So the other day we talked a little about the religious climate in Australia, and a study that confirmed that religious minorities are definitely treated with some degree of distrust in the land down under. For a perfect example of that hostility, we've got a story from the Melton Weekly, about the upcoming Ballan Autumn Festival in Victoria.
The annual, publicly funded event attracted about three thousand visitors last year, but this year there's been some controversy. Specifically, a few of the operating committee members voted to prohibit a stallholder from displaying crystals, stones and Tarot books or doing Tarot readings. The concern was that "the products were said to contravene a festival committee condition forbidding "products or services relating to the occult, black magic or devil worship".
The local arts group, the delightfully-named Wombat Regional Arts Network, has already said that their group will no longer work with the festival unless the regulations are reviewed. Wombat Arts spokeswoman Sarah Peckham, who happens to be the only one of the eight festival committee members who didn't vote against prohibiting Tarot readings, sent a letter asking the committee to be more considerate of others' religious beliefs. Peckham asked the committee to reconsider its interpretation of "crystals, stones and books" as "occult, black magic, or devil worship".
The ruling has been seen by some as an attempt by Christian committee members to impose their religious views on the event. Meanwhile, the stallholder at the center of the controversy has agreed to withdraw the tarot books and offer only natural therapies and massage.
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The annual, publicly funded event attracted about three thousand visitors last year, but this year there's been some controversy. Specifically, a few of the operating committee members voted to prohibit a stallholder from displaying crystals, stones and Tarot books or doing Tarot readings. The concern was that "the products were said to contravene a festival committee condition forbidding "products or services relating to the occult, black magic or devil worship".
The local arts group, the delightfully-named Wombat Regional Arts Network, has already said that their group will no longer work with the festival unless the regulations are reviewed. Wombat Arts spokeswoman Sarah Peckham, who happens to be the only one of the eight festival committee members who didn't vote against prohibiting Tarot readings, sent a letter asking the committee to be more considerate of others' religious beliefs. Peckham asked the committee to reconsider its interpretation of "crystals, stones and books" as "occult, black magic, or devil worship".
The ruling has been seen by some as an attempt by Christian committee members to impose their religious views on the event. Meanwhile, the stallholder at the center of the controversy has agreed to withdraw the tarot books and offer only natural therapies and massage.
Follow Pagan/Wiccan on Twitter or Join Me On Facebook.
It never fails to amaze me how Christians comprise less than 25% of the world’s people and still try to inflict their views upon the other 75%. We, of course, are going straight to purgatory with no chance of redemption in their viewpoint. Too bad their belief that Christians will be separate from everyone else in the afterlife is wrong. Sure hope they don’t spoil the party for the rest of us!