian and to believe in ahimsa (non-violence) and I share your belief about nature being sacred. But those are my beliefs based on assumptions made based on my culture and society’s history and experience. Using those beleifs to judge another culture’s practices is what anthropologists call ethnocentrism. You just can’t do that; it’s like a fallacy, which is why your argument isn’t holding much ground.
As far as feeling that everything is sacred, a lot of pagans, I notice, feel like that means it should be nice or something. which is contradictory, I think. Everywhere in nature is destruction and what we might see as injustice and unfairness. But nature is neither kind nor compassionate. I know we are dealing with complex human beings here, and perhaps some of these people practicing this are not actually part of those cultures as far as their family history or something, but they have a different understanding from them. And nobody can say that they are absolutely not right. For all we know the gods could actually want that. None of us can know. It’s just what you believe.
You are saying ‘it’s just plain wrong’. Why? What’s so wrong about it. It’s maybe not nice for you to think about, or to do your own self. But does that make it *wrong*? No. They have just as much right as the rest of us to responsibly practice their religion.
I’m late to the party on this one, but I have to add (even if it is a bit of an uneccesary snark):
MCH, If your firm in your beliefs that life should not be sacrificed for any reason I’m curious to know how you’ve managed to create subsistence on sunlight alone. Perhaps you’re from krypton?
On a bit of a ranty note, what is it with our community that encourages the nonsensical pseudo-moral fluff that passes as spirituality in so many places? Most of the commenters here and on other serious blogs are the exception. But it seems I encounter MCH in one incarnation or another all over the place. — To answer my own question, we should blame our authors and publishers for making such tripe popular, as well as ourselves for sanctioning it.
I believe really firmly that everyone, even MCH has a right to their beliefs and practices, even those I deem absurd (like the belief that sacrifice is against some absolute moral code of the universe). But I have a really hard time listening to people pontificate about these absurdities. And some days I wish I had less respect for their self-authority.
That said, Wicca, at it’s root, reveres the nature of sacrifice as holy and sacred. Their mythology recognizes sacrifice in their primary God/Goddess cycle. It would be nice if self-proclaimed Wiccans spent at least a little time learning the history of their religion, as well as the history of other Neopagan traditions before spouting off about it. Of course, that’s probably too much to ask. — Okay, I’m done ranting for now.
My answer is very simple. I have too much empathy for any animal to sacrifice it to a deity of any kind. Such a sacrifice would be for nothing anyway, though I have to agree if you have a belief that is a good thing to do, it may just be good for you. However, I could never do that to a poor helpless animal. Nature feeds on itself and that is Nature. All killing is paid for, period. If you kill for food, that is one thing. But if you are killing just for fun or sport, or killing to sacrifice to some paper maiche deity, then you simply do not have compassion for other living beings period. I’m doubly shocked to see wall these “attacks” on me. You guys have no clue who I am or what I am. I see a lot of negativity in your words, and I also see non-caring about animals. Just think of it this way: would you want to be sacrificed to a deity? No! Then don’t do that to an animal! I dont have to explain myself to any of you, but I’m doing it because you guys need to hear it. Much love!
BTW, I mean no disrespect towards deities in general. To clarify, when I say paper maiche deities, I mean that the sacrificial act itself seems hollow to me like a paper cut-out, not that the deity itself isn’t worth respect. And I mean no disrespect to anyone here. I suppose I am a die-hard Wiccan, harm nothing and all that. I even go out of my way at times to escort insects outside. It can be highly important to help other life forms, particularly when they are in peril.I just know that if you’re not sure, err on the side of compassion. I love paganism and I love Wicca and I generally agree with a lot of paganistic type views. But there are a multitude of belief systems out there. Anyway, that’s my 2 cents. Much love!
Since all life is sacred, and we have to eat in order to stay alive, it makes sense to make a ritual sacrifice of killing that which we intend to eat. Traditional peoples (whether you’re talking about cultures surviving to this day or your own distant ancestors) know these things. That’s why many peoples in diverse places and times have some sort of custom of taking their food in a sacred way, and offering a portion to the gods.
Sacrifice has a bad reputation because of the Christian mythology (one perfect man was sacrificed in a particularly horrible way, for the good of all) and because of Hollywood tales of voodoo, satanists, and (pardon the expression) savages. These are distortions, meant to make exciting movies. Realistically, sacrifice is an ancient tradition, practiced all over the world (not just in Africa) and is usually part of the process of hunting, harvesting, and eating.
Killing is messy, ugly business, especially if you’re killing an animal and you can see its pain. However, ever since “The Secret Life of Plants” was published back in the ’60’s, we have known that plants have consciousness and feel pain also. Moreover, most farming methods involve killing insects and other plant predators. So vegetarians don’t get off the hook as far as charges of killing go.
Thus, in my opinion, the best thing to do is to acknowledge that all life is sacred, we have to eat, and so make a sacrifice of all food. This can be as simple as a prayer or moment of reflection before cooking and/or eating. In fact, this is a very common custom as well.
I must say, I have truly enjoyed this thread!!! Very Exciting.
Once again, Theo, has entertained me… and of course everyone has brought up some good points… especially about authors contrinuting to the misnomer that “paganism” is all fluffy bunny magic or whatever. These controversial issues I think are really healthy for us to discuss… I’d like to see more of them. hmmm. perhaps I will start a “controversy” in the forum!!!
MCH Said: Please, if you ever feel the need to do this to an animal, stop what you are doing and seek psychiatric help.
Will keep this simple..You certainly have the right to believe and practice the way you choose. I feel what you don’t have the right to do is make remarks such as the one above about a religion you know nothing about.
MCH said: Religious freedom has to be tolerated, but when it takes the lives of people or animals the line must be drawn.
Yet you promote abortion.
AM Very confused right now?
MCH said: Para Phrase :I find this highly unpleasant and is really another symptom of our ailing world.
What I find as a symtom of an ailing world, is that individuals find it so easy to condem others. That no time is taken to understand.
WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN ON THE CRAPPY END OF THE STICK, I WOULD THINK KNOWING HOW BAD THAT IS AND FEELS, ONE WOULD TAKE THE EXTRA STEP TO NOT BE SO WILLING TO REPLACE THEMSELVES WITH SOMEONE ELSE.
MCH I am not attacking you…Or atleast that is not my goal..I would just like you to perhaps open your mind and realize you and your beliefs are yours not wrong not right just yours and they need to be respected and you need to learn to respect others and their ways and be able to express your views without being so condesending and superior on what I or anyone else can and should do. Walk in Gentleness
Hi Garnet! You don’t know me, so how do you know I don’t know anything about Santeria?? I’m not “promoting” abortion. My theory is that most all controversial topics boil down to people being able to control their body how they want, so long as it doesn’t hurt others or violate them is some way that is agreeable to most reasonable people. Another problem you have is you’re trying to boil this down into black & white definitions. Being human and religious values & beliefs are highly complex so they’re not black & white. You’re gonna drive yourself crazy thinking that way! I am arrogant I suppose, I think it’s because I feel not superior to others but that I had quite a good “teacher,” a guy who died & was channeled. My goal is to simply point out what I see as deplorable moral decisions. If people want to sacrifice animals, that’s their karma. I just don’t want to contaminate my psychic energy with that. Imagine if all folks did that, I would think the collective goal consciousness would not be very happy with us, and I think it’d be hard to work with goat energy if you ever needed it in the future. So I’m looking at this from differing angles. And I agree with Jen that most Wiccans are actually not fluffy bunny types. Most of us are hardworking normal Americans who love the occult!
This discussion played into a lot of my thoughts on sacrifice, and what i’ve been thinking about this season. Here is my post on the matter: http://theogeer.net/autumntwilight/archives/757