After viewing a recent video of a
portion of last Sunday’s Fox
News and Friends Weekend, it becomes necessary to respond to the
disturbing discussion between the show’s hosts, Anna Kooiman, Clayton Morris,
and Tucker Carlson. The show’s hosts did little more than belittle Wicca
and its practitioners. Readers can view the clip from the show above.
The show’s hosts, primarily Tucker
Carlson, purposefully mock and ridicule the Wiccan faith and its adherents, and
the hosts’ comments are unprofessional, unethical and unwarranted.
Carlson willfully attempts to make Wiccans, and anyone that acknowledges the
faith system as valid, appear ridiculous. His assertions and many of the
statements offered by his co-hosts have no sound basis in fact. The
commentary on the show only serves to belittle an entire population of people
that the hosts of Fox News and Friends Weekend really know nothing
about.
First, Clayton Morris mentions the
Wiccan and pagan population and questions whether or not they make up a large
percentage of the population. Tucker Carlson responds with: “I do, they
don’t.”
This response is interesting since
there are no clear statistics on just how many pagans and witches there are, so
how can Carlson possibly know more than anybody in the entire world about the
pagan population. The majority of population surveys are mere estimates,
but if one bases an understanding on any estimates (including the notion of a
“large population” as subjective,) one will find that the pagan population is
considerable. A little bit of research reveals that according to 2001
statistics, there are an estimated 200,000 to 768,000 Wiccans and pagans in the
US alone, depending upon the cited source. Additional research reveals
that the US population of Wiccans is doubling about every 30 months and in
Scotland, the Neo-Pagan population is doubling annually (source: http://www.washington-baltimore-paganclergy.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/wiccaprofile.pdf).
The Puralism Project at Harvard University has
a variety of statistics sources, several of which make estimates related to the
pagan population. In 2000, the Covenant of the Goddess, a highly regarded
pagan organization, suggests that there were about 768,400 pagans and witches
in the US. The Ontario Consultants from Tolerance.org suggest a population rate of
750,000 (with a 50% margin rate for all errors) and The Witch’s Voice estimates
a population of 1 million pagans and witches in the US and 3 million
worldwide. Additionally, When Carlson says that there are more
Zoroastrians than Wiccans in an effort to make the population of Wiccan and
pagan practitioners appear small, his efforts do not negate the validity of the
Wiccan faith, diminish the significance of the faith system to its followers,
or devalue the tremendous spiritual fulfillment Wiccans derive from their
religion.
Clayton Morris then mentions the
University of Missouri’s
Guide to Religions: Major Holidays and Suggested Accommodations and the
Wiccan and pagan holidays included in the guide. Nowhere in the guide
does it say that pagans and witches need to have all of their holidays
recognized. In fact, if the hosts take a look at the guide, eight Wiccan
holidays are mentioned, not 20 as it is erroneously mentioned in the hosts’
conversation. (and yes I can name them all). The eight
holidays include Samhain, Yule, Candlemas (also called Imbolc), Ostara (also
called Spring Equinox), Beltane, Summer Solstice (also called Litha), Lammas,
and Fall Equinox. If one looks under each of the holidays in the guide,
there is a description of the holiday along with some information detailing
pagan practices. However, there is no mention of any recommendation
whatsoever to stop planning exams or significant study activities. Thus,
despite the fact that Wiccan holidays equal about one-fifth of the 46 holidays
mentioned, there are no recommendations that would suggest to faculty members
of the university to allow the holidays to influence academic planning.
Wiccans do not choose their religion
based upon the number of holidays in the faith system. For Clayton Morris
to say such a thing is ridiculous and is tad amount to saying that a Christian
is a follower of Christ because they like to take Christmas and Easter holidays
off each year. When Carlson later asks how many Wiccans can name all of
their holidays, guessing about 50%, again such a comment is completely out of
line. Any Wiccan who is a sincere practitioner will have little
difficulty telling anyone about the eight seasonal sabbats celebrated on a
yearly basis.
In the discussion, Carlson mentions
that the downside of Wiccanism is “that it is obviously a form of witchcraft,”
and this statement raises two questions. First, does Carlson know
anything about real witchcraft at all? Since he identifies the “upside”
as being a “ton of holidays,” and he states, “Every Wiccan I have ever known is
a compulsive Dungeons & Dragons player or is a middle-aged, twice-divorced,
older woman living in a rural area who works as a midwife,” it is clear he
knows little. When he co-host Clayton Morris pipes in his view and says,
“and [Wiccans] like a lot of incense,” the extent of their knowledge about the
Craft and its practitioners is made brutally clear. Therefore, knowing as
little as the hosts of Fox News and Friends Weekend do about witchcraft,
Wicca and its adherents, what puts them in the position to judge? Second,
witchcraft is a downside for who? If the practice is not right for the
hosts of Fox News and Friends Weekend, that’s perfectly fine, but why
then is it necessary for the show’s hosts to devalue the practices and beliefs
of others?
As far as Samhain (Halloween) being
a major holiday for Wiccans, the day is one for honoring deceased
ancestors. The hosts mock one of the most sacred sabbats, suggesting it
is not something to take seriously. Then Clayton Morris suggests that
Halloween is an event that has more to do with paganism than Wicca. Here
it should be mentioned that paganism is an umbrella term for people who do not
follow the major Judeo-Christian religions, and Wicca is just one branch of paganism.
A bit of research will reveal to the hosts of the show that modern Halloween
practices are actually pagan based practices. If they had read the
university’s holiday guide more thoroughly they would have been able to read
the full description of the holiday on the university’s website that reads as
follows:
“One of the four "greater Sabbats" and considered by some to be the Wiccan New Year. A time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, welcome those born during the past year into the community, and reflecting on past relationships, events and other significant changes in life.General Practices: Paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died."
Wiccans honoring of Halloween is no
different from when Christians honor the death and resurrection of Christ on
Easter. Just as Easter holds tremendous significance to those who follow
Christ, Samhain holds great meaning for those who are adherents of Wicca.
As for the interview with Tammy
Bruce with her suggesting that Wiccans and Pagans are being used for political
purposes and to devalue tradition, the question arises, how do our equally
valid traditions devalue the traditions of other faith systems, especially when
the university’s guide has no recommendations to make any academic changes for
Wiccan holidays whatsoever? How does the integration of Wiccan traditions
“downgrade” other traditions through an “anti-tradition action?” With
confidence in speaking for the majority of the Wiccan community, Wiccans are
pleased to have come as far as to have their holidays acknowledged as
celebratory events. Nowhere have Wiccans demanded academic accommodations
for them. Of course, if Wiccans did start asking for holiday
accommodations, there would be absolutely nothing wrong with doing so.
Again, Wiccan celebrations are just as significant, important and meaningful as
holidays in any other religious tradition.
Anna makes mention of when
Christians in the U.S. say “Merry Christmas” to others it is sometimes viewed
as pushing one’s faith on others. In part this sentiment is true, and the
issue works both ways. A Christian might be highly unappreciative of
someone wishing them a “Blessed Samhain” or a “Blessed Lammas.” The
underlying message in such situations is that it is important for everyone,
Christians, pagans, and people from all faith systems to have consideration for
others. Whether we agree with someone’s religious values or beliefs is of
no import. What is most important is that we respect one another and act
in considerate ways: this is something the hosts of “Fox and News Weekend”
failed to do.
There is a petition on Causes.com
looking for Wiccan practitioners who want to demand an apology from the hosts
of Fox and Friends. Interested individuals can sign the petition
at the following link http://www.causes.com/actions/1733105-demand-fox-news-apologize-to-pagans-and-wiccans.
A Facebook page has been
established, demanding an apology from the show’s hosts as well at https://www.facebook.com/FoxNewsPagan.
The co-hosts of Isis Paranormal
Radio are planning a discussion on Sunday, Feb. 24 related to the show and the
hosts’ commentary. Interested individuals can listen to the live online
radio show at 1 PM ET at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/isisparanormal.
Listeners can join in the conversation, call into the show, and express their
opinions in the chat room.
Article by: Dayna Winters, a Wiccan
and the co-author of Wicca: What’s the Real Deal?
BreakingThrough the Misconceptions.
