The Brunswick County (N.C.) School Board backed down from an announced policy of letting Christian churches distribute Bibles in schools after local pagan organizations said they wanted to distribute books, too.

School board vice-chairman Shirley Babson (on left, holding Wiccan book) said, "I am afraid of the mess we will create with this. I'm okay with Bibles, but not with sending this kind of message."

Shirley Babson's (sbabson@bcswan.net) bio on the school board's website lists her as being very active in the local and national Republican party. She was an elected delegate to the 2004 Republican Convention. And — big surprise — she is listed as "Christian Life and Public Affairs Director of the Brunswick Baptist Association."

As if we couldn't guess by looking at the three-pound cross hanging around her neck....

Read the story at The Wild Hunt blog. Follow-up stories and the above photo, which local pagans say will increase the popularity of paganism and help make paganism the "rebellion of choice for local students," are here.

Goddess Worship | Wicca | Brunswick County, North Carolina School Board | Pagan | Paganism | Shirley Babson | Bible