You can read my post about being a Southern Witch on the 50th anniversary of President Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Act here: http://hecatedemeter.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/we-have-lost-the-south-for-a-generation-lyndon-johnson-fifty-years-ago-today-upon-signing-the-civil-rights-act/
The #HobbyLobby Supreme Court case today is complex, and its import for Pagans not clear. Court tried to rule narrowly, but left open many important issues for further decisions.
Clear winners: family-owned businesses (even corporations that are not publicly-traded) that have religious objections to various mandated public policies, organizations and people opposed to certain kinds of contraception and to abortion. Pro-life groups rejoice, as well as employers of all sizes and types. (Can "religious exemptions" apply outside of contraception? Unclear.)
Clear losers: female employees of said family-owned businesses who want contraceptive services covered under their employer-paid health care. (Though this will be somewhat dealt with by the Obama administration plans to cover such care itself, similar to exemption given to religious non-profits such as the Catholic church.) Opponents of "corporate personhood" gnash their teeth.
Up in the air: how far will the "religious exemption" go for family businesses?
As you probably know there has been a powerful and effective move on the part of the Republican party to restrict access to abortion and other reproductive health services at the state level since the 2010 elections. What drives this is a theological notion that amounts to the establishment a religion in violation of the 1st Amendment of the US constitution. Those who object to the imposition of restrictions on access to abortion should recognize that it is a theological battle. Come see why. . .
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...
Janet Boyer
I love the idea of green burials! I first heard of Recompose right before it launched. I wish there were more here on the East Coast; that's how I'd l...