(OPINION) The Washington Post published an article from religion and witchcraft journalist Heather Greene detailing how “aggressive and even dangerous” Christian protesters have been harassing gatherings of witches and wiccans across the United States this year.
In her piece, Greene – who has authored books about witchcraft, including her latest, “Lights, Camera, Withcraft: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television” – wrote about these “unwelcome guests” that have been annoying witchcraft groups since pandemic restrictions have ended.
“As widespread immunity and milder coronavirus strains have spread across the United States, pagans and witches, like their neighbors, have begun to gather more freely this summer at annual community events after two years of relative isolation. So have some unwelcome guests,” she reported.
Describing these Christians as a nuisance to witches and occultists just trying to have their fun, she continued, “Street preachers and Christian protesters have long been a fixture of Earth-based religions’ gatherings as they try to distract and deter people from enjoying what are typically outdoor festivals and ritual gatherings.”
Though it’s worse “this year,” Greene added, “But this year, some attendees say, these opponents of witchcraft and paganism have become more aggressive and even dangerous.”
The author quoted Starr RavenHawk, “an elder and priestess of the New York City Wiccan Family Temple and organizer of WitchsFest USA,” who observed “’30 [evangelists] this year’” outside of her July festival.
RavenHawk mentioned to Greene that seeing the occasional Christian “disrupter” at these events was routine, but now “the groups that have appeared this year ‘aren’t just protesting.’ She added, ‘They are collectively at war with us. They made that clear.’”
Describing their “war” tactics, RavenHawk said “the evangelists and street preachers walked through WitchsFest, holding up signs and preaching through amplifiers. By the day’s end, their presence had caused class cancellations and vendor closings.”
As Greene reported, these wiccans and witches don’t have “formal networks of houses of worship and often living far from fellow practitioners” so they “depend heavily on assemblies with names such as Pagan Pride and Between the Worlds to share information and camaraderie.”
“While some are held inside conference centers or in hotel ballrooms, summer events tend to be visible and hard to secure,” Greene added. And when these summer events are secured, Christian preachers make a scene. “In 2016, Nashville Pagan Pride Day was visited by street preachers Quentin Deckard, Marvin Heiman, and Tim Baptist, who marched through the event with signs, Bibles, and a bullhorn. In 2017, the Keys of David church protested Philadelphia Pagan Pride Day,” the author reported. (Fox News)
