12.04.2007
News Corp. Buys Beliefnet.com
According to Fishbowl NY, religious mega-site Beliefnet has been purchased by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (which owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and MySpace).
"Steve Waldman's belief paid off today when News Corp. purchased Beliefnet.com, the spirituality-based Web site Waldman founded in 1999 and has run as editor-in-chief since. In response to an anonymous tip we received, a call to Waldman resulted in a return call from a Fox spokeswoman requesting that this item be held until tomorrow morning to be supplemented by further information. When offered the opportunity to deny the story, the response was 'Okay, we're not going to comment.'"
No doubt details, including how much was paid for the site will be coming soon. As for what this means for Beliefnet? Well, loads of money most likely, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some "synergy" between MySpace and Beliefnet's own social networking beta site. Not to mention content-sharing opportunities from News Corp's massive media holdings.
Perhaps most importantly, this is the end of Beliefnet as an independent entity. While I certainly have my criticisms of the site for its treatment of non-monotheists, it was at least not dancing to the tune of Murdoch whose other religious-oriented holdings include Christian publishing company Zondervan, and Christian movie distributor Fox Faith (they once owned Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network too, but sold it off).
No doubt promises of independence and a glorious future are forthcoming, but I'm not sure this will be good for the already-marginalized religious minorities who were once strong supporters of Beliefnet. I wouldn't be surprised at all if, over the next few years, Beliefnet grows ever-more Christian and conservative in tone. A "family friendly" site to help promote Fox Faith films and hype new Christian book releases from (coincidentally) Zondervan.
ADDENDUM: Get Religion has just posted the official news-release on the story, which seems to confirm some of my suspicions regarding the acquisition.
"FEG's goal is to leverage these characteristics across a broader media canvas and provide programming, production, advertising sales, technology and marketing expertise that will enhance an already terrific product in a rapidly growing market."
Translation: Fox owns Beliefnet now, and you can expect a lot of Fox-centric (Christian) content in the near future.
Labels: Beliefnet, News Corp., Religion, Rupert Murdoch
9.04.2007
Beliefnet's Balance
So lets say you run the biggest religion and spirituality web site on the Internet, and you decide to run a cover-story on a Wiccan who just won the lottery. What supplementary articles do you pick to run with the Associate Press story?
B-Net's balancing act.
What Neo-Pagans believe, and a collection of Pagan prayers? Sounds good, but how about we balance that out with an anti-polytheism article by conservative Jewish "intelligent design" proponent David Kinghoffer?
"...idolatry, polytheism, and witchcraft are really just three manifestations of the same error - to which, interestingly, Hebrew gives no name. They share the mistaken assumption that divinity can be broken down into discrete entities (gods) and manipulated for our benefit. By contrast, the God of the Bible, a purely spiritual being, must be the ultimate unity and perfectly free to act as He sees fit, unaffected by our attempted manipulations or any other circumstances."
Before you think I'm about to lay into Beliefnet again, let me just say that I applaud B-Net's move to balance things out like this. I look forward to articles on why monotheism runs counter to our natural religious impulses by Jordan Paper, or perhaps an essay on the superiority of polytheism by John Michael Greer to "balance" out the next front-page story about something good happening to a Christian or Jew. I mean, fair is fair right? I'm sure B-Net won't let us down. But you might want to remind them to stay consistent, just in case they forget.
Labels: balance, Beliefnet, David Kinghoffer, Ellwood "Bunky" Bartlett, monotheism, Paganism, Polytheism, Wicca
4.25.2007
More Veteran Pentacle Fallout
The settlement of the veteran pentacle case continues to dominate the Pagan news (and news about Pagans). Now that it has been a couple days since the news first broke, more commentary is starting to emerge.
The Witches Voice (the largest Pagan site on the Internet) has posted commentary by Pete 'Pathfinder' Davis, Archpriest of The Aquarian Tabernacle Church of Wicca. Davis's church was involved in an ACLU lawsuit separate from the Americans Untied suit to get the pentacle marker approved.
"We here at the Aquarian Tabernacle Church of Wicca want also to acknowledge everyone, known to us or not, who has ever fired a shot in this long, drawn out battle over the last nine years, especially our own Scott Stearns (USN) who breathed new life into this struggle when it had reached its low point. They all deserve acknowledgment as the behind-the-scenes heavy lifters who paved smooth the road to success. So very many people wrote their legislators, senators and representatives, letters-to-the-editor and exerted subtle but persistent pressure in so very many ways we can never list. We can even thank our president for his offhanded anti-Wiccan remark some years ago in Texas, which helped us all win. When we all work together in a coordinated effort, we CAN move mountains!"
You can read the ACLU's press release on the issue, here.
Other Pagans who have commented on the win include Deborah Lipp, Yvonne Aburrow, Hecate, Chas Clifton, Joel Monka, John Williams, and Astrid at The Northern Path among many others.
Outside commentary has been emerging as well, the issue got a mention at The Revealer, and Dan Pulliam discusses the case for Get Religion. Pulliam complains that what should simply be a religious freedom issue has been swept up by politics.
"...unfortunately, the story has been swept up by politics when it is not clear that it was directly related to politics ... There seems to be good second-hand evidence that the VA's decision was indeed influenced by statements made by President Bush. But the terms of the settlement with the VA kept those documents from coming out. Call me a skeptic (because I am about most things), but as a reporter I would not be satisfied with that an answer."
Pulliam also quotes heavily from a blog post by Mark Oppenheimer at the Huffington Post who became completely distracted by one line of the New York Times coverage and goes off on a rant about the "absurd" historical claims concerning Wicca, and how journalists can't let them off the hook!
"But the very capable Neela Banerjee, who writes about religion frequently, makes one big mistake: Wicca is not "a type of pre-Christian belief that reveres nature and its cycles." As I and others have explained, Wicca is a 19th- and 20th-century invention with a creative backstory invented to lend it historical legitimacy."
Saying "a type of" can give an impression of "ancientness" but it is never overtly said or claimed in the article. Now perhaps "a type of" was the wrong phrasing, maybe "incorporates" or "inspired by" or "aspires to revive" should have been used instead, but the practice of polytheism can indeed by classified as a "type of pre-Christian belief" when used in the context of a religion that looks primarily to a pre-Christian Europe for inspiration. But those considerations matter little since Oppenheimer is someone with an ax to grind who has a history of dismissive attitudes towards modern Paganism and Wicca (maybe he can have tea with Charlotte Allen sometime).
For further negative backlash, About.com alternative religions blogger Jennifer Emick gives us a wrap-up of people less than pleased by the approved pentacle. But in general everyone
*Religious Internet giant Beliefnet hasn't covered the issue yet, feeling that cover stories on 'The Secret' and how to pray the Bible took precedence. Maybe next week.
Labels: Beliefnet, Get Religion, Mark Oppenheimer, Pagan Blogs, Paganism, The Revealer, Veteran Pentacle Quest, Wicca
4.09.2007
The Monotheist Blogosphere
One of the things that I find so appealing about blogging is the idea of community. Not just community with my fellow Pagan and Heathen bloggers, but with a larger religious blogosphere. I'm proud that some Christian and Jewish bloggers have added me to their blogroll, and that occasionally stories important to our faiths break through into the larger religious blogosphere. But it seems that some religious sites would be happier with a singular emphasis on monotheism.
Beliefnet, one of the largest religion site on the Internet, has been hosting a religious blog aggregator that it cleverly calls "Blog Heaven". When it premiered it included Pagan author and academic Chas Clifton's blog in its "other" category. This wasn't a problem. After all, we are dramatically outnumbered by the dominant monotheisms, so a token inclusion seemed fair enough. But then it was removed recently after "technical difficulties".
"...the blog IS currently unavailable from Beliefnet's Blog Heaven. The technical and editorial team has recently been made aware of this issue and is working to resolve the situation. Please know that this issue is not related to the specific views or ideas presented in Mr. Clifton's blog."
After some protest from the Pagan blogosphere and Beliefnet participants the site re-appeared. But now it has disappeared again, and I somehow doubt its yet another "technical" issue with the aggregator considering this hasn't happened to any other site on the page.
"BeliefNet's Blog Heaven site has been cleansed of non-monotheists. No Buddhist bloggers, no Hindus, no Pagans. And yet I hear that BeliefNet is still trying to get some Pagans to write essays for the main site. Do we even need them, with all the Pagan sites and forums out there?"
Of course this is the same site who thinks bigoted comments concerning minority faiths is just fine from its a-list blog team.
"I think it's a form of demon worship, and besides which, it's savage." - Rod Dreher, discussing Santeria on his "Crunchy Con" blog, 02.09.07
When Beliefnet first started, I was a fan. They had (and still have) discussion boards for every faith imaginable, they had Margot Adler and Starhawk on as regular columnists, and they seemed receptive to making sure Pagans and other minority faiths felt included. But after declaring bankruptcy in 2002 the site has re-positioned itself to be far more friendly to the people with the most money and that meant evangelicals and "spiritual but not religious" seekers.
I don't blame Beliefnet for wanting to be economically sustainable, but I do blame it for its lack of attention to minority faiths in its features and blogs. The places that get the highest percentage of its readership. It sends a message when "Blog Heaven" is purged of non-monotheists, it sends a message when Beliefnet favors Christian and monotheist voices in its hosted blogs, and it sends a message that a site that prides itself so highly in being "multi-faith" so obviously favors those who can fatten their wallets. I think Chas Clifton's question is the correct one, do we really need Beliefnet? They certainly seem eager to prove they don't need us.
Labels: Beliefnet, Chas Clifton, Christianity, monotheism, Paganism
2.02.2007
Updates on Ongoing Stories
Some quick updates on stories covered by this blog.
The Veteran Pentacle Quest: The suit against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is going forward and will be heard this summer despite more stonewalling efforts from the VA.
"The VA argued in a motion filed Jan. 19 with the U.S. District Court in Madison that the lawsuit should be put on hold until after the department finalized its new rules related to accepting new grave marker symbols. That process could take up to 12 months but the VA would make a decision on the Wiccan request within a month after the process ended, the government's motion said. The Wiccans' attorney objected, arguing that nothing commits the VA to finalize its rules within that time frame, or take up the Wiccan request at all."
Luckily the judge was having none of it, and has set the trial for June 29. The VA has issued no statements regarding their move to delay the trial, and have not returned requests for comment. To catch up on the history of this case, check out Circle Sanctuary's page devoted to the issue.
The Grand Rapids "Freedom To Harass Us" Case: The Grand Rapids Pagan Pride Coordinators have issued a public statement on the the suit filed by The Street Preachers' Fellowship against the city of Grand Rapids. On the advice of their lawyer, they are keeping mum, and asking the Pagan community to not bother city officials in Grand Rapids.
"If we want to continue to host a Pagan Pride in Grand Rapids, we need to remain calm & wait until those items are needed. If this blows up, the city may change the way that they allow parks to run. A point to make here is this, the papers have not been filled with the courts yet & who knows, when a judge sees this, s/he may dismiss it on the spot. We are in contact with our attorney & we have been advised to not speak to anyone about this, so please, support us with the letters & do not, I repeat PLEASE DO NOT just start sending in letters to the press, city attorney or anyone else that I failed to mention."
So it seems we won't be getting any official word on the behavior of the Christians on that day. But a commenter going by the name of "Jenn" did post some details of the event, but without official confirmation I can't speak to its veracity.
"...in this case they physically and verbily intimidated people there. Witnesses say a girl was circled and forced to tears. They were not simply coming around, handing out bibles and kindly asking for a moment of their time to discuss religion. They were there to start s**t."
We'll have to wait and see if the Christian group is able to spin this as a simple "free speech" case.
Tyra's Witchcraft Adventure: Since the original post on the Tyra Banks "Witchcraft" episode, guests on the show are starting to come forward to publicly express their displeasure with how the show was handled. "White Witch" and model Wrenna Monet has posted her experiences on her MySpace blog.
"Doing the Tyra Banks Show I thought it would bring a positive light on my religion and how it is viewed....NOT! Knowing she was a Christian, I didn't take it into consideration that she would be just as judgmental as most people that do not understand the ways we follow, which is a peaceful way of living. Tyra provided a perfect example of how we're viewed and was completely biased to the whole thing which I found disrespectful!"
My sympathies go out to all involved, perhaps Tyra will revisit the issue at some point and allow her former guests a chance to clarify their views without the born-again Christian chaser. The show's blog has gotten nearly 400 comments (mostly negative) concerning the Witchcraft episode, it remains to be seen if Tyra or a representative from the show will issue any kind of statement regarding their treatment of modern Pagans.
In a final note, it seems Beliefnet has decided that Pagans don't get into Heaven. Blog Heaven that is. Chas Clifton's Pagan blog has been a part of Beliefnet's religion blog aggregator "Blog Heaven" since its inception. Now it has mysteriously disappeared.
"No one from BeliefNet informed me that my blog was given the boot; I just happened to notice. When I asked what was going on, someone named Tim Hayne, editorial project manager, said that it was unintentional and tried to make it look like it was my fault for changing something at this end...Ten days have gone by, but nothing has changed. You won't find Letter From Hardscrabble Creek in Blog Heaven....But the URL of my site feed has not changed. So I have to wonder if someone at the supposedly interfaith BeliefNet site just cannot stomach an outspokenly Pagan blog. It's their site and they can run it the way that they want. But why can't they be honest?"
Chas Clifton's blog was the only Pagan entry. The aggregator is now almost completely dominated by monotheist traditions (not even a Buddhist blog!). I would urge all my readers to write to Beliefnet (politely) and ask for the return of Chas Clifton's blog (and even better to include more diversity in their aggregator). There are several vibrant and informative blogs coming from Pagans and other minority religions, it shouldn't cost Beliefnet anything to be more inclusive on a simple aggregator.
Labels: Beliefnet, Chas Clifton, Christianity, free speech, Grand Rapids "Freedom To Harass Us" case, Paganism, Tyra Banks, Veteran Pentacle Quest
1.13.2007
The Gods of Rome
Beliefnet takes a look at the portrayal of religion in the critically acclaimed HBO series "Rome" (just in time for the beginning of the second season). Though the series tends to play fast and loose with history at times, they do try to portray just how important (and ever-present) religion was in that culture.
"If the past is a foreign country, then ancient religion may be its most exotic locale. The HBO series "Rome," which returns for its second season on Sunday, is hardly "Fodor's Guide to Paganism," but by venturing off some well-worn cinematic paths, the show has given the worship of the gods a generous treatment in a genre dominated by stories of gladiators and the advent of Christ. The creators of the serial drama, which focuses on the power struggles during the last days of the Roman Republic in the first century B.C.E., wanted to portray Roman religion not as a doomed prologue to Christianity but as a vibrant and meaningful part of everyday life."
The articles references the now-infamous Taurobolium scene, and hints at what might have been if the budget had allowed.
"The show's creators also had to bow to the pragmatics of TV production in the 21st century. One important and well-known festival was not included in "Rome" largely because it was too costly: The Lupercalia, which traditionally fell on February 15, was a fertility ritual the show scripted and then scrapped. 'We had Mark Antony rushing through the streets in a wolf skin whipping fertile young women, but it was not to be," Heller says. "If you're going to get those rituals right, you need to do them grandly, because that would have been an amazing spectacle and we didn't want to do it half-assed with a couple of guys running around in circles.'"
Ah, the opportunities lost. While some of the nuance of Religio Romana is lost to the soap-operatic story-lines, "Rome" is still one of the best attempts to portray the "pagan" past. Better by far than the endless films and television specials where Romans are played as decadent agnostics or foils to Christians. I can't wait to rent these once they come out on DVD.
