Source: Star Tribune

On October 31, 2002 the Star Tribune reported that "Halloween is having a tough time hanging on in some Twin Cities schools as parents contend that the scary holiday conflicts with their families' religious beliefs. In religious traditions ranging from conservative Christian to Jewish to Muslim, Halloween is looked down upon among some adherents as a pagan observance or a celebration of evil spirits. Other parents say the real point of Halloween is the candy and the chance for children to pretend they are someone else. Some of the...

Source: beliefnet

Source: Metro West Daily News

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/local_regional/wicca10292002.htm

On October 29, 2002 the Metro West Daily News reported that "the religion of Wicca, or paganism, now draws thousands of teenagers who say it is a healthy, individualistic faith that brings them closer to nature. Sarah Bernardi, a junior at Marlborough High School, was always intrigued by astrology and psychic powers. Bernardi is one of many local...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On October 27, 2002 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "many conservative Christians have stopped celebrating what today is the second -biggest commercial holiday, after Christmas, in America with an expected $6.9 billion in sales of candy, decorations and costumes this year. The anti-Halloween movement has ebbed and flowed in this country, flaring up most recently, experts say, around 20 years ago when reports of razor blades in apples and poisoned candies became more common, not to mention widespread vandalism...

Source: Omaha World-Herald

On October 26, 2002 Omaha World-Herald reported that "Some... conservative Christians, Jews and Muslims, object to [Halloween's] pagan roots. But Halloween, which many Americans will celebrate Thursday, actually has numerous ties to Christian faiths. Halloween has its origins in the pagan celebration of the Celtic New Year, which fell during harvest time, around the beginning of November. The Celts - who lived in what are today the British Isles and France - honored the New Year with several festivals, the most important of...

Source: The Richmond Times-Dispatch

On October 9, 2002 The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that "Cyndi Simpson, a Wiccan, [wanted] to offer an invocation at one of the [Chesterfield, VA] Supervisors' meetings.    Members of other religions give invocations at Board meetings as a matter of routine. But the Supervisors turned Ms. Simpson down, evidently deeming Wicca not the right type of faith. Chairman Kelly Miller termed it a 'mockery,' and Supervisor Renny Humphrey made a crack, wondering whether Ms. Simpson was a good witch or a bad witch."

Source: The Pagan Pride Project

On October 7, 2002 The Pagan Pride Project issued a press release that introduced the media coverage for this year's events.

Source: Ventura County Star

On September 28, 2002 the Ventura County Star reported that "intended as an outreach to Wiccans, Shamans, Druids and followers of other Neo-Pagan religions, the first-time pride fest [in Oxnard, California] was also aimed at teaching outsiders... Most contemporary Pagans celebrate all seasonal changes. They view the autumn equinox as sort of a Thanksgiving -- a time to honor Mother Nature for her contributions in the form of a harvest and to reflect on goals for the coming year."

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On September 25, 2002 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "approximately 200 people gathered at the first Greater Pittsburgh Pagan Pride Day on Sunday at 100 Acre House on 100 Acre Drive. Some women at the Pagan picnic proudly identified themselves as witches. Others said they practiced Wicca, the 'Old Religion' based on pre-Christian religious practices of the Irish, English, French or Italians. Some Pagans base their beliefs on the practices of Druids and ancient Celtic-...

Source: Intelligencer Journal

On September 24, 2002 the Intelligencer Journal reported that "a politician who spoke out earlier this month against pagan beliefs... was credited with bringing a crowd to the forum that featured five pagans talking about their beliefs. 'I want to thank Commissioner Pete Shaub,' said pagan Azar Silverbear, who was a panelist at the forum sponsored by the Alliance for Tolerance and Freedom. 'Without his intolerance, the pagan community wouldn't have gotten the publicity it has recently.' Silverbear's comments were in...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16948

On September 12, 2002 The Associated Press reported that in North Texas, a "Waxahachie High School freshman Rebecca Moreno, suspended for wearing the pentagram jewelry, had been forced to wear it hidden under her blouse in order to return to class... [Rebecca] whose family practices a pagan religion won the right yesterday to wear her pentacle necklace in...

Source: Circle Magazine, Fall Issue

http://www.circlesanctuary.org/circle/fa02/index.html

The fall issue of Circle Magazine reports on a Memorial Ritual for September 11 held at the Pagan Spirit Gathering in Ohio at the Summer Solstice." Among those helping to facilitate the ritual were Pagans who worked at the World Trade Center ground zero site in New York City."

Source: The Associated Press

On August 23, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a federal judge ruled that a prison inmate can sue the [Wisconsin] state Department of Corrections because guards wouldn't let him wear a Wiccan necklace... Michael Grindemann, an inmate at the Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution in Plymouth, said in a complaint that the Corrections Department violated his First Amendment rights by denying him a pentacle — a five-pointed star also known as a pentagram... The Pentacle is a piece of jewelry Wiccans wear around the neck...

Source: LJworld

On August 17, 2002 LJworld reported that "KC Pagan Pride Day 2002, a community festival celebrating its fifth year, will [take place on] Aug. 24 in Lenexa's Shawnee Mission Park, and event organizers expect about 250 people from the region to attend... 'The people that come (to the festival) have always been friendly, and I believe Christians would be made to feel welcome. It's about educating people. Yes, it has a very pagan slant, but the main focus is community,' said the Rev. Duane Marshall, event coordinator. Marshall is a legal...