In Defense of Christine O' Donnell's Witchcraft

Whomever said politics makes for strange bed fellows wasn't kidding. As a pagan, or someone who practices what is commonly known as "witchcraft," I wouldn't be caught dead voting for Delaware Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell. And yet, the fact that O'Donnell is being drawn and quartered for admitting to "dabbling in witchcraft" on the Bill Mahrer show over a decade ago, is, how do I put it lightly? an overblown "scandal" worthy of a response.

Witchcraft - the very utterance of the word has been enough to set off a media feeding frenzy even more blood-thirsty than this past summer's "World Trade Center Mosque" hysteria. But unlike the good hearted liberals who have called for religious tolerance in the face of Glen Beck/Sarah Palin's anti-Muslim bigotry, there's been scarcely a peep on behalf of those who practice a traditional earth-based spirituality. Why is that?

In the most basic sense, Pagan spirituality involves recognizing the sacredness of the earth and all the sentient creatures that exist upon it. Though there is considerable variation in how this is practiced, some ways this is manifested include honoring male and female deities through ceremony, celebrating the seasons, and striving to live in harmony with all our relations. And yet, the very idea that Paganism would be taken seriously as a religion remains outside the possibility of American political discourse.

Only earlier this week, one of my favorite blogs (http://www.themessageshow.blogspot.com) mused that the end of organized religion may be near because England now recognizes Druids as a legitimate religion, worthy of tax-exempt status. In the eyes of the dominant culture, it would seem that Wiccans/Pagans, Druids, (and I'd add American Indian spiritual practices), don't qualify as true religions - one, because most people don't know anything about them; and two, because they don't fit the dominant paradigm's conception of what constitutes a "true" religion.

This is no accident - We tend to define religion as an institution requiring a hierarchy; where a group of followers (congregation) gather every weekend to sit facing forward and listen to an authority (priest, minister, etc), usually a male one, inside a designated building (church). Pagans on the other hand, often conduct their ceremonies outside, in a circle, with temporarily designated male and female priests and priestesses, who do not hold any institutional power over anyone else. The thrust is to invoke a communal experience with a power greater than ourselves, one that is founded on participation amongst equals, and grounded in the earth. This may not sound so strange to you, but ask yourself this - Can you imagine any American politician being openly pagan?

Even within my own circle of non-pagan friends and family, my wife and I remain cautious about being "openly" pagan lest we make folks feel uncomfortable. To put it another way, I know more gay couples who can be open about their love for each other amongst non-gay people than I know Pagan families who can be open about their spirituality amongst non-Pagans.

Christine O'Donnell may indeed be a fool unworthy of public office, but not because she "dabbled in witchcraft." And Bill Mahrer, an atheist liberal, is just as guilty of the kind of ignorant bigotry his conservative counterparts are notorious for, by bringing O'Donnell's attention-seeking butt on his show and mocking and condescending to her.

To be sure, American political discourse is notorious for being unashamedly sensationalist and superficial - Did candidate so n' so snort coke or inhale the herb during their twenties? Did what's-his-face have sexual relations with a male/female intern? Is that other guy who's skin color doesn't match mine really a gay socialist Muslim? ad nauseum. If anything, these bed-room hyped "scandals" reflect our own cultural ignorance, repressions and fears, and together, O'Donnell and Mahrer has inadvertently exposed yet another one.