I've taken a couple of days away from the blog to work on other projects, and when I cam back I found eleventy-five gazillion emails pointing me over towards a kerfluffle that has blown up the Pagan blogosphere over the past few days. A quick summary:
First, BeliefNet's Senior Editor, Rob Kerby, put together this crap article in which he relates the academic inclusion of Paganism in Cornwall's Religious Education classes to the sorcery/witchcraft killings in Africa and Harry Potter. The whole piece is awful, badly done, and poorly researched. I could go into detail about why the piece sucks, but Jason Pitzl-Waters has already done an awesome job of that over at the Wild Hunt.
Next, BeliefNet blogger Gus DiZerega -- you know, the only on-staff Pagan who works with Kerby -- expressed his disappointment that there was no discussion of any of this. And Gus is right -- for Kerby to write the things he did, and not even ask Gus, "hey, do you want to give me some input from a Pagan's perspective?" is just blatantly disrespectful. Not only that, it shows that Kerby doesn't really see Pagan religions - and by default, Gus himself - as on equal footing. Nope. We're just some Other. Which might be okay if it wasn't BeliefNet, which is supposed to be about lots of different faith systems, despite its being owned by conservative Christians.
Star Foster had an excellent essay over at Patheos, called I Don't Want to Live in a Pagan Ghetto, and I've got to say, she's spot on. Star says, "We have reached a point where we don't need platforms, however large, that aren't willing to respect us."
Well, exactly. When I first joined About.com nearly five years ago, I had no idea what to expect. About.com is a pretty big company - we're owned by the New York Times. There was a distinct possibility that the staff who oversaw the Religion Channel might, at some point, tell me "No, you can't write THAT! That's not nice at ALL!" There was a chance that I would be told to keep things light and fluffy, spread rainbows and sunshine across the land, and put a happy smiley face on modern Paganism. Instead, I was given the opportunity to tell it like I see it, to share the bad with the good, and to give people the information that they wanted, rather than just what the guys in Accounting or Advertising thought might be nice to put out there.
It's also given me the chance to become part of a greater, non-Pagan news outlet. Our Religion Channel here at About.com includes some top-notch writers - all of whom I respect immensely, despite our vast theological differences. In particular, Scott Richert, our About.com Guide to Catholicism, is one of the smartest, savviest writers I know -- and I'll be the first to tell you that Scott and I stand about 180 degrees apart on just about everything, but he knows his stuff, and I like him as a person. I also know that if I ever had a question about anything to do with Being Catholic, I could ask him and get a completely usable answer.
But it's not just the Religion Channel here at About.com. In the past five years, I've established relationships with folks who write about fashion, gardening, computers, home repair, travel, cooking -- you name it. And here at About.com, I don't get "othered" like Gus did at BeliefNet. I get treated with respect and dignity by the other folks who write for this company - and that's huge.
Like Star, I don't want to live in some Pagan-only vacuum. I don't want to focus on media that's All Pagan All The Time, because, as I've said before, the more we work with the Not Pagan Public, the more normalized we become. If I'm the only Pagan someone ever comes into contact with, then their perception of me will directly impact what their perception of modern Paganism is, and that's not entirely a bad thing. It puts a face and a name onto the label.
Unfortunately, Rob Kerby forgot that the label of "Pagan" does have names and faces, and by doing so, he managed to not only marginalize an entire community, but disrespect one of the best Pagan writers out there.
The upside of this? If nothing else, the whole incident should get all of us thinking about how we can support not just Pagan media like the Pagan Newswire Collective, but how can we get the Not Pagan media aware of who we are as a community? Not the Rob Kerby version of us, but who we really are?
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First, BeliefNet's Senior Editor, Rob Kerby, put together this crap article in which he relates the academic inclusion of Paganism in Cornwall's Religious Education classes to the sorcery/witchcraft killings in Africa and Harry Potter. The whole piece is awful, badly done, and poorly researched. I could go into detail about why the piece sucks, but Jason Pitzl-Waters has already done an awesome job of that over at the Wild Hunt.
Next, BeliefNet blogger Gus DiZerega -- you know, the only on-staff Pagan who works with Kerby -- expressed his disappointment that there was no discussion of any of this. And Gus is right -- for Kerby to write the things he did, and not even ask Gus, "hey, do you want to give me some input from a Pagan's perspective?" is just blatantly disrespectful. Not only that, it shows that Kerby doesn't really see Pagan religions - and by default, Gus himself - as on equal footing. Nope. We're just some Other. Which might be okay if it wasn't BeliefNet, which is supposed to be about lots of different faith systems, despite its being owned by conservative Christians.
Star Foster had an excellent essay over at Patheos, called I Don't Want to Live in a Pagan Ghetto, and I've got to say, she's spot on. Star says, "We have reached a point where we don't need platforms, however large, that aren't willing to respect us."
Well, exactly. When I first joined About.com nearly five years ago, I had no idea what to expect. About.com is a pretty big company - we're owned by the New York Times. There was a distinct possibility that the staff who oversaw the Religion Channel might, at some point, tell me "No, you can't write THAT! That's not nice at ALL!" There was a chance that I would be told to keep things light and fluffy, spread rainbows and sunshine across the land, and put a happy smiley face on modern Paganism. Instead, I was given the opportunity to tell it like I see it, to share the bad with the good, and to give people the information that they wanted, rather than just what the guys in Accounting or Advertising thought might be nice to put out there.
It's also given me the chance to become part of a greater, non-Pagan news outlet. Our Religion Channel here at About.com includes some top-notch writers - all of whom I respect immensely, despite our vast theological differences. In particular, Scott Richert, our About.com Guide to Catholicism, is one of the smartest, savviest writers I know -- and I'll be the first to tell you that Scott and I stand about 180 degrees apart on just about everything, but he knows his stuff, and I like him as a person. I also know that if I ever had a question about anything to do with Being Catholic, I could ask him and get a completely usable answer.
But it's not just the Religion Channel here at About.com. In the past five years, I've established relationships with folks who write about fashion, gardening, computers, home repair, travel, cooking -- you name it. And here at About.com, I don't get "othered" like Gus did at BeliefNet. I get treated with respect and dignity by the other folks who write for this company - and that's huge.
Like Star, I don't want to live in some Pagan-only vacuum. I don't want to focus on media that's All Pagan All The Time, because, as I've said before, the more we work with the Not Pagan Public, the more normalized we become. If I'm the only Pagan someone ever comes into contact with, then their perception of me will directly impact what their perception of modern Paganism is, and that's not entirely a bad thing. It puts a face and a name onto the label.
Unfortunately, Rob Kerby forgot that the label of "Pagan" does have names and faces, and by doing so, he managed to not only marginalize an entire community, but disrespect one of the best Pagan writers out there.
The upside of this? If nothing else, the whole incident should get all of us thinking about how we can support not just Pagan media like the Pagan Newswire Collective, but how can we get the Not Pagan media aware of who we are as a community? Not the Rob Kerby version of us, but who we really are?
Follow Pagan/Wiccan on Twitter or Join Me On Facebook.
I’ve just read the article and it is poorly argued and ill-considered from start to finish. The cap was put on it on page 5 when the author invoked Odone as a reliable authority! She writes in UK papers and never makes sense!
Please keep this web site going as this is the means of good, reliable information. I have been fed up with all the religions that have become nothing but money hungry mega-businesses for some time. Pagens deals more in spirituality, putting the threat of “hell” out of the question. Religions boasting million dollar churches are totally a business, not anything spiritual! By being a Pagan, I feel complete, feel closer to nature, and now have a wonderful circle of friends. Merry meet with truth and love, Henry
I really dislike that his article lumps all sorts of witchcraft together. Anything meant to harm someone does not belong in pagan magick, and he makes it appear as though learning about paganism – even if you’re not pagan – will make you support sacrificial killing of children. I mean, seriously?!
I love the word kerfluffle.
I want to leave a well thought out response to that, but I honestly felt my IQ drop about 100 points while reading it. I feel like I just spent the week with my extremely devout christian family, listening to them spouting off about how I’m going to hell for wearing earrings they don’t like.
I’m honestly not surprised that people talking out of their…rears…. are still getting published, its been going on for centuries. Witch’s hammer is proof of that. what surprises me more than anything is that someone in this person’s position has no clue. ‘Witchcraft’ in Africa, is entirely different than the Neo-Pagan path that I follow. However in his mind, I evidently kill children too, even though it’s entirely out of the social, political and religious norms of my corner of the world. – Or, since I’m in the ‘industrialized world’, I evidently make a huge joke out of it.
I had a man email me one day years ago, after I’d posted on a religious forum, sincerely ask me how I could kill babies and animals for my ‘sick religious beliefs’. He stated to me that he was catholic, and he couldn’t figure out how I thought differently than him. The only logical response I could come up with, was something like, “Well, how can you consider yourself a good person if you constantly are sexually abusing young boys? after all, that’s how I should view you and your religion, right? based on the smallest number of individuals doing the most outlandish things?” I think he got the hint.
Sadly though, as much as I had hoped things had progressed a bit more on the ‘coexist’ front, there’s always going to be idiots like that out there.
Props to NYT and About.com for respecting you and this column. I really appreciate your answers to readers’ questions and even your responses to constructive criticism. You make it clear that you are not the end-all, be-all of Paganism but you provide a great starting point for seekers. Blessed be and keep up the good work.
I find it fascinating that someone should appeal to Islam as some kind of “moral” standard. Let’s see, beheading infidels, stoning adulterers, burning down churches, synagogues, Buddhist temples, oppressing women (and I’m being really generous leaving it at that), slavery, and the list goes on. Then there are the Christian cults with child “marriage”, stockpiling guns, etc. And let’s not forget the wacky New Agers who commit mass suicide in order to be beamed up to the mothership. What? Not all Muslims murder and not all Christians are paedophiles or end times paramilitary nutters and not all New Agers tragically end their lives? Then perhaps (I know this is a stretch for some) not everyone who lays claim to the practise of witchcraft is evil? Just a thought.
If you sign up/log in to Beliefnet, you can see the comments. Thank you Patti for telling it like it is. As always, I love your blog!
There is a reason there was a mass exodus of the beliefnet pagan community. They might as well drop the pretense that they are anything other than a christian website. They aren ‘t fooling anyone. It’s a shame how far downhill they have sunk since Waldman sold the company.
Reading some of the other blogs provided, I came across a mention of About.com and how the site was many years ago; no Pagan blogger and a lack of respect for Paganism and other religions.
I remember several years ago when I first found about.com’s religion “portal”. I found an article regarding Wicca/Paganism and of course, I found the stereotypical response of “THEY WILL ALL BURN IN HELL” and “WE MUST PRAY FOR THEM”. I was a bit younger then (maybe 16?). I e-mailed the writer. All I remember is that she was a woman. I of course, received a VERY catty response; something along the lines of “I’ll pray for you” and “you’re too young to know any better”. Lovely.
I just want to express my gratitude for this blog. I really do look forward to reading it nearly everyday.
Obiviously a narrow minded opinion and not an educated and researched article. You would expect more from a serior editor. The worst prison is a closed mind and his is definitely closed.
That article is a peice of poorly written, insulting garbage
I agree, we cannot hide out and hope everything will be find and we can’t hide away from the fact some people don’t understand us and don’t believe we have aright to exit. But we can only counter that if we take part in the broader community and not just hide out on Pagan forums.You are right we have to work with people of other religions,and other interests, we cannot limit ourselves to a self imposed Pagan ghetto. We have to become more known to more people so that they know that Pagans or what have you are ordinary people and not some scary people. Te more people that happen to know a Pagan, the less likely that stereotypes will go unchalanged. Be honest and be ourselves will do the most to help us.
This is absolutely got to be the biggest bunch of ignorance based drivel I have ever had the misfortune of subjecting my eyes and mind to. I have been of the Wiccan path for over 20 +++ years, and I have never in my life read such nonsense and hatred based on misinformation and senseless fear in all my life.
When one does not fully understand something, it is normally a good practice to actually research using reliable sources and information. There is nothing but hate being spewed in this article, and the writer really needs to re-evaluate their credibility. This comes off as nothing more than pure ignorance based on stupidity on a subject.
Beliefnet is supposed to be an open minded spiritual site that delves truthfully into the beliefs of all world faiths. The writer of this article lacks any respect for those tenets, and is in my opinion, a dolt. They have not the faintest clue regarding the practices and beliefs of Paganism and Witchcraft, and sounds more akin to a radical zealot of the Christian faith spouting off lies to stir up the fear of his own community.
This article is nothing but prejudice laden hatred, which is usually sparked by this fanatical ignorance….hmmm…. the same fanatical ignorance that sparked all the “witch hunts” throughout the centuries that caused the deaths of countless innocent victims.
Of course, the same has been said about Roman Catholics as well as Jews – there was a time when it was common knowledge that “they” ate children, of course that was about the time when “everyone” knew that bathing was dangerous to your health…
Agreed on how poorly written the article is; it was hard for me to figure out where he was going with it until the end (an English proffessor once told me that it’s not a good idea to begin or end a piece of writing with another’s quote as it undercuts the original ideas of the one writing the piece — maybe he wasn’t sure it was going where he wanted it to go so used them to hold his case together).
In any case, I was left with a couple of thoughts. First, did we learn nothing from the Salem Witch Trials? The description of what happened in the shopping mall could have been a quote from a modern day version of “The Crucible.” The idea that a parent could blame the fact that his/her teenager is acting “strangely” on witchcraft and have someone arrested for it is, well, history repeating itself. I grew up in what was a part of the original Salem Township. That time in our history still weighs very heavily on me.
Second, I see little difference in the rituals followed by the “mainstream” religions and the older ones. In my experience, a “prayer circle” is really no different than a spell-casting session. And call it what you like, but a ritual is a ritual is a ritual, whether you call it a mass or a service or an orthodox wedding. In the end, it all seems to come down to the same things. Fear, control, and power. Goddess help them all.
I have to say, that article was utter and complete malarchy. It seems to be designed to create a negative outlook. It feels intentional.
I am new to Paganism. I came here seeking… Something, anything that felt… Real. I’m not knocking other religions. I’ve given effort to them and found them lacking.
I came to this site, honestly seeking answers. I tried a few of your suggestions. I dipped my toes into the pool as it were. My world shifted. Immediately. Completely. I was floored.
It has taken time, but I think I’m going a heathen route. It feels right to me. I can’t fully describe what happened. It’s like a part of me was missing, and I found it. I can’t see how anyone can claim that these beautiful people, these wonders are the same as the sociopaths who kill, maim, and torture. A person who is that dark will find a reason. They’ve killed in the name of Christianity, Islam, Jadaism, and the like. What makes Paganism any different?
I wish I could find a way to get him to understand that we are not them. But he is clearly complacent in his ignorance. I find it appalling. And a huge slap in the face to the many good people I’ve found here.