A Florida school district is shutting down its “Witchy Wednesday” morning program following complaints from Christian students that it unfairly promoted Paganism and witchcraft.
The mid-week announcements were dreamed up by students at West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Florida, offering tidbits on all things mystical, from moon phases to incense burning. One program even walked students through casting a so-called “spell of enlightenment.”
But after Christian students cried foul – and demanded equal time to share their own beliefs – “Witchy Wednesday” was finished almost as soon as it began.
Witchy Wednesday
“Good morning, witches,” opened the September 10 “Witchy Wednesday” program. “I am here to guide you through your magical midweek journey every Wednesday,” the announcer read, before informing students on when the next full moon is and launching into their first ever 'Witch Tip Spotlight’.
The programs were originally filmed and uploaded to YouTube and were piped into classrooms every Wednesday morning, though none of the programs are viewable any longer. That’s because members of the West Orange High School community reached out to Liberty Counsel, a conservative watchdog group, who sent the school a letter urging them to change the program – and quick.
The Inevitable Legal Pushback
Citing recent Supreme Court precedent in Mahmoud v. Taylor (which requires religious students an opt-out for school instruction clashing with their faith), Liberty Counsel urged the school to provide Christian students the option to opt-out of hearing the morning “Witchy Wednesday” announcements.
They went further, however, invoking the infamous praying coach Supreme Court case – Kennedy v. Bremerton School District – to insist that if witchcraft programming was allowed, equal time for Christian students to present their faith must be offered as well.
Faced with the threat of legal escalation or massive alterations to the program, the district chose the path of least resistance: shutting “Witchy Wednesday” down entirely.
A Brief History of Witch Hysteria
The cancelation of "Witchy Wednesday" is just the latest chapter in America's complicated and hostile relationship with witchcraft.
The story of witch persecution in America begins most infamously with the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. In Puritan New England, fear of the devil mixed with strict Christian teachings created the perfect storm for mass hysteria. In less than a year, accusations of witchcraft spread rapidly throughout colonial Massachusetts, fueled by a belief that witches were in league with Satan and sought to undermine the Christian community. Women were often targeted - particularly women who practcied herbalism, folk healing, or spiritualism outside of mainstream Christian tradition. Before the frenzy subsided, more than 200 people had been accused, and at least 25 were executed or died in jail. These trials stand as one of the darkest chapters in American religious history, a vivid reminder of what can happen when religious zeal collides with fear and suspicion.
Far from a thing of the past, fears over witchcraft exist even today. Just as Puritans once saw witches as Satan’s agents threatening their godly community, modern critics of Harry Potter saw author J.K. Rowling’s fictional witches and wizards as undermining biblical authority. Churches across the country held book burnings, pastors warned parents that spells described in the novels could summon demonic forces, and schools faced pressure to remove Harry Potter from their libraries. Though the stakes were no longer life or death, the outrage showed how deeply witchcraft, whether practiced, suspected, or imagined, still has the power to trigger moral panic in a nation where Christianity has long dominated public life.
The Role of Faith in the Classroom
The quick rise and fall of “Witchy Wednesday” raises bigger questions about the role of religion in schools.
Should public schools allow students to share spiritual or religious content during announcements, or does that blur the line between education and endorsement of belief? And was “Witchy Wednesday” really a serious exercise in the Pagan faith… or just kids having some spiritual fun?
But perhaps most importantly: should schools be spaces where religion and spirituality are openly discussed, or should the classroom remain a strictly secular zone?
What is your reaction?
0 comments