This is worthy of a whole spiel as it is offensive in each and every way I can imagine. This is beyond disgusting . . . Judge: Parents can’t teach pagan beliefs . . . a judge has interfered with the rights of a couple to teach their child their religious beliefs. No, these people are not Satanists or cat killers or some weird violent cult . . . they are Wiccans . . . anyone with any slight understanding of what Wicca is know it is a peace loving religion that preaches respect of others and of nature. It is one of the gentlest religions one can imagine (well, as long as you are talking about Wicca and not that silly ritualitstic stuff that gets passed off as it via television and the like).

Sure, Wicca is often equated to witchcraft and the craft is highly integrated into the belief system of Wiccans, but we’re not talking about child sacrifice or demon worshipping or sex with red-assed monkeys as one might expect from the unfair and incorrect portrayal of the religion.

Even if Wicca were all the terrible things it is sometimes portrayed as by folks who don’t know their asses from a hole in the head, it doesn’t matter as long as the parents are only teaching the myths and beliefs and do not practice unsafe rituals or endanger public or personal health, safety, or welfare . . . if the fucking Nazis and KKKers and worse have a right to teach their children all that nasty and screwed up hatred or if Republicans have the right to pollute the minds of their children with the bullshit ideologies of their beliefs, then Wiccans have the right to teach their own children.

Sheesh.

Both parents want the kid to be Wiccan but the judge says that since the kid goes to a school where most folks believe something else he’ll just be confused so the school should be the religious standard. Bullshit. Bullshit. and Bullshit!

This is all just plain offensive. Those of you in or near Indianapolis, please write the local papers and petition to have this judge’s wrong-headed bigoted ruling pulled immediately.

Whether or not you are Wiccan, pagan, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or Subgenius, this ruling should offend you. As a parent, I am deeply offended. I get very testy when a teacher tries to tell my daughter what she should or shouldn’t believe when it comes to religion and I certainly would not stand for a judge trying to tell me what is or isn’t within my rights when it comes to freedom of relgion and the raising of my child. This ruling is just plain . . . WRONG . . . with a capital backasswardness:

An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge’s unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to “non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals.” The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth. Challenging the court: Thomas E. Jones Jr. says a judge’s order tramples on his and his ex-wife’s constitutional right to share their religious beliefs with their son. What is Wicca? Wicca is not a centralized religion but a belief system observed by 50,000 Americans that is recognized by reference texts such as the U.S. Army Chaplain’s Handbook. Wicca is related to European tribal nature worship. Wiccans regard living things as sacred and often show a concern for the environment. They do not worship Satan, but some cast “spells.” Some worship in the nude as a sign of attunement with nature. The core value of Wicca states, “As it harm none, do what you will.” Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple’s divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion. Bradford refused to remove the provision after the 9-year-old boy’s outraged parents, Thomas E. Jones Jr. and his ex-wife, Tammie U. Bristol, protested last fall. Through a court spokeswoman, Bradford said Wednesday he could not discuss the pending legal dispute. The parents’ Wiccan beliefs came to Bradford’s attention in a confidential report prepared by the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau, which provides recommendations to the court on child custody and visitation rights. Jones’ son attends a local Catholic school. “There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones’ lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages,” the bureau said in its report. But Jones, 37, Indianapolis, disputes the bureau’s findings, saying he attended Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis as a non-Christian. Jones has brought the case before the Indiana Court of Appeals, with help from the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. They filed their request for the appeals court to strike the one-paragraph clause in January. “This was done without either of us requesting it and at the judge’s whim,” said Jones, who has organized Pagan Pride Day events in Indianapolis. “It is upsetting to our son that he cannot celebrate holidays with us, including Yule, which is winter solstice, and Ostara, which is the spring equinox.” The ICLU and Jones assert the judge’s order tramples on the parents’ constitutional right to expose their son to a religion of their choice. Both say the court failed to explain how exposing the boy to Wicca’s beliefs and practices would harm him. Bristol is not involved in the appeal and could not be reached for comment. She and Jones have joint custody, and the boy lives with the father on the Northside. Jones and the ICLU also argue the order is so vague that it could lead to Jones being found in contempt and losing custody of his son. “When they read the order to me, I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ ” said Alisa G. Cohen, an Indianapolis attorney representing Jones. “Didn’t the judge get the memo that it’s not up to him what constitutes a valid religion?” Some people have preconceived notions about Wicca, which has some rituals involving nudity but mostly would be inoffensive to children, said Philip Goff, director of the Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “Wiccans use the language of witchcraft, but it has a different meaning to them,” Goff said. “Their practices tend to be rather pacifistic. They tend to revolve around the old pagan holidays. There’s not really a church of Wicca. Practices vary from region to region.” Even the U.S. military accommodates Wiccans and educates chaplains about their beliefs, said Lawrence W. Snyder, an associate professor of religious studies at Western Kentucky University. “The federal government has given Wiccans protection under the First Amendment,” Snyder said. “Unless this judge has some very specific information about activities involving the child that are harmful, the law is not on his side.” At times, divorcing parents might battle in the courts over the religion of their children. But Kenneth J. Falk, the ICLU’s legal director, said he knows of no such order issued before by an Indiana court. He said his research also did not turn up such a case nationally. “Religion comes up most frequently when there are disputes between the parents. There are lots of cases where a mom and dad are of different faiths, and they’re having a tug of war over the kids,” Falk said. “This is different: Their dispute is with the judge. When the government is attempting to tell people they’re not allowed to engage in non-mainstream activities, that raises concerns.” Indiana law generally allows parents who are awarded physical custody of children to determine their religious training; courts step in only when the children’s physical or emotional health would be endangered. Getting the judge’s religious restriction lifted should be a slam-dunk, said David Orentlicher, an Indiana University law professor and Democratic state representative from Indianapolis. “That’s blatantly unconstitutional,” Orentlicher said. “Obviously, the judge can order them not to expose the child to drugs or other inappropriate conduct, but it sounds like this order was confusing or could be misconstrued.”
The couple married in February 1995, and their divorce was final in February 2004.
As Wiccans, the boy’s parents believe in nature-based deities and engage in worship rituals that include guided meditation that Jones says improved his son’s concentration. Wicca “is an understanding that we’re all connected, and respecting that,” said Jones, who is a computer Web designer. Jones said he does not consider himself a witch or practice anything resembling witchcraft.
During the divorce, he told a court official that Wiccans are not devil worshippers. And he said he does not practice a form of Wicca that involves nudity. “I celebrate life as a duality. There’s a male and female force to everything,” Jones said. “I feel the Earth is a living creature. I don’t believe in Satan or any creature of infinite evil.”

Yes, the couple are divorcing and, yes, sometimes couples will use religion as a point of contention . . . but, in this case, both parents are Wiccan and it is the judge who is saying they can’t teach their child to be Wiccan . . . he never would have had this power if there was no divorce. So, why is he abusing it now? The only reasonable conclusion is that the judge is close-minded regarding their religious beliefs (their practice is not one of the forms that employ nudity and they certainly aren’t devil worshippers). You may have noticed that I’m a bit hot under the collar on this one . . . with some uncharacteristic word choices in my post . . . that’s because I find this ruling to be offensive to the very core of my being. I believe very very powerfully in freedom of religion and practice and in the government being separate from religion and in public education not being used as a means for promulgating religious dogma. This is the government, through judicial overstepping, mandating religious beliefs . . . and that is WRONG with a capital WRONG.