On 22nd June 1951, 75 years ago, the government of the day repealed the Witchcraft Act, ending centuries of criminalisation of Pagan belief and practice.
Of course, passing laws (or repealing them) doesn’t change the court of public opinion overnight, and since that significant event in 1951, there have been numerous attempts to cast Pagans as criminals engaged in some form of nefarious life. In the late 1960’s an MP tabled a motion to reinstate the Witchcraft Act, and it was that which prompted the creation of The Pagan Federation to provide a response.
One of the founders of the Pagan Federation was Doreen Valiente, often referred to as the mother of modern Witchcraft for her role in the birth of Wicca. Doreen Valiente was able to arrange a meeting with the MP who tabled the motion and was able to reassure the MP who tabled the motion and encourage him to withdraw it.
In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, Britain became convinced that there were secret groups engaged in Satanic Ritual abuse. Many Pagans found themselves evicted from their homes, lost their employment and some even had their children removed and placed in foster care. An independent inquiry proved that the claims of Satanic Ritual abuse were without evidence. But sadly, those who had lost their homes, their jobs, their children had already had their lives upended, many of them never fully recovering.
Time and again, the media would produce articles promoting the notion that Pagans were engaged in antisocial, anti-Christian and possibly illegal activity. In cases of divorce, people would bring lurid tales of sinister activity supposedly linked to Pagan belief into courts in an attempt to deny parental contact. Fictional films would depict witchcraft and Pagan traditions as being engaged in evil to be defeated and sadly, it seems some people believed the fiction was reality.
In our world today, some faith communities experience prejudice, discrimination, hostility and violence towards them because of untruths. Pagans still experience this, although much progress has been made in the 75 years since the repeal of the Witchcraft act. They are exposed to hatred and fear, not to be trusted and to be avoided and excluded. However, there are people who choose to meet with them, to learn about their beliefs and about their lived experiences and ultimately to work with them in the process of correcting misinformation and getting to know ‘the other’. Very often this happens in Interfaith encounters.
For a quarter of a century, I have had the honour and privilege of building friendship with people from faith communities that have depicted Pagans as people to fear, people who were a threat. They have advocated for a better understanding of Pagans within their own faith communities, speaking out against misinformation about Pagan beliefs in the media and in favour of Pagan inclusion and belonging in society.
I find it hard to fully express my gratitude to those who were prepared to reach out to the unknown, the feared, the excluded in order to understand Pagans and, upon gaining an understanding, to challenge untruths. They have been stalwarts in helping Pagans overcome prejudice and hatred.
We still have a long way to go to be fully included, to fully overcome prejudice and hatred, and will continue to engage in Interfaith work and in education and advocacy to that end. But in doing so, we can’t ignore the prejudice and hatred directed towards people from other faith communities. We have some insight into their experiences and how difficult it is to challenge misinformation promoted and fuelled by scapegoating, by fear and mistrust.
Our own experiences should compel us to reach out, to get to know those experiencing prejudice and hostility and to challenge the hate directed towards them. As our friends from other faith communities have done for us, so we should do for others. Our interfaith, education and advocacy efforts can and do include work to support others, to work for a society that includes, that acknowledges a right to belong, that celebrates and seeks to understand our diversity rather than treating difference as a threat.
Mike Stygal
Belief and Education Officer
Contact Mike Here