Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture Michelle Mitchell Florida International University, [email protected]
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Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 11-14-2014 Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture Michelle Mitchell Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI14110747 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Part of the New Religious Movements Commons Recommended Citation Mitchell, Michelle, "Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture" (2014). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1639. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1639 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN A HOSTILE RELIGIOUS CULTURE: CASE STUDY OF A GARDNERIAN WICCAN COMMUNITY A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in RELIGIOUS STUDIES by Michelle Irene Mitchell 2014 To: Interim Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Michelle Irene Mitchell, and entitled Surviving and Thriving in a Hostile Religious Culture: Case Study of a Gardnerian Wiccan Community, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. _______________________________________ Lesley Northup _______________________________________ Dennis Wiedman _______________________________________ Whitney A. Bauman, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 14, 2014 The thesis of Michelle Irene Mitchell is approved. _______________________________________ Interim Dean Michael R. Heithaus College of Arts and Sciences _______________________________________ Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2014 ii ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN A HOSTILE RELIGIOUS CULTURE: CASE STUDY OF A GARDNERIAN WICCAN COMMUNITY by Michelle Irene Mitchell Florida International University, 2014 Miami, Florida Professor Whitney A. Bauman, Major Professor The present study explored a minority oppositional religious culture, which continued practicing despite overt hostilities to their practices. The qualitative research project utilized interviews and observations of the Gardnerian Wiccans in Broward County, Florida. The narrative data were transcribed, coded, and categorized into three themes related to the following research questions: Why would individuals create a secretive religion? Given they had to practice in secret, what about this religion had people seeking out information and joining Covens? What would keep this group together despite opposition from dominant culture? As a microcosm for religious conflict in society, the study showed differences in the culture’s religious paradigm structure as a major factor for religious conflict. iii © Copyright 2014 by Michelle Irene Mitchell All rights reserved. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTERS PAGE I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................... 4 Background and Need ............................................................................................... 5 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................... 12 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 14 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 14 Background Research. ............................................................................................ 14 Summary ................................................................................................................. 23 III. CASE STUDY METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 24 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 24 Settings and Participants ......................................................................................... 25 Measurement Instruments and Procedures ............................................................. 30 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................... 31 IV. PATTERNS, THEORY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................. 34 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 34 Description and Analysis of a Gardnerian Wiccan Ritual ...................................... 38 Summary Conclusions ............................................................................................ 51 Limitations .............................................................................................................. 54 Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................. 55 WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................... 56 Appendix ..................................................................................................................... 59 v I. INTRODUCTION Religion has continually taken the forefront of the world stage as religious tensions play a major part of the unrest not only, in the Middle East but also around the world. According to the International Report of Religious Freedom, provided by the State Department to the U.S. Congress annually, the year 2013 witnessed the largest displacement of religious communities since the report’s inception in 1998. “All around the world, individuals were subjected to discrimination, violence and abuse, perpetrated and sanctioned violence for simply exercising their faith, identifying with a certain religion, or choosing not to believe in a higher deity at all” (US Department of State). The purpose of the report was to inform the U.S. Congress which countries violate major religious freedoms, as well as to detail the U.S policies in those countries which promote religious freedom. For instance, the 2013 report noted that in Pakistan, more than eighty Christians were killed in the Peshawar church bombing by Muslim militants. Yet, the incident motivated other Muslims to create human chains around Christian churches to prevent further bloodshed. In essence, while opposing religious faiths created a violent situation, the same religious attitudes facilitated a way to bridge the gap. The human Muslim chains were voluntary and thus, according to the State Department report, U.S. policies should be directed toward encouraging similar interreligious support (US Department of State). Inside the U.S. borders, the government has not instituted a national report on religious freedom. Instead, in 1993 Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488. The act was created to ensure that the federal government could not curtail religious freedom. The Supreme Court, in 1997, 1 ruled that the act was unconstitutional because the federal government cannot regulate state governments. Yet, many states proceeded to pass similar laws to protect their citizens. However, the problem of religious freedom; that is who has the right to religious freedom and in what manner religious freedom can be displayed is still being played out in the Supreme Court today (Bomboy). In Florida, the tensions between religions played out on a smaller scale as influxes of immigrants with different religious affiliations began moving to Florida in 1950s. For instance, as the Cuban immigrants moved into South Florida they brought with them the religion known as Santeria. Santeria sacrificial practices were offensive to the existing population thus, in 1987: the city of Hialeah banned the use of animals in ritual sacrifices (Kilpatrick). The Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye sued the city for violation of their religious freedom (Kilpatrick). The case against Hialeah reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 where the ban was unanimously overturned on the basis of freedom of religion guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. While the ruling settled the legal issue, social sentiment against Santeria practices remained. While technically Santeria was not a Contemporary Pagan religion, the manner in which the city treated Santeria practitioners was of extreme importance to the Contemporary Pagan community which resided in South Florida. A case which was more important to the Contemporary Pagan community than the case in Miami was north of Broward County in the City of Palm Bay. In 1993, a neighbor observing a Wiccan ritual in a private yard called the city to complain. The city responded to the complaint by citing the homeowner for zone violations. The homeowner brought the matter to the local court with the result that the judge referred the issue back 2 to the city council (Leagle). Eventually, the homeowner negotiated with Christian organizations that held Bible studies on personal property. Appealing to their interests, the homeowners attained the support