Religious Freedom and the Constitution: The Summer Solstice Protests in Pahokee, Florida

Sun: 09'Gemini
Moon: 02'Pisces
Waning Moon, approaching Last Quarter



Among other rights, the US Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of religion to all American citizens.  Any religion, none at all - that is the right of the citizen.

The Bible says to love thy neighbor as thyself.  One interpretation of this, in the social-responsibility context, that if you would like to continue to exercise your rights, you must allow and fight for your neighbor to do the same.  I note, however, that the words of Jesus make no mention of categorization or exception: there's no exemption to loving your gay neighbor, even if you don't like the idea of two people of the same sex in a loving, committed sexual relationship with one another.  And there's no exemption to loving your Pagan neighbor, even if you don't agree with their faith.

So I am curious how the good Evangelical Christian folks of Pahokee, Florida justify the bigotry in their own ranks.  Bigotry is a strong word, but take a look at these gems...

• “I just found out about this today. I am disappointed in the city of Pahokee for allowing this group to come,” - Pastor Brad Smith, Florida Director of Kids for Christ.  (Smith called the event “an abomination”)

• “We don’t need this in our town. Not now. Not ever,” - Rev. Raul Rodriguez, of Church of God Door of Jesus Christ.

• “We cannot expect our city to survive and prosper if we allow these things,” - Pastor Eugene Babb, of Harlem Church of God.

• “When I heard about this I immediately began praying,  This event is not only detrimental to our city but to our county.  What goes on at that lake will affect us all; it will move from the dike and into our homes.” - Bishop Jared Hines of New Destiny Community Church.

• “God cannot heal our land if we have witches and warlocks violating our community,” said Evangelist Lillian Brown, of Saints on the Move.

...and consider that every single one of them is a hardline fundamentalist Christian, most likely with no background in or exposure to any faith other than their own.  They don't know anything else.  They certainly don't know what all those they call Witches and Pagans actually do.  But they're willing to categorically reject their Pagan neighbors, now and for all time, based on their preconceived notions and in defiance of the word of their Lord, and they're clearly not willing to learn, so what else does one call them?

How, exactly, does this jive with the one direct order that all four Synoptic Gospels agree Jesus gave His followers?  "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Those five words seem pretty damn straightforward to me.

The Wild Hunt (thank you, Alohi Fyre, for the link!) has a great piece on the limits of Christian tolerance of other faiths, and points out that only one resident was willing to speak out and condemn religious persecution, no matter who it came from or which way it went.

But I, being the contrarian I often am, would like to flip it on its head entirely, I hear very few vocal complaints about it from the Pagans when any local church is running through its liturgy and starts banging on about Exodus 22:18.  You know, that handy-dandy line about "Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live."  I obviously don't advocate for Christians to start actually following every letter of their Book absolutely like they claim to - I really don't care to be stoned to death, as Leviticus calls for at 20:27 (does this mean the Catholics were doing it wrong all through the Middle Ages?)  In fact, I don't really care to be murdered in cold blood for my beliefs, or for anyone else's, and that's exactly what those two lines call for - so by rights, any Witch (Pagan, really, because the Christians don't discriminate within the categories as we do) could take umbrage against the reading of those popular late-October verses, on the grounds that they incite to violence and hate crimes against those who identify (or are identified by the Christian or congregation in question) as witches.  It is, for all intents and purposes, hate speech.

Those two lines, in fact, call for our outright murder and extermination.  No questions asked, no quarter given.  "They don't believe in our God?  Kill them all."  (It is for this reason that Sam Webster of Patheos.com made a very controversial, but very good and thoughtful, post about why one cannot worship Jesus Christ and still call oneself a Pagan.)

But we don't say anything.  "Live ye must and let to live," at the most, even when those of our number are targeted, attacked and terrorized in their own homes.  Our murmurs against it were quiet, even when the New Apostolic Reformation (who spearheaded the draconian anti-gay legislation now in place in Uganda and were heavy political backers of Rick Santorum, John McCain, and Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential elections, and of Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2011, by the way) declared all-out prayer-warfare against us in 2011 (their press release is address "to the pagans" and states, in part, "We release the power of blood-covered light over you.")  Does what we catch from them not count as religious terrorism?  Are we not willing to call it out as black magick, when they pray for us to get sick, or injured, and die?

We don't ask much.  We certainly don't screech to high heaven, as these very same Christians would do if it were even thought that we were trying to infringe upon the practice of their faith in the slightest (such as by calling out their hate speech for what it is, every time it gets repeated) or insult Jesus (as they repeatedly insult Pagan deities and practices - reference above quote stating that an innocent Summer Solstice festival is "an abomination").  All we really ask is that we be let alone to practice our faiths without fear, as the Constitution guarantees: we are more than willing to offer the same terms.  Despite the fury their acts incite in some of our numbers (like me), as a collective we turn the other cheek.

And I, at least, will offer the good Christians of Pahokee, Florida this gentle reminder in the only language which they might understand, since they do not comprehend American Constitutional law at all (though their track record speaks poorly of their Biblical comprehension as well).  Reference Matthew, 7:1-2:

"“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged, since you will be judged in the same judgment that you make, and you will be measured by the same standard you apply.”