11.05.07
EXCLUSIVE: Burning times to be taught in schools
Paganism moved a step further into the mainstream with the announcement yesterday by the Education Minister that attitudes towards witches and witchcraft would be examined and discussed as part of every pupil’s education.
From the beginning of the Autumn 2007 session, teachers will be required to teach about the burning times as part of the history and social studies curriculums. Textbooks are already being updated to include the revised syllabus in their next editions, and interim literature has been prepared which outlines some of the causes and the outcomes of the witch genocide. Millions of men, women and children were executed for following the Old Ways, the most usual form of execution being burning at the stake.
The move comes despite protests by teachers that the new topics will cause uproar, and many have said that they will defy the Government and refuse to teach the lessons.
The inclusion of the Pagan holocaust has angered many Christian leaders who see the teaching of the topic as an attempt to blacken the name of Christianity and undermine the Christian faith today. A spokesperson for the Church of England said that the Church would be making the strongest possible representation to the Government to ask them to retract the decision.   “This completely undermines the work the Church has been doing over the last few centuries to ensure that Britain becomes a truly Christian society. Particularly when there is absolutely no evidence that the Church did anything untoward during the period talked about, other than ensure that the populace remained true to the one true faith. These people (the witches) were damned: “Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live”.
Pagan leaders, however, have welcomed the Government’s decision. A spokesman from the Pagan Federation said, “The burning times is a hideous period in Pagan history, where the worshipping of the old ways was brutally suppressed by the Church. Paganism was driven underground as a result, and we have only a few pockets of families surviving who were able to escape the persecution. Our children have a right to know about this. We have fully co-operated in the construction of the new lessons. This is the one subject on which all Pagan and Druid groups can agree, for once, and which must be told in a fair and balanced manner.”
The King of British Witches, Lord Carlyon of Hogwash, gave an official statement to the effect that the Government’s decision was most likely due to a spell he had cast.
There was surprise on the streets of Britain though, with many parents unaware of the proposed changes.
“I’m absolutely horrified”, said one Plymouth mother. “We’re not devout by any means, but you can’t go teaching about this stuff, it makes them (the witches) sound like they were the victims rather than the evil people they were. I have a 12 year old daughter – there’s no way I’ll stand for her being taught this rubbish”.
In York the reaction was equally appalled. “I’m absolutely gobsmacked”, said one mother who didn’t want to be named for fear of having a spell cast on her. “I can’t honestly believe they’re going to tell our kids that these women were innocent and that witchcraft and paganism are “normal”! These women went to hell, and so does anyone who tries to tell you that this stuff is all right. It’s nothing more than devil worship and I won’t allow my child to be anywhere near it”.
The Government, however, said it had no plans to back down. “We feel that to not teach our children about the holocaust which exterminated entire families and lost so much tradition and knowledge, is a stain on our history which can only be cleansed by teaching the facts. There are a number of Pagan-friendly policies which will be introduced during the coming months, and this is just the beginning”.
A concerned mother said,
May 11, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Won’t somebody PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!!
Gary Glitter said,
May 13, 2007 at 12:01 am
Way ahead of you!!
Dave said,
July 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Hmph.
Think of the children? That’s just what we pagans are doing!
The “concerned mother”‘s comments sound all too like the usual error xtians make – associating witchcraft with satanism, and using that misassociation as an excuse for suppression.
Bottom line – satan is something the xtians invented. And as far as I – and most other witches I know – are concerned, he’s something the xtians are welcome to keep all for themselves.
Witchcraft is a religion of nature worship, reaching out to our Goddess & God through the use of magic, trance and meditation and guided by the Wiccan Rede – do what you will, as long as as it harms none. There is no place for xtian theology, xtian deities or xtian devils within it. How can we worship something that doesn’t exist?
The issue here is true education vs. the continuation of centuries of xtian brainwashing that the “concerned mother” seems to be suffering from.
Dave.
laura conway said,
October 3, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I asked a teacher at my sons school today why they dont teach paganism, and she looked at me horrified and said it was against the schools policies!
How can I find out if it really is against a particular schools policy…and why do they celebrate halloween (sahmain) at schools, by making witches hats and drawing witches on broomsticks etc?
I realise that halloween night is just good fun for the children..but it made me want to ask the teacher about the subject of teaching faiths in the school…
It is very damn obvious that witches do not fly around on broomsticks or besoms as we witches/wiccans call them, they’re used for a totally different reason, but teachers dont seem to be prepared to tell the children this…so why teach a child to be so ignorant of a very real and natural faith?
I think its terrible how they seem to ‘cherry pick’ what they teach our children…in the bible jesus was supposed to have turned water into wine…isnt that magick???
And jesus rising from the dead?? and this is taught to our children??? That is ridiculas…
Maybe Jesus ‘the man’ really did exist.. Maybe he was a good man and only wanted to do good…
———————————————–
I do think some schools are very discriminatory.
Would any school in the UK, dare to give children untrue facts about these other faiths such as the Muslim faith and Buddhists and be so disrespectful? I do not think they would…
Are these schools choosing to be ignorant about paganism? Why dont the schools themselves, teach ‘the teachers’ about pagansim and maybe they will see that it is way of life, which encourages people to be tolerant of each other, be kind caring and have respect for nature and the world we live in, and most importantly harm none!
Why cant we have a proper multi-faith country, where our children, in the most important years of their lives, are wise and able to live in peace and harmony with their neighbours, no matter what their cultural background is!!!
Bright Blessings
)
Laura
Ashbeth said,
October 5, 2007 at 10:24 am
>where our children, in the most important years of their lives, are wise and able to live in peace
>and harmony with their neighbours, no matter what their cultural background is!!!
Ironically enough, this is part of the reason some chose home schooling.
But then again if you’d seen my neighbours you wouldn’t want anyone’s
kids living with them, however harmonious it was, really, a very poor example to any life
form, let alone kids.
A Donovan said,
October 12, 2007 at 1:05 am
Quote:
Witchcraft is a religion of nature worship, reaching out to our Goddess & God through the use of magic, trance and meditation and guided by the Wiccan Rede – do what you will, as long as as it harms none’
Unquote
No it’s not
Not all Wiccans are witches and most assuredly not all witches are Wiccan and follow the rede or threefold law.
Me for instance.
Witchcraft, with it’s herb-lore, practical magic (yes, it’s spelt without a ‘K’) and all the other sundry intracacies was around way before the reconstituted Wicca was even thought up with all its initiations and “We’re from and Eight Generation Coven” malarky.
P**s off some of the witches I know out there and they would hex you ’til you glowed, honey, and not care one bit about “an’ it harm none”.
I know pigeon-holes are nice neat places to keep things but we don’t all belong in one.
Oh, and with all due respect the “concerned mother” comment was, I believe, what is commonly known as a joke.
A concerned mother said,
October 12, 2007 at 4:57 am
Quote.
Oh, and with all due respect the “concerned mother†comment was, I believe, what is commonly known as a joke.
Unquote.
This is no joking matter, our children need to be protected.
I think it is a dishdrace that time is wasted on teaching this sort of thing when what they should be learning is reading and writing and important stuff like that.
A Donovan said,
October 14, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Quote
I think it is a dishdrace that time is wasted on teaching this sort of thing when what they should be learning is reading and writing and important stuff like that.
Unquote
Ah, you mean things like spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax.
They were obviously teaching nothing but Pagan studies at the school you attended.
Exactly what do “our children need to be protected” from?
Indoctrination?
Paganism, with all it’s diversity, is not an evangelical religion, unlike Christianity and Islam, who both plainly state that you can’t get into their version of heaven without following their path.
Hinduism, Taoism, Shintuism, Buddhism and Sikhism are all considered to be Pagan religions by the mainstream too. Why should “our children” need protecting from them?
If the knee-jerk reactionaries and other sheep that follow blindly what some so-called newspapers tell them are so “concerned”, they should probably try finding out for themselves what they are “concerned” about.
Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Pagans were resident in Britain, Europe, America, Africa, Australia and Asia long before the Christians invaded them and imposed their belief systems there.
Go away and learn some things.
Here’s a start for you:
Quote:
Nor were witches secret pagans serving an ancient Triple Goddess and Horned God, as the neopagans claim. In fact, no witch was ever executed for worshiping a pagan deity. Matilda Gage’s estimate of nine million women burned is more than 200 times the best current estimate of 30,000 to 50,000 killed during the 400 years from 1400 to 1800-a large number but no Holocaust. And it wasn’t all a burning time. Witches were hanged, strangled, and beheaded as well. Witch-hunting was not woman-hunting: At least 20 percent of all suspected witches were male.
The vast majority of burning at the stake victims were executed for the “crime” of Heresey and an awful lot of them were, in fact, Christian Protestants.
Unquote.
One last little reminder for anyone who wants it.
NOT all Pagans are Witches, NOT all witches are Wiccans and NOT all newspapers tell the truth.
A Donovan said,
October 15, 2007 at 11:42 pm
A message for ‘Dave’
I apologise for the remark i made about by the ‘concerned mother’ being a joke.
This person is obviously one of those who had the misfortune of having had a sense of humour bypass.
Please accept my apology
A concerned mother said,
October 16, 2007 at 12:00 am
My sense of humour is perfectly intact thankyou.
Time Torrent said,
October 16, 2007 at 4:51 am
** COMMENT REMOVED :: REASON – ABUSIVE **
Time Torrent said,
October 16, 2007 at 5:00 am
** COMMENT REMOVED :: REASON – ABUSIVE **
A Donovan said,
October 17, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Quote:
My sense of humour is perfectly intact thankyou.
Unquote
I’m very pleased for you. Now, why not take it out of the box where it’s “perfectly intact” and give it an airing?
It’s a shame that you only thought to comment on my most recent post and not the one prior to that.
Although, it’s not unexpected as that is the way most sheeple do behave when confronted with facts that don’t fit into their prejudices.
It would be nice to think you’ve learned something, wouldn’t it?
As a “by the way”. If as “a concerned mother” you are against Pagan things being taught to your offspring, why are you even on this board?
Aren’t you afraid we might contaminate you and your precious offspring would then need protecting from you?
PS. The phrase “Thank You” contains two separate words. The Pagan studies must have really interferred with you schooling.
*Wanders off whistling the tune from The Archers*
A concerned mother said,
October 17, 2007 at 11:40 pm
la la la, i’m not listening.
barry heath said,
March 30, 2008 at 5:31 pm
bygum! aint this a todo? Who is next for burning at the stake, given the water test, hung-drawn-and quartered?
Dont knock me for my bad English, cos ah dunt give a ….!
Just believe what you want to believe…FREEEDOMM!
Ayup! that might be a magic word? Well it is for me. I can find a cathredral in a wood, a hymn from bird song, a chatterbox minister in a squirrell..(talks more sense!) And my dog Ben tells me he loves me more than ANY human ever could. I’m an old codger, listened, pondered, laughed and cried cursed and loved, done wrong done good. Raised a very large family, finished up we abaht 14 great-grand children (only had 10 kids!) Love em all. Oh, just for an hobby i paint and write plays. And, YES my wife does love me! She’s the best! Reckon i’ve got one foot on the bottom rung of that ladder…Bloomin heck! ..it’s a long way up to next un!
Sit down a minute owd lad, pick your nose-scratch yer bum an think onit….Giz a hand up!
andreas said,
May 14, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I moved to a small Ontario Canada town a few years ago. Here in Ontario the Separate Catholic Schools get public funding, and by law their mandatory religion classes must teach all religions in a fair and unbiased manner. However, the one religion they refuse to teach is paganism — which they tell the students is the sacrifice of animals and children. I was livid when I heard this from year 12 students and contacted the local school directly. After dialoguing with the principal and religion teacher, in a calm manner, I was somewhat shocked the following day to be told by my landlord that my lease would not be renewed. I also lost my job, and when I went to the federal employment centre in that same town, the counselor suggested I join a church. Finances were getting bad and I ended up needing to use the local food bank. The first and only time I went, I was told I needed to have a minister or priest sign off on my eligibility. Needless to say, I moved elsewhere. In small Ontario towns, the Catholic church rules.