How can a school be allowed to sack somone for being a witch and telling the truth>?

Question

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1254780,00.html

How can christains and muslims be allowed to teach given their relgions appauling record of abuse and mass murder yet somone with a wicca relgion gets sacked for being part of the most peaceful relgion on earth and most into equal rights.


And telling the truth about abuse from mainstream relgion

Answer 1

Reading the link, sounds to me as though it wasnt her belief that got her the sack.

Answer 2

First, I'm not Wiccan but rather a High Priest of the Old Religion (Wicca and the Old Religion are not the same) and a male witch. With that in mind the only opinion I have is this: In reading the story we're primarily seeing one side of the issue; the teachers side. Given she was a reading teacher, the story espoused that she was teaching her class about the Salem Witch Trials. Also keeping in mind this occurred in England and I don't know their laws governing Church and State only that the last Anti-Witch laws were abolished in the early 1950's when Gardner created Wicca.

If there were laws on the books of England that say you cannot blend Church and State then she clearly violated those laws if she discussed the trials and how religion was used to judge. Remember that we see the separation issue all the time here in America. As a tolerant Pagan I have to keep in mind if I expect Wicca or any other Pagan religion to be taught or to be the subject of lecture then I would expect Christianity to be shed in the same light of education. Since many Pagans seem to have a problem with Christianity in our public schools they should then have the same problem with Paganism being in our public schools.

In closing, it's best to hear from both sides of the issue before rushing to judgement. If we are truly about equal rights then we wouldn't be rushing into this blinded by assumption.

Answer 3

It is an unlawful employment practice to fail to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of an employee unless it would result in an undue hardship on the employer. This coverage protects members of traditional religions as well as those who have moral or ethical beliefs concerning what is right and wrong which are sincerely held with the strength of traditional religious views. Questions about the religion of an applicant or unavailability due to religion before a job offer is made is a violation of the law. Only after a job offer has been made can questions about religion be asked, and even then the employer must prove a business necessity for doing so.

On a personal note, I think if she can prove she was terminated due to her religious beliefs, not because she was an unwelcome or unwanted employee than good for her, she may have a case. If she was terminated for other reasons as the article implies she may have been, she's going to have a tough time. And I agree, peace and tolerance are main focuses of Wicca - though mainstream society does not realize this. There is always someone who says...oh so you're a devil worshipper huh?

Answer 4

I think people get confused between Wicca/witchcraft and Satanism. Historically, the Christian response to any other form of worship, whether we're talking about Islam or a wise woman in an isolated village, was that if you didn't follow the Christian God you were evil and by definition had to be doing the work of Lucifer.

Christ himself seems to have been less interested in persecuting non-worshippers and the imposition of Christianity by force, and more interested in the choices individuals made for themselves (an approach most Wiccans would recognise). Sadly, between then and now the Church went through a long power-hungry phase, and used the accusations of Satanism that could be leveled at any non-Christian to deny the simple people access to their wise men and women, consolidating such power to themselves instead. As they did so, they programmed the notion of non-Christian worship being the same as evil Satanism into the very fabric of Western society.

This distorted view continues to this day - see the fuss over Harry Potter (which never mentions religion of any kind and instead treats wizard powers as a talent which then has to be trained, like being a gifted singer, painter or athlete) in fundamentalist parts of America.

The result is that it is easy to attach an 'evil Satanist' label to anyone who does not worship the Christian God, and this has been the excuse used for centuries of violence and oppression. For this reason, even now Christians are wary of any other form of worship - they have been taught for centuries to think of it as evil and Satanist. Islam fares slightly better than witchcraft, only because Islam is an organised mass religion whereas Wicca is a much more personal type of belief where practitioners may be alone or in small groups. Islam thus has the political power to make a unified statement that must be taken seriously, and they have been able to stand up for themselves as a group.

The irony is, of course, that Satanism is really an offshoot of Christianity - one must believe in the Christian God if one is going to follow one of his fallen angels. Satanists believe in the Christian God - they have to if they are going to choose to follow His enemy. By definition, Satanists are a subset of Christian belief and have nothing to do with witchcraft and Wicca at all.

If your friend has been dismissed merely because of his/her beliefs, then there is likely to be much that can be done in law. The article, however, mentions a number of other issues which may well be more serious than the witchcraft one. While it will be the witchcraft aspect of the story that will be the main thrust of the media, I suspect that any unfair dismissal hearings will be looking at issues of behaviour rather than belief.

Answer 5

Well, because this is not about true or false, this is simply about an employer exercising his right (rightly or wrongly) to sack an employee he does not like:

No matter if we agree or disagree with the Wicca, fact is that a school is an employer and therefore can sack staff if they are not obeying the "corporate" policy.

It's like at our jobs: We may think what we like, but he he who pays us, owns the moral (already Bert Brecht said), and as long as we work for someone, we will have to stick to what they want us to say and what not, weather we love it or hate it.

Answer 6

I think many people hear the word witch and immediately think of the wicked witch of the west stereotype. The unknown is scary to these people and I wish they would take the time to learn about the religion before passing judgement.

Answer 7

Christians have historically been opposed to all other religions since the Church was founded. It's a very intolerant
faith,with a lot of intolerant followers.

Answer 8

I think most people think of Witches as evil old hags that fly around on broomsticks etc. It is wrong I agree, how many Witches start wars and blow up innocents?. Funny old world we live in

Answer 9

Unfortunatly I am not surprised. I pick and choose who I tell about my religion. My parents and my in-laws have no idea. My in-laws are Catholic.=)

Wicca and the other pagan religions are so misunderstood. The Pagan religions are one of the fastest growing religions in the US.

Answer 10

"How can a school be allowed to sack somone for being a witch and telling the truth?"

They shouldn't be allowed. And I'm not wiccan, I'm catholic.