OCTOBER 7 , 2002

CULTURE
The deepening religious divide over Halloween

In the space of a generation, Halloween has been transformed from a fun day for costumes and candy to a hot-button issue that brings parents, school administrators and clergy to heated debate. Some Christians' concerns about Halloween's pagan roots have caused an increasing number of school districts to ignore the holiday all together or observe it only as a "teachable moment" for discussing the harvest. More churches are sponsoring alternatives to neighborhood trick-or-treating, such as festivals or movie nights.

"Halloween has become evil personified," said Steve Russo, a California evangelical pastor who promotes alternative Halloween observances. "It has lost its innocence." Conservative Christians have also responded with a national boom in "Hell Houses," their version of the commercial haunted house. More than 500 churches in 46 states and 13 countries have bought Hell House kits, which help create elaborate stagings that show the potential consequences of abortion, homosexuality, drug and alcohol abuse and promiscuity. Another 300 have bought "Judgement House" kits. Both offer visitors a chance to accept Jesus as savior.

How have religious concerns changed Halloween celebrations in your public schools and neighborhoods? How have school administrators responded to parents' concerns? What do parents and clergy of different faith traditions say? Who is visiting "Hell Houses" in your area, and what do they say about them?

Why it matters
How communities deal with the Halloween concerns of parents and religious groups can influence future interfaith relations and interactions.

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National sources

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• Charles Haynes is a scholar at the Freedom Forum who helps school districts with Halloween guidelines. He says U.S. courts are unlikely to see school observances of Halloween as a religious - and therefore a First Amendment - issue. Read his article about Halloween in public schools. Contact 703-284-2859; chaynes@freedomforum.org.
• The Rev. Keenan Roberts is pastor of Abundant Life Christian Church in Arvada, Colo., and creator of "Hell House." He can discuss the proliferation of Hell Houses nationally and and why Halloween has become a major proselytizing focus for evangelicals. Contact 720-936-3223; krobe10071@aol.com.
• Steve Russo is president of Steve Russo Evangelistic Team in Ontario, Calif., author of Halloween: What's a Christian To Do? (Harvest House) and host of the syndicated Christian radio show Real Answers with Steve Russo. He encourages parents and children to participate in "healthy alternatives" on Oct. 31, such as going door-to-door handing out Christian literature or holding a "Reformation Costume Day" to mark the day Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg cathedral. Contact 909-466-7060, russoteam@realanswers.com.
• Grove Harris is project manager for Harvard University's Pluralism Project and a practicing pagan. She says the conflict over Halloween comes not from its pagan origins, but from the fact that non-pagans have taken pagan symbols and used them to symbolize Halloween. Contact 617-496-2481; staff@pluralism.org.
• Dr. William Spencer is an adjunct professor of Theology and the Arts at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass., and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He says the resurgence of neo-paganism has put Halloween in a whole different light and causes Christians to consider whether pagan worship is replacing worship of God. Contact 978-468-4318; aspencer@gcts.edu.
• Dr. Linda Wagener is an associate professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical Christian school in California, where she specializes in child and adolescent spiritual development. She says Halloween can be a way for communities to reach out to children and reinforce positive community values. "Halloween is a time when communities can show support for kids and set boundaries for their behavior," she said. If Halloween were abandoned entirely, she said, children would lose a link to their adult neighbors at a time when many communities are already eroding. Contact 626-584-5603; lwagener@fuller.edu.

Background
• Some Jews have never permitted their children to observe Halloween because of its pagan and Christian roots. Some prefer to focus on Purim, a Jewish holiday involving costumes and candy that took place on Feb. 26 of this year. Muslims traditionally do not celebrate Halloween because of a Quranic ban on marking non-Muslim holidays.
• Scholars trace the disfavor with Halloween to the rise of neo-paganism, including Wicca, of the 1980s and 1990s, particularly in pop culture.
• Read a critical history of Hell Houses from Religious Tolerance, which also lists various faith groups' beliefs on Halloween.
• Read a beliefnet article about the controversy over celebrating Halloween in public schools.
• Read a beliefnet article by Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical school, about evangelical Christians' attitudes toward Halloween.