Witches' war with church for kids' souls

Sunday Herald, The, Aug 6, 2000 by Neil Mackay

Christians see it as a battle between good and evil for the souls of Britain's children, while Pagans see it as a war against blinkered and reactionary fundamentalists who want to stamp their authority over the minds of the British people. In reality, it's just a ruckus between a bunch of tree-huggers who like to get nude and frolic around in the woods and some seriously dour members of the religious right.

Britain's Christians have fired the first shot in the battle against the country's ever-growing community of practising witches. Evangelical believers and fundamentalists now believe the forces of light and the powers of darkness are lined up against each other for a final show-down. The ranks are filled with a host of characters ranging from Harry Potter and Sabrina the Teenage Witch to Satan and the Lord Jehovah.

Witchcraft has come out of the shadows and is entering British society as a viable alternative lifestyle. The Pagan Federation, an umbrella group which represents druids, shamans, witches and high priestesses, is now receiving up to 1000 calls a week. And with more than 120,000 members, being Pagan hardly consigns practitioners to the wacky /sinister fringes of society.

But Christians don't like it, particularly as their congregations are plummeting. They claim up to 100 teenagers are contacting the Pagan Federation a month and risk being lured into a world of spiritual bankruptcy. However, the federation dismisses the claims, saying that it has a strict policy preventing anybody under the age of 18 joining.

The war has already claimed one casualty - Ralph Morse, an Essex schoolteacher who worked as the Pagan Federation's youth officer. Earlier this year, he was suspended from his job after attacks on his role by the Reach Out Trust, a Christian group which helps people involved with the occult. Spokesman Doug Harris said: "Paganism opens you up to a supernatural power that cannot be controlled. It's dangerous to encourage young people."

Morse is now being re-instated after saying that he did not promote Paganism to young people but merely reacted to enquiries from teenagers. The federation described his treatment as "religious discrimination". Andy Norfolk, official spokesman for the group, said: "Surely it's better that someone like Ralph gently explains Pagan issues to kids, and doesn't try to encourage them to join any organisation, rather than youngsters going to get information from less scrupulous sources."

The religious right has launched a new offensive. Youthwork, a magazine for Church youth leaders, is to publish an article next month claiming British teenagers are under siege from the forces of evil.

John Buckeridge, who edits the magazine, says teenagers experiment with Paganism are opening themselves up "to dangerous occult links". Youthwork also claims that television shows such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Buffy The Vampire Slayer are playing their part in corrupting youth. "If kids watch Sabrina they will learn the rituals of the occult and that could open a doorway to danger," says Buckeridge.

Buckeridge even blames the rise of witchcraft on the Spice Girls, claiming that "girl power" encourages many young girls to experiment with Paganism because of the powerful role women have in Pagan religions.

Other culprits include the teen magazine Mizz which has a "spooky" section devoted to articles about tarot cards and crystals. Harry Potter author JK Rowling also comes in for some flak. "On one level it's just a good read," says Buckeridge, "but on another level it's softening the path for Paganism to become part of mainstream society."

Buckeridge is a 42-year-old Evangelical Christian linked to the charismatic movement, parts of which have carried out ceremonies featuring talking in tongues and fainting when the spirit of God is said to move into their bodies.

"All I'm saying is that Paganism can seriously damage your spiritual and psychological health," said Buckeridge.

According to the Pagan Federation, Dennis Wheatley, the author of black magic novels, and the alleged Satanist Aleister Crowley, who scandalised Britain in the 1920s, were partly to blame for the bad press affecting the Pagan revival.

Said Norfolk: "People think such silly things about us because they believe everything Dennis Wheatley wrote was true and they think we are all like Aleister Crowley, who was really just a libidinous junkie.

"Paganism is a nature-based religion. We venerate life, we have no intention of trying to gain power over others.

"We use rituals just as the Christian church uses prayer. Catholics light candles and we light candles. Christians call to God for help and we call to our gods for help. We, however, have no rigid dogma or hierarchy.

"It would be a lot more beneficial for Christians to just leave us alone so we can get on with our lives. Our central principle is to respect all creatures. The Christian God is supernatural and so are our gods. So what's the difference? How can it be okay to dabble in Christianity but not in Paganism?