CHAMPION INTERVIEW WITH PAT REGAN OVER THE NEW PAGAN HANDBOOK 

August 2008

Southport's press: leading the way, via showing respect and awareness of unorthodox minority rights?

What a refreshing change to see the Pagan minority presented in a positive light by the UK press.

Southport's 'Champion' reporter, Natasha Robson, (Young Journalist of the Year winner) is clearly a journalist with an open mind and an eye for human rights.

PAN's Pat Regan said:

"Meeting Natasha was a delight - this lady will go far. She had arranged to meet me at my home for an interview regarding my latest book - The New Pagan Handbook. We chatted for over an hour and a half and I explained to her many issues surrounding Paganism, its historical  (and ongoing) suppression and the way modern Pagans live in  21st century UK.  Natasha informed me that she wanted to dispel 'misunderstanding' about Pagans and impressed me with her straightforward questions, which I found pleasant to answer.  My latest book is an attempt to set the record straight and give the world an 'alternative' to the bias which we Pagans have faced for many centuries. Church-based oppression of all freethinkers is nothing new and it will of course never go away. It still exists under the surface of so-called 'respectable' society and raises its ugly head whenever the opportunity presents itself. One small example is the negative way that the term 'Witch' is used as an insult to others. As I explained to Natasha, the ruling spiritual orthodoxy of 'any' country will never take lightly to sharing their religious monopoly of the masses with any unorthodox minorities. That is simply the way things are. I also broached on the subject of 'interfaith', explaining that such liaisons were fine between tolerant faith systems, yet not when naive minorities let fundamentalism in by the back door, via crafty missionary outreach tactics. We talked at length about the festivals and customs of Paganism too. Some slight misunderstanding came out however in the article, with Lughnasadh's date being stated incorrectly. I think that it is only fair that I point this minor item out before some perfectionist writes in about it. Natasha obviously wanted to put as much information into her article as possible, yet of course she was limited to available page space. In light of that I think she has done an excellent job. The Champion staff clearly realises that we live in a multi-faith, pluralist society and not one ruled by a single intolerant orthodoxy as other newspapers appear to think. I am frequently amazed that some papers devote whole pages to 'Church news', yet never seem to include any news from 'other' faiths such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism etc. Do the editors of such old-fashioned newspapers not realise how biased this seems to many members of our UK society - whatever happened to equal rights?"

Pat added:

"I explained to Natasha that on one hand Pagans must continue to 'educate' and with the other we need to be vigilant to the ever present dangers of fundamentalism. Contrary to what some may believe, the spectre of the Satanic Ritual Abuse Myth has never really gone away with the hard-line organisations that created the Satanic scare 'still' working behind the scenes and still pumping out their same pernicious,  anti-occultist propaganda. This is NOT just one man's opinion it is a hard fact gleaned from many years of monitoring the situation. I will never fail to reiterate that at the height of the evangelically-created  SRAM - press, police, social services, politicians and leading childcare organisations etc all happily accepted biased//inaccurate data about occultism from religious fundamentalists with  hidden agendas. At the same time vital information, presented in good faith by SAFF and PAN, was largely dismissed out of hand. The result was that the UK taxpayer was forced into forking out hundreds of thousands of pounds to 'help' the gullible authorities in their insane bid to chase mysterious Satanic abusers, that were a figment of evangelical 'messianic' thinking and nothing more. Many innocent families were ruined during dawn raids across the country conducted by police and social workers, acting on the same wacky fundamentalist information. Minus the burning stakes  - the whole sham was reminiscent of the old Burning Times when one could be interrogated, tortured  and killed on the slightest  whim of the orthodoxy. History 'does' repeat itself and we need more modernistic reporters in the media like Natasha, that are aware of equality,  who can appreciate the 'difference' between biased religious/political propaganda and accurate data. In light of this point alone I wish to thank Natasha for her splendid efforts. "

"I must also thank my hard-working publisher Anna Franklin who helped so much to make The New Pagan Handbook a reality. I tend to write impulsively with passion, whilst Anna sorts out the real 'grist' of the matter inserting logic and balance into the issue - as a good publisher should. I would seriously direct any aspiring Pagan authors towards Lear Publishing. "

"On a personal level, my family has been subject to religious bias. Some years ago my wife Cath was negatively targeted (by a leading local politician) in the press when her Pagan spirituality was unnecessarily highlighted in an ordinary hospital cuts campaign.  There was no feasible justification to bring private religious beliefs into the secular arena and this was done, we believe, in a weak attempt to disenfranchise Cath for 'political' reasons. Following this fiasco, a long-standing hate campaign was mounted on a local chartroom by a well-known political activist who has since been discredited for his shameful ongoing internet abuse.  The stress of this despicable situation resulted in Cath having a miscarriage at that time. The persons responsible for this odious prejudice sit at the top of Southport's political tree, yet I shall not lower myself to even mention their names herein. My contempt for their cowardice is well know in our town. This issue was also discussed in the Champion interview at some length. I would ask: are politicians, that still seek to drum up the same old religious hate stereotypes against Pagans,  (or anyone that threatens their political monopoly) fit to hold office in our 21st century society?"

http://www.champnews.com/html/newsstory.asp?id=6902

NB. Natasha Robson won the 'Young Journalist of the Year' award in April at the first O2 Media Awards after entering  six articles she had written during 2007. Natasha has worked at the Champion for a little more than two years. She also has a BA in Journalism Studies from Sheffield University. Presenting the trophy, the judges said: "In an age of froth and spin, Natasha is a genuine chronicler.
Full of passion for truth, energy to see things through, fearlessness in the face of opposition, optimism that she can make a difference,"

The Champion's group editor Rob Doyle commented: "This is a well-deserved honour for a supremely talented journalist. We are all so proud of Natasha and thrilled by her success."

In The New Pagan Handbook Pat Regan explores the origins of Paganism, its suppression and re-emergence and looks at ways modern Pagans can express their spirituality and draw closer to the Old Gods.

Using classical Roman Paganism as a model, this book shows you how to develop rituals and magic to suit your needs. With extensive appendices on symbolism and festivals, The New Pagan Handbook will help you to begin your own Pagan journey.

Book available online from this link:

http://www.merciangathering.com/learbooks/index.htm 

Published by Lear Books

PO Box 12, Earl Shilton, Leics, LE9 7ZZ, UK

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Another interview with Pat Regan can be seen on this link

http://www.southportforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=50386461

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