Religious
Roots Run
Deep
(Excerpeted from "Zenit.org"- February 7, 2004
Like
European politicians who continue to block any
mention of Christianity
in the
draft of the
continent's Constitution, public officials around
the
globe
increasingly are adopting measures that favor a
return or greater
tolerance
for pre-Christian
religions.
Denmark has announced it will allow
a
group that
worships Thor, Odin and other Norse gods to
conduct
legally-valid marriages, the Associated Press reported
Nov.
5. "It
would be wrong if the indigenous religion
of this country wasn't
recognized,"
said Tove Fergo,
the government Minister for Ecclesiastic Affairs and
a
Lutheran priest.
The 240-member Forn Sidr sought recognition
in
1999,
said its president, Tissel Jacobsen. About 1,000
people
worship the
ancient gods in Denmark, Jacobsen
said.
Across the ocean, a U.S.
federal judge in the state of
Virginia ruled in favor of a Wiccan who
was
barred
from saying a prayer to open a Chesterfield County
board
meeting.
U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Dohnal
said the board discriminated
against
Cyndi Simpson
when it prohibited her from joining a list of
clergy
who
deliver the invocations, the Associated Press
reported Nov.
14.
Wiccans say their religion is based on respect for
the
earth,
nature and the cycle of the seasons, according
to the Associated Press.
The
American Civil Liberties
Union of Virginia and the Americans United
for
Separation of Church and State filed the lawsuit on
behalf of
Simpson
after she was turned down by the
board.
Wiccans are also active
in
Canada, where recently they
celebrated the winter solstice, the
Vancouver
Sun
reported Dec. 22. Heather Botting, a pagan chaplain at
the
University
of Victoria, told the newspaper that
the solstice, marking the shortest
day
of the year in
the Northern Hemisphere, is a sacred day.
Botting
was
appointed five years ago by university
authorities. She is also
authorized to
perform
marriages.
In the Greater Victoria area, population
280,000,
more
than 1,000 people officially told Canadian census-
takers they
were
pagans, the Vancouver Sun said.
Paganism is Canada's fastest-growing
religion,
according to Statistics Canada. There are 21,080
declared
pagans
in Canada.
Meanwhile, in the state of Victoria, Australia,
a
legal
battle is being played out between Olivia Watts,
a self-proclaimed
wiccan,
and Rob Wilson, a Christian.
The conflict began last June when
Wilson, a
council
member in the Melbourne-area municipality of Casey,
issued a
statement warning against a non Christian
group that was allegedly
planning
to become active in
the area, the Age newspaper reported Dec. 27.
Watts,
who was named in the statement by Wilson, took the
matter to
the
Equal Opportunity Commission. The
Victorian Civil and Administrative
Tribunal
will also
look into Watts' case. Watts is getting help from
the
Sydney-based Pagan Awareness Network.
Rebirth for the
Blairs
On Jan. 26 and 27, the Guardian newspaper in
Britain
published
ample extracts from Francis Wheen's new book
which recounts the rise of
gurus, spiritualists and
assorted pagan beliefs. One of the most
successful
modern gurus is Deepak Chopra. His 1993 appearance on
the
Oprah
Winfrey television show led to sales of
400,000 copies of his book
within a
week. He heads the
Chopra Center for Well-Being in La Jolla,
California.
Wheen also recounts that Cherie Blair, wife of
the
British
Prime Minister, is keen on alternative forms
of spirituality. Her
adventures
include inviting a
feng-shui expert to rearrange the furniture at
10
Downing Street. Both Cherie and Tony Blair underwent
a
Mayan
rebirthing experience while on holidays in
Mexico in 2001.
Also
increasingly popular in England is Kabbalah, an
ancient Hebrew
philosophy. At
London's Kabbalah
Center -- followers can buy books, sign up for a
10-
week course, or buy bottles of Kabbalah water, the
Financial
Times
reported Dec. 20.
According to recent figures, fewer than 3%
of
Londoners are now regular churchgoers. At the same
time,
non-Christian
practices such as Kabbalah,
Buddhism, Hinduism and crystal healing
are
flourishing, the newspaper noted.
"For many westerners,
particularly women, it has
become the norm to master Buddhist chanting
in
a
meditation class, learn about ancient Hindu
philosophies during a
yoga
class, light an
(aromatherapy) candle and say a prayer (to a
nameless
God)
back at home," commented the article. A further
sign of the greater
interest
in alternative
spiritualities came with the recent appointment of
a
spirituality editor by the British womens
magazine
Cosmopolitan.
|
