Non Fluffy Wicca

The Religion Clauses in the 21st Century: Symposium Papers:

ACS and the West Virginia Law Review are pleased to announce that papers written for "The Religion Clauses in the 21st Century" symposium held at the West Virginia University College of Law are now available. Video excerpts of the panelists discussing symposium topics are also available.
Written by scholars in the law of church and state, the symposium papers reflect perspectives on issues organized according to these themes: "The Religion Clauses in Institutional Contexts" "Government Religious Expression," "Accommodation of Religion," and :Religion and Politics"
Over the next few weeks, ACSBlog will publish short introductions by the authors to a number of the articles. A list of the papers written for the symposium can be found below the fold.

• "Introduction" by William P. Marshall, Vivian E. Hamilton, and John E. Taylor
• "Life After the Establishment Clause" by Steven G. Gey
• "Substantive Neutrality Revisited" by Douglas Laycock
• "Instruments of Accommodation: The Military Chaplaincy and the Constitution" by Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle
• "Reconciling the Irreconcilable: Military Chaplains and the First Amendment" by Steven K. Green
• "Public School Students' Religious Speech and Viewpoint Discrimination" by Kirsti L. Bowman
• "Why Student Religious Speech is Speech" by John E. Taylor
• "Uncivil Religion: Judeo-Christianity and the Ten Commandments" by Frederick Mark Gedicks and Roger Hendrix
• "'Sectarianizing' Civil Religion? A Comment on Gedicks and Hendrix" by Steven D. Smith
• "The Establishment Clause and Religious Expression in Governmental Settings: Four Variables in Search of a Standard" by Daniel O. Conkle
• "Establishment Clause Limits on Free Exercise Accommodations" by Kent Greenawalt
• "When Accommodations for Religion Violate the Establishment Clause: Regularizing the Supreme Court's Analysis" by Carl H. Esbeck
• "Responsible Freedom Under the Religion Clauses: Exemptions, Legal Pluralism, and the Common Good" by Angela C. Carmella
• "Religious Exemptions and the Common Good: A Reply to Professor Carmella" by Laura S. Underkuffler
• "Deep Purple: Religious Shades of Family Law" by Naomi Cahn and June Carbone
• "Religious v. Secular Ideologies and Sex Education: A Response to Professors Cahn and Carbone" by Vivian E. Hamilton
• "Is Public Reason Counterproductive?" by Eduardo M. Penalver

Posted by mikki at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok folks, now how many times do we have to slowly and carefully explain that MOST of Christianity's rituals come directly from Paganism? We say it, they don't believe it, and now, oh boy....some are finally taking notice. Heh. What do ya do? You just can't educate some.

Pagan Christianity:
by Jason Pitzl-Waters

George Barna, head of the conservative Christian polling organization The Barna Group, has co-authored a new book that takes a deeper look at traditional Christian practices. The result, "Pagan Christianity", seems almost like a fun-house mirror reflection of the rhetoric you can hear from many modern Pagans. Barna, a Catholic turned conservative evangelical, and advocate for the "house church" movement, sees paganism everywhere in the modern Christian church structure. Did Christian leaders borrow/steal/sanctify elements from ancient pagan culture, philosophy, and religion? Of course they did. Few argue otherwise. Christianity leapt into the cultural and religious vacuum created within the Roman Empire when Constantine, and subsequent emperors, gradually removed the traditional/pagan faiths from power. It is only natural that the assumption of that much power and prestige would alter a previously persecuted minority faith in an overwhelmingly pagan world.

"Pagan Christianity makes an unsettling proposal: Most of what present-day Christians do in church each Sunday is rooted not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Authors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence and extensive footnotes that document the origins of our modern Christian church practices."

Posted by mikki at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've found it quite interesting to watch those who are "anti" ACLU point to how horribly liberal they are, allowing those horrible gay people and those awful pagans to "inflict themselves" upon others. Well looky here at what they're doing this time....

ACLU gets involved in anti-gay T-shirt case :: Naperville Sun :: News:
Indian Prairie School District 204 should allow students to express their sentiments about homosexuality by wearing "Be happy, not gay" T-shirts, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

The ACLU filed a legal brief that supports Neuqua students in their lawsuit against District 204. In its Monday release, the ACLU summarize the conclusion of its brief.

"First, the school's speech policy is unlawful on its face, because it broadly prohibits all speech that disparages protected classes, rather than carefully distinguishing protected speech from unprotected harassment," the release said. "Second, the school last spring should have allowed two students on one day to wear the 'Be happy, not gay' T-shirts."

This case arose two years ago after Neuqua students' varied recognitions of the annual Day of Silence, during which students are allowed to not talk throughout the school day unless doing so interferes with their grades. Sponsored by the school's Gay/Straight Alliance, the day is intended to "echo" the silence that students who are gay face all the time. During the Day of Silence, students often wear written messages on shirts, buttons and stickers showing their support of peers who are gay.

Two years ago, though, Heidi Zamecnik, then a junior at Neuqua, decided to wear the "Be happy, not gay" T-shirt the day after the Day of Silence, which some call the Day of Truth. According to the federal lawsuit Zamecnik filed against Indian Prairie District 204 board and various district and school administrators, she was told she had to remove the shirt or leave school because some students and staff found it offensive.

Zamecnik has since graduated, but the Alliance Defense Fund is still trying to suspend the school's policy on these T-shirts until the federal court case can be settled.

Posted by mikki at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'd personally like to see a lot more information on these experiments and the "modicum of training" necessary to sharpen them. I'm hoping it's not another "for only 200 payments of 19.95 you too can project naked pictures into the minds of 12 year old boys"

Has the military found proof that we are all psychic?:
Dr Chris Roe places a pair of enormous fluffy earphones over the head of a blonde 20-year-old woman. He carefully slices a ping-pong ball in half and places each piece over her eyes. He switches on a red light and leaves the room. After a few moments, the gentle hiss of white noise begins to fill the laboratory and the woman begins smiling sweetly to herself. Images of distant locations start to pass through her mind. She can sense a group of trees and a babbling brook full of boulders. Standing on a boulder is her friend Jack. He’s waving at her and smiling manically. She begins to describe the location to Dr Roe. Half a mile away her friend Jack is, indeed, standing on a boulder in a stream. The woman can "see" Jack in her mind's eye even though all of conventional science – and common sense – says it is impossible. Is this a bizarre coincidence or proof that we all possess hidden psychic powers of the type popularised in such films as Minority Report?

Startling as it may seem, the results of Dr Roe's experiments suggest that it is indeed possible to project your mind's eye to a distant location and observe what is going on - even if that place is hundreds of miles away. In fact, Dr Roe's results suggest that up to 85 percent of people possess the psychic power of clairvoyance – or the ability to remote view in technical parlance. They provide the strongest evidence yet for such psychic powers and may help explain the skills shown by mediums and account for such phenomena as ESP and deja vu. And it would appear that we can all sharpen our psychic skills with only a modicum of training.

Posted by mikki at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unique find in Luxor on excavations in the necropolis of Ancient Thebes:
The find was intact, the tomb of an Egyptian warrior who died 4,000 years ago. A team led by a Spanish archaeologist has discovered the burial chamber of an Egyptian warrior who died four thousand years ago. The tomb discovered in the necropolis is that of Iqer, whose name was found inscribed on the wooden coffin which contained his mummified body. His name means "the excellent" El Mundo says. With him were fivearrows made of reed, with many of the feathers still intact, together with two large bows.

"The archer", buried with his bows and arrows, documents those years of conflict, and reflects a complex and warlike society, which was at the same time sophisticated, cultivated, intellectual and religious," he said. Other important finds the team has made at the site include what is known as the ‘Apprentice Board,’ reported as the first full-frontal portrait of an ancient Pharaoh ever discovered. It dates back to around to 1400 BC and is now on display in the museum at Luxor. They have also found dozens of bouquets of dried flowers tied together with cord, of olive and persea more than 3,500 years old.

Posted by mikki at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Child let off school for Pagan festival:
A primary school allowed a mother to take her child out of lessons to attend a summer festival because the family say they are pagans. Newington Green Primary, in the north London borough of Islington, gave permission for the three-day absence last June after the mother of the six-year-old argued that the child should be allowed to attend the celebrations because of her faith. Paganism, which is based on the belief that there is divinity within all living things, is not generally recognised as an official religion. The family visited the solstice festival that is held each year in Avebury, Wiltshire, near Stonehenge.

"When she asked originally, the school turned her down," a source said. "Then she said she was a pagan and it was a religious festival, and they said OK, because they give other children time off for religious holidays." Jennifer Slocombe, a learning mentor at the school, confirmed that the parent's request had been granted, but said that since the incident there had been a clampdown on absences.

Posted by mikki at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SINGAPORE — A cosmetics line that extolled the virtues of "Looking Good for Jesus" has been pulled from stores in Singapore after a number of complaints from shoppers, according to media reports Tuesday.

Promising to "Redeem your reputation and more," the product line included a "virtuous vanilla"-flavored lip balm and a "Get Tight with Christ" hand and body cream, The Straits Times said.

Wing Tai Retail, which manages the British retailer Topshop, removed the line late last month after receiving complaints.

"These products trivialize Jesus Christ and Christianity," it quoted Nick Chui, 27, one of the complainants, as saying. "There are also sexual innuendoes in the messages and the way Jesus is portrayed in these products."

One product has packaging with the image of Jesus wearing a bright white robe as he looks toward the heavens, while a heavily made-up blonde woman with an arm draped across his shoulder gazes dreamily at his face.

"Why would anyone use religious figures to promote vanity products? It's very disrespectful and distasteful," the report quoted 24-year-old accountant Grace Ong, as saying.

Posted by mikki at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I made a grievous mistake. I posted a comment to the nonfluffypagans list on Live Journal, calling into question the statement that one cannot be a Wiccan unless one has been initiated into a coven with lineage. The claim, of course, being that Gardner was initiated into the "New Forest Coven" and all that is Wicca must come directly from him. Therefore, by "BTW" (British Traditional Witchcraft") standards, there is this strange definition of Wicca that doesn't really make too much sense, and they get to decide who is and is not a Wiccan. I started asking questions (stupid me), and the whole thing kinda dissolved into a "you're a poopy head" match so quickly that I quickly decided it wasn't worth any more effort. Interesting for a group that considers itself "non fluffy."

Anyway, it got me to thinking. We have a religion here that was basically "created" by a guy named Gardner in the late 1940s, drawing upon already existing theology, heavily influenced by Alestair Crowley and Dorothy Valiente. Gardner claims he was initiated by Dorothy Clutterbuck of the New Forest Coven. There is no evidence that she, or the coven, ever existed prior to Gardner's claims. Therefore, there is no evidence that Gardner was ever initiated into "Witchcraft" (which they use interchangeably with Wicca), nor any evidence that he was from a coven with "lineage."

None of that withstanding, Gardner's claim that he merely revived an ancient religion also has no basis in fact. He was the first to use the term "Wicca" to refer to any type of religion, so I suppose it would be like taking something that already existed, say Mormonism, and suddenly deciding to call it "New And Improved Salamander Babble" and declaring it ancient. Just doesn't seem to make much sense.

So who can call oneself Wiccan? Who is a "real" Wiccan? And who gets to decide? If BTWites have their way, only the would be Wiccan. They seem to call the rest of us either "fake" or "Neo-Wiccan" which is rather amusing given a religion that is just over 50 years old. (Please note, I'm not saying there is no such thing as a traditional witch or traditional witchcraft knowledge that may have been passed down over the years in one form or another, but that is not Wicca.) Using BTW as a distinction from, let's say UEW, is not quite good enough, and the label must be tweaked into superior and inferior levels of Wiccanness.

I seem to have a rather strange view of who is and who is not Wiccan. Although there are many different definitions, to me, Wicca is a polytheistic religion (one that truly believes in multiple Gods, not "three that are one," not "all are facets of one big diamond" or "all Gods are one God") that believes in at the duality of Deity, consisting of a male and a female, AND identifies as Wiccan. UEW defines Wicca as any religion that calls itself Wicca, AND believes in a god/force/power/whatever that is either genderless, both genders or manifests as a male/female polarity that we agree to call "the Lord and Lady." AND upholds the Five Points of Wiccan Belief. Those Five Points are the Rede, the Law of Return, the Ethic of Self Responsibility, the Ethic of Attunement, and the Ethic of Constant Improvement. More about that on the UEW Website

What I am trying to point out is that the whole idea of what is and is not "real true Wicca" and who can and cannot call themselves a "real true Wiccan" is a rather strange mishmash. The BTWs seem to say that you can't be Wiccan unless you were initiated (which they can't prove their founder was) into a coven with some sort of lineage (which they can't prove their founder was) regardless of your belief system, regardless of what you believe Deity is, and regardless of how you live your life. I don't understand this. Perhaps I'm missing an important point.

This calls to mind the old Ken-L-Ration commercials where the kid sang "My dog's better than your dog cuz he eats Ken-L-Ration" regardless of whether it makes him fart up a storm and leave dog pooh on your carpet. Some use of "better" I'm not familiar with.

And so, in closing...you BTWs are poopy heads. So there!

Posted by mikki at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Click on the link if you would like the article with all of its many links to interesting topics.

The Wild Hunt Blog: A modern Pagan perspective.:


The New Anti-Paganism

Now that the Democratic party is rushing to publicly embrace God and close the "religion gap" with rival Republicans, and with secularism seemingly on the run (or at least out of fashion), some Christian conservatives are looking towards a new scapegoat that will appeal to their audience: Paganism. While certain segments of Christianity have always been a bit obsessed with "the occult" and other "dark forces" that could imperil one's soul, this new anti-Pagan alignment casts Christians as caring individuals wanting to cure a religious "sickness" caused by an irreligious secular age.

"If you think that secular humanism has become biblical Christianity's most threatening opponent in contemporary society, Peter Jones wants you to think again. He will tell you - politely but emphatically - that you're at least a decade or two behind the curve ... Jones calls it neo-paganism. Around the world, in dozens of shapes, names, and forms, it is winning the allegiance and hearts especially of young people who are already disillusioned with the empty promises of secularism and materialism. The idea of the supernatural no longer bothers or embarrasses them. They want to know there is something more "out there," and they are willing to explore bizarre realities to find whatever it might be."

Much like the evangelical crusade against homosexuality, adherence to a Pagan faith is starting to be seen as a "confusion", a tragic illness caused by a lack of knowledge concerning the "truth" of Christianity. To be cured, one must only hear the truth. So just as yesterday's "vicious sodomites" have become today's young men and women in need of intensive therapy to realize what is "normative", so too have Pagans morphed from Satanic helpers to a collection of over-earnest environmentalists, frustrated feminists, and misguided teens. As this re-alignment has happened, several Christian authors have cast themselves as champions of empathy working to help Christians "understand" Paganism and in turn, guide these poor "spiritually hungry" souls back towards the righteous path.

"Wicca is here and we need to face that," said Sanders, a speechwriter for the U.S. Department of Justice. "We can be threatened by these trends or we can see all of this as a sign that people are hunting for something that is greater than themselves, yearning for spiritual experiences they can call their own. They want to rebel against the secular culture and find a way to get back to nature."

While this emerging anti-Paganism has hardly replaced the vehement anti-secularism you still see within most conservative circles, fringe organizations like WorldNetDaily have devoted quite a bit of time and attention to the matter. Their special anti-Witchcraft publication was handed out freely at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, gaining some mocking mentions from the press.

"The magazine Whistleblower examines 'Why So Many Americans Are Embracing Witchcraft,' and subsequently 'sexing each other in the moonlight while summoning spirits and casting spells.' The magazine's publisher concludes that Christians must never practice yoga, but instead 'serve like an occupying army of love and peace until Jesus comes back to reign as king.'"

This still-nascent trend will only enlarge as modern Paganism continues to make inroads towards the mainstream. As outreach groups try to re-tool their methods in an attempt to stop alienating the younger generations, you can expect more and more attention will be given to the "problem" of modern Paganism's growth. Some of the more dramatic Pagans out there might envision a new "Burning Times", but I think the truth is that you'll instead see loads of propaganda, hand-wringing editorials (won't anyone think of the children), and further attempts to legislate us back underground. In the meantime, I suppose it is something of a compliment to be ranked up there with secularism in the "dangers to Christianity" department.

Posted by mikki at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pagans need exorcisms:


by Jason Pitzl-Waters

The Washington Post's Craig Whitlock reports on the recent rise in popularity of Catholic exorcisms. This new trend, which is taking root in predominantly Catholic areas of Europe, has allowed for a large spike in Church-trained practitioners. This new openness towards training exorcists seems to go hand-in-hand with the Catholic Church's recent traditionalist turn, including loosening regulations for the performance of the Tridentine Mass (aka the Latin Rite), and a more strident tone towards non-monotheistic faiths. Which perhaps explains Rev. Wieslaw Jankowski's guidelines for which demographics most need the rite of exorcism.

"Typical cases, he said, include people who turn away from the church and embrace New Age therapies, alternative religions or the occult. Internet addicts and yoga devotees are also at risk, he said."

In other words, Pagans need exorcisms! But don't worry, we will be in good company, since women who want to get a divorce also seem to need some demons ejected. Is this new trend towards exorcisms a way to engage people in the power of the Church? Reframing all urges towards non-Catholic thoughts and practices as a struggle against evil powers, instead of acknowledging that they may be merely disillusioned with what the traditional monotheisms have to offer? It could be that this new vogue for casting out demons is actually a policy of retention, after all, would you want to leave the Church when you're the focal point for spiritual warfare?

Posted by mikki at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

BBSNews - First Wiccan Chaplain in History To Meet with U.S. Commission on Civil Rights:


BBSNews 2008-02-07 -- (CS) A Wiccan Chaplain and Statewide California Department of Corrections, Patrick McCollum will speak at a briefing on prisoners' religious rights at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Washington, DC on Friday, February 8, 2007. This marks the first time that a Wiccan expert has spoken on religious freedom issues at a Commission briefing.

"It is an honor to be invited to participate in the dialogue and to share a Wiccan's point of view," said McCollum. "Those in minority faiths are seldom given the opportunity to be heard, even when the issue concerns their rights. I am hopeful this invitation is indicative of what we can expect going forward and that there truly is a desire on the part of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to ensure that inmates receive equal treatment, and a willingness to better serve minority religions."

Rev. McCollum has been a member of Circle Sanctuary, an international Wiccan church for nearly thirty years and has been an activist for Wiccan and Pagan civil rights through the Lady Liberty League (LLL) which the church sponsors. He was part of the LLL team which succeeded in getting the US Department of Veterans Affairs to add the pentacle to its list of emblems of belief that can be inscribed on the veteran gravestones it issues.

As LLL's National Coordinator of Prison Ministries, McCollum has worked for inmates rights at state and federal correctional institutions across the nation for more than a decade. Rev. McCollum recently became the Director of Prison Chaplaincy for Cherry Hill Seminary (CHS), which offers graduate level education to Wiccan and Pagan chaplains serving in institutional settings. In addition, McCollum is also chair of the National Correctional Chaplaincy Directors Association.

Other speakers at Friday's meeting include representatives from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, American Civil Liberties Union Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Homeland Security, Office of the Deputy Attorney General as well as the Task Force for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The briefing will be held beginning at 9:30 am on Friday, February 8 at U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 624 Ninth Street NW, Room 540, Washington, DC.

Posted by mikki at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Judge to Navy: Limit sonar training - CNN.com:


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The Navy must follow environmental laws placing strict limits on sonar training that opponents argue harms whales, despite President Bush's decision to exempt it, a federal judge ruled Monday.


A federal judge ruled that the Navy must limit sonar training that some say hurts whales.

The Navy is not "exempted from compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act" and a court injunction creating a 12 nautical-mile no-sonar zone off Southern California, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper wrote in a 36-page decision.

"We disagree with the (exemption) judge's decision," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. "We believe the (exemption) orders are legal and appropriate."

Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Cindy Moore said the military was studying the decision.

The president signed a waiver January 15 exempting the Navy and its anti-submarine warfare exercises from a preliminary injunction creating a 12 nautical-mile no-sonar zone off Southern California. The Navy's attorneys argued in court last week that he was within his legal rights.

Environmentalists have fought the use of sonar in court, saying it harms whales and other marine mammals.

"It's an excellent decision," said Joel Reynolds, attorney for the National Resources Defense Council, which is spearheading the legal fight. "It reinstates the proper balance between national security and environmental protection."

The Navy last week wrapped up a training exercise by the carrier strike group of the USS Abraham Lincoln in which sonar was used. There are currently no task force training exercises off the coast of California using sonar.

When he signed the exemption, Bush said complying with the law would "undermine the Navy's ability to conduct realistic training exercises that are necessary to ensure the combat effectiveness of carrier and expeditionary strike groups."

Said Reynolds: "I've always felt that the president's actions were illegal in this case, and the judge has affirmed that point of view with the decision today

Posted by mikki at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scottish pagan gathering spells worry for some Christians | Ekklesia:


Some Christian groups in Scotland are anxious about druids, wiccans and other traditional religionists from across the UK gathering in a small north-east community this summer, reports the Scotsman newspaper.

The Pagan Federation is intending to hold its first summer camp in Inchberry near Fochabers. The three-day event, scheduled for July 2008, will be a celebration of the ancient religion, which is based on the honouring of the natural order as an expression of the divine.

However a Moray church claims that the meeting may "encourage dangerous dabbling in witchcraft" - an idea which has been described as unfounded and superstitious by those planning to be involved, who point out that their commitment to human and natural well-being is in stark contrast to the popular image of "dark witches and ghouls".

The Rev Graham Swanson of Elgin Baptist Church, told the newspaper: "I have grave concerns and reservations about this event taking place. As a Christian I believe the Bible warns us about dabbling in such things as witchcraft."

But Moray resident Joanne Campbell, who is behind the event, said: "People like to sensationalise our gathering and speculate that we are up to all sorts of strange things. But the reality is that we really just want to get together and socialise with friends and like-minded people. There is nothing remotely sinister about it. In fact it is quite the opposite."

The pagan summer camp will take place between Friday 18 July and Sunday 20 July near the community hall. The event is open to "all witches, druids, shaman and other pagans of good". It will feature an opening ritual" as well as a host of workshops and talks.

Last year the Pagan Federation held its Scottish conference at Edinburgh University, to the annoyance of the evangelical Christian Union there.

Earlier this month, the Pagan Federation described as "a huge stride in interfaith relations" the election of priestess Angie Buchanan to a three-year term as Secretary to the Council of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, one of the world’s oldest and most prominent interfaith organizations.

She is the first Pagan to serve as an officer on the Executive Committee. In October 2007, Andras Corban-Arthen of the EarthSpirit Community in Massachusetts, USA, was elected as a member-at-large to the PWR executive committee.

Along with humanists, pagans in Britain are denied official membership of many inter-faith bodies. The dispute is over the meaning and antecedence of 'belief', and the question as to the representativeness of bodies such as the PF.

Pagans argue that they are a growing tradition with ancient roots who should be recognised in bodies like the Inter Faith Network UK.

While some Christians remain anxious about wiccan, pagan and druid philosophies, others argue that the history of organised Christianity in demonising and suppressing ancient religions is something to repent of.

Posted by mikki at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

10km nearer to heaven, and God still pays no attention:
Canada/Ireland: A Toronto-Heathrow flight had to be diverted to Shannon, Ireland, after the First Officer apparently suffered some kind of breakdown.

A passenger said the pilot was carried from the plane shouting and swearing, saying he wanted to talk to God....
He was very, very distraught. He was yelling loudly at times, he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

He was swearing and asking for God and very distressed. He basically said he wanted to talk to God.

Pilot 'breakdown' diverts flight—BBC News, 30th January 2008.

Posted by mikki at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Catholic upset that nuns are human:

United States: A religious extremist has complained about an advertisement for a Boston gym featuring nuns in a life drawing class. Or more precisely, he complains that the object of his fetishism has been depicted as normal human beings, with human failings, as the Sisters are clearly tempted by the buff young man modelling for them.

C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts told the Herald the ad portrays a callous contempt for the sensibility of Catholics.

Naked-Man Ad Riles Hub Catholics—WCVB TV, 30th January 2008.

Posted by mikki at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)