The connection between paganism and politics is a fascinating angle, and deserves an article all its own. I don’t particularly blame Mr. Chiorazzi for leaving it out of this very broad overview. (You’ll notice he left out sacramental nudity and sex, too.) An article that raises questions can be as valuable in its own way as one that provides answers.

For what it’s worth, I’ve noticed that white Southerners assign various meanings to their Confederate heritage. Yes, some do celebrate it as the heyday of white supremacy (although, judging by some of the interviews Tony Horwitz conducted for Confederates in the Attic, few will say so in quite those terms). Others see Johnny Reb as a proto-libertarian. Figuring out how paganism fits into that particular matrix would take more than one interview with one subject.

All journalism requires critical thought. Here you have a guy expressing a seriously disturbing view of the world, and the author chooses instead to highlight a cute exchange he has with his girlfriend. Ask another question, for God’s sake. “What’s the relationship between your faith and your politics? What do you think paganism has to say about the sort of racist regime you admire?” Don’t just act as if nothing has happened, because it doesn’t fit the hey-aren’t-these-guys-cool narrative.

Look, if I were reading a feature about Leon Degrelle, I would certainly want to know what he believed and WHY — and whether that worldview was congruent with the deepest and most authentic thinking of the faith he professed (clearly, it wasn’t). That way, I could form an opinion about Catholicism that got beyond a snapshot of a handful of people who claim to be Catholic.

Anything less simply doesn’t take religion seriously.

This is a feature story, not an opinion piece. You’re right, though, that Teutonic pagans are an startlingly diverse bunch. A German friend of mine reports that local solstice celebrations attract a mixed crowd of “barefoot, often skyclad hippies, and boots-wearing neo-Nazis.”

Of course, we Catholics are a pretty mixed bag ourselves. Our Church produced Dorothy Day and Léon Degrelle, St. Francis of Assisi and Francisco Franco.

The Village Voice reported recently that paganism (of a sort) is now the #1 religion among neo-Nazi prison gangs in this country. Can we get a nice happy article about their “experiences,” too?

Likewise, one of the reasons for the pursuit of neo-paganism today is the moral, spiritual and aesthetic bankruptcy of modern Christianity. Even Catholicism has abandoned much of its mystical and meaningful spirituality in favor of jingoistic superficiality and asinine ego-centrism.

Not that neo-paganism has any depth (it doesn’t) but it still connects to something transcendant more than an idiotic Jesus slogan on a t-shirt.

Sad, really.