Deborah Lipp

As widely reported in the blogosphere, Missouri wishes to make Christianity the official state religion.

House Concurrent Resolution 13 has is pending in the state legislature…

The resolution would recognize “a Christian god,??? and it would not protect minority religions, but “protect the majority’s right to express their religious beliefs.

I have seen some Wiccans shrug at this. They point out this is a non-binding resolution, not a law. They point out that Wicca has always been hidden, so what’s the big?

The obvious intent here is to make an inroad towards establishment. They are trying to further the tiresome and self-serving meme that Chrisitianity is “oppressed” in the U.S. They are doing this to undermine the idea that it is minority religion and non-religion that requires protection. The right is all about talking points. It’s all about selling a story. Truthiness. Missouri is trying to sell the story that Christianity is oppressed, must be protected, and can be made a state religion. That they skirt the letter of the law to do so is beside the point.

And as to the “hidden Wicca” idea? Hide to be discreet and private. Hide to work the Witches Pyramid. Hide to preserve the Mysteries. But when they come to drag us out of our homes, to take our jobs, our children, our lives?

Don’t hide. Fight.

I chose to be Pagan. I volunteered. But this latest persecution of alternative religious expression got me thinking that I didn’t choose this. I didn’t choose to be a victim of an oppressive theocracy.

My great-grandparents came to this country to escape pogroms. They came here to be free. And, while some Jews adopted gentile surnames, we did not. I was raised to be proud of who I am, and raised to celebrate my difference, to celebrate the religious freedom that makes America both diverse and free. Like a lot of Jews, I am a liberal patriot, because I know how precious it is to be free, and how easily that freedom can be snatched away.

I credit my mother’s pride in her Judaism with my ability to be proud of my Paganism. I am proud of her. To the extent that I hold my head up, and say not here, not to us, never again, I am proud of myself. But we have to keep fighting.

We have to fight the attempts to establish a theocracy. Fight religious monuments in government buildings. Fight the notion of a “Christian nation.” Fight bigotry against Muslims. Fight with our keyboards, our wallets, our voices, and the stands we take. If we don’t fight for it, I guarantee they’ll take it away from us.

Through the Wild Hunt blog, I learned of this horrifying story of a child snatched from his mother by a court determined to punish her for being a member of the Church of the Subgenius.

This is punishment and persecution, without even the pretense of protecting the boy. “Evidence” against the mom, Rachel Bevilacqua, includes her participating in events where her son was not present. (Some of those photos are of Starwood 25, an event I attended.)

[The judge] strongly disapproved of the photos of Rachel Bevilacqua in a bondage dress and papier mache goat’s head. The judge repeatedly asked, “Why a goat? What’s so significant about a goat’s head?” When Rachel replied, “I just thought the word ‘goat’ was funny,” Judge Punch lost his temper completely, and began to shout abuse at Rachel, calling her a “pervert,” “mentally ill,” “lying,” and a participant in “sex orgies.” The judge ordered that Rachel is to have absolutely no contact with her son, not even in writing, because he felt the pictures of X-Day performance art were evidence enough to suspect “severe mental illness”. Rachel has had no contact with Kohl since that day, February 3, 2006.

As of yesterday, Rachel was granted supervised visition with Kohl. The Church of the Subgenius is raising money for the family’s legal costs.

I am so mad I could spit. It makes my stomach hurt. To lose her child. Her child! Because of religion. In the 21st Century. In New York. I am torn between rage at the injustice, and agony on behalf of the mother and child, and did I mention rage?