This thread over in the Pit brought to mind the controversy that erupts around this time every year regarding the American religious right’s problem with Halloween. I realize some conservative Protestant sects have had a long-standing distaste for the holiday-formerly-known-as-Samhain but it seems as though their anti-Halloween proselytizing became louder and more aggressive since around 1980 (which, not coincidently, was the same time the religious right became a major political force in American politics–the Republican Party in particular). For example, Rev. Pat Robertson (who unsuccessfully sought the GOP presidential nomination and remains highly influencial in conservative circles) once advocated the banning of Halloween and used to almost have a fit on his program when describing the “evils” of the holiday. This certainly didn’t jibe with how I remembered the holiday when I went trick-or-treating and to Halloween parties during the 1970’s. My church never warned me that my soul would be damned the second I rang the first doorbell at the first house I went trick-or-treating to. It even put on Halloween parties!
Anyway, are the fundie anti-Halloween forces more strident now than they were before 1980? (And does anybody have any stories about any uncomfortable encounters with these people around Halloween?)
