5.04.2008
As Handfastings Go Mainstream, So Do Pagans
Lisa Cupido, writing for The Modesto Bee, has a very informative and interesting write-up of the growing popularity of Pagan handfasting ceremonies among couples (both Pagan and non-Pagan) looking to wed. Cupido interviews a wide-ranging assortment of sources for the piece, from author Raven Kaldera (who touches on same-sex marriage within modern Paganism), to trained celebrant Lamira Martin.
"Lamira Martin is a celebrant from St. Louis, Mo., who trained with the Celebrant USA Foundation, an institute that teaches people to officiate at weddings, funerals and other personalized ceremonies. She has been performing pagan and nondenominational weddings for only a year and a half but has wed 60 couples of all ages and backgrounds. Her most popular requests include handfasting, unity candle lighting and sand ceremonies ... 'Most of the couples I meet are in their 20s and want something beautiful and spiritual, but not religious ... A lot of people have lost the connection to their churches, but they still want a ritual and to write their own ceremony.'"
In addition to covering the growing popularity of handfastings, Cupido also digs into what is feeding the popularity of handfastings (Paganism's explosive growth over the last twenty years), and the economic ripples this new popularity creates.
"As some vendors of pagan items can attest, there is no shortage of customers for popular Wiccan and Celtic wedding items like costumes, Renaissance gowns, handfasting ropes and candles. Kimberly and Bill Tuttle, the owners of Gryphon's Moon, started their company 13 years ago, unaware that their moonstone pendants and incense would attract so many pagan clients. The most popular item on their Web site, gryphonsmoon.com, is their handfasting ring, which features the inscription "Hearts as one," in Runic, an early Germanic alphabet."
In a final note on this very well-written and researched article, I would like to congratulate Cupido on being one of the first journalists to (indirectly) include the data about Pagans from the recently released Pew Forum's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. A survey that gives a big boost to the estimated Pagan population in America.
"A 2001 survey by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York found that the number of followers of Wicca, one of the many religions that fall beneath the pagan umbrella, increased from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001, making it the fastest-growing religion in America in terms of percentage increase. Marty Laubach, a sociology professor at Marshall University, says the number of followers of pagan religions is even higher now, citing a 2008 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey that put the estimate at 1.2 million. 'My suspicion is that the first number was way too low due to people not responding,' Laubach said. 'The 1990 study was conducted at the height of the 'satanic panic,' which kept many neopagans in the closet.'"
One of the best articles dealing with modern Pagans I have read in awhile. I suggest reading the whole thing. Kudos to Lisa Cupido, this is what journalistic coverage of Paganism is supposed to look like.
Labels: handfastings, journalism, Lisa Cupido, Paganism, Pew Forum, U.S. Religious Landscape Survey
2.16.2008
South African Pagans Gain Power to Solemnize Marriages
A modern Pagan group in South Africa has been granted official recognition under the Civil Union Act. This will allow designated members of SAPRA (South Africa's Pagan Rights Alliance) to legally perform marriages and civil unions for gay and straight couples.
"If your religious festivals follow lunar phases and seasonal solstices, you will be happy to know that marriage under pagan rite and ritual is now a possibility for South Africans ... Sapra has nominated 13 pagans to become religious marriage officers. Once their registration is complete, traditional ceremonies will be legally recognised. To qualify the nominees must write a test set by home affairs within six months of Sapra's registration."
The Civil Union Act is opt-in for any religious group who wants to participate. Dissenting religious organizations (such as the Catholic and Anglican Churches) can still operate under the older 1961 Marriage Act, which defines a marriage as between a man and a woman. The Reforming Church in Pretoria, a gay-friendly Christian church, has called for the older Marriage Act to be gradually phased out in order to avoid the inadvertent establishment of "straight" laws, and "gay" laws.
"The old Marriage Act of 1961 is actually outdated and should gradually be phased out, so that there is only one Act under which couples can marry ... Most people wrongly assume that the Civil Union Act is intended for same-sex couples only. It is not. What is more important is that the underlying principle of the kind of relationship between the two parties is one of equality."
South Africa's shift to civil unions represents an ethic where each religious body can decide for itself what sort of marriages and unions it can perform. A far more sensible approach than in America, where (predominately) Christian conceptions of what is a "moral" or "proper" marriage is imposed on modern Pagans and other groups open to broader definitions. SAPRA has taken an important step into a post-Christian world. A world where Pagan clergy and adherents can determine their own morality and destiny.
Labels: civil unions, handfastings, marriage, Paganism, SAPRA, South Africa
9.18.2007
Paganism and the Law
Two recent stories bring a focus on modern Paganism and its relationship to the law. The first comes from the excellent law-blog Religion Clause, which brings to our attention a recent prisoner religious free-exercise case involving a Pagan.
"In Kay v. Bemis, (10th Cir., Sept. 11, 2007), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Utah district court's dismissal of a prisoner's complaint that he had been denied tarot cards, incense, and religious books. It found several errors in the trial court's approach, including its insistence that the use of tarot cards and other items be "necessary" to the practice of the prisoner's Wicca religion. The appellate court said that it is enough that the prisoner sincerely believed in use of the requested items."
It is increasingly clear in legal challenges involving religion that sincerity of belief is becoming the only true "test" for establishing an individual's religious needs. Which seems to lead us into a "post-scriptural" legal world, a situation that definitely favors faiths under the modern Pagan umbrella where personal revelation can be just as important as tradition. You can read the full opinion of the court, here.
The second story comes from The Bucks County Courier Times, and warns those getting married that Pennsylvania State law prohibits legal marriages through Internet ordination services like the Universal Life Church unless you have an established congregation. A situation that could spell trouble for Pagans performing handfastings in the area.
"A ruling issued last week by a York County Court of Common Pleas judge reinforces the rules as they relate to clergy. That ruling says weddings conducted by Internet-ordained ministers aren't valid unless those ministers have a 'regularly established church or congregation.' ... [Bucks County Register of Wills Barbara] Reilly said her office has issued marriage licenses to individuals married in Wiccan or pagan ceremonies, and those are valid as long as the person who officiated has an established church or congregation. Some couples might not find out if their marriages were performed by authorized officials until a critical moment in their marriage."
G. Martin Freeman, Universal Life Church Monastery president, is planning on challenging the ruling (though New York, North Carolina and Virginia have withstood such appeals). Until then, solitary Pagans and Heathens in PA who don't work with an established group may want to either have a judge perform the legal side of a wedding ceremony, or take the time to get legal credentials through an organization like COG.
If this backlash against Internet ordinations continues to spread (and withstand legal challenges), it could certainly provide some serious complications to those married by Pagans using ULC credentials. Perhaps this will spark the formation of more legally incorporated Pagan groups dedicated to ordaining solitaries in these situations? Only time will tell.
Labels: handfastings, law, ordinations, Paganism, Pennsylvania, Prison, Religion Clause, Universal Life Church, Wicca
