Opinion of The Fourth Circuit
The Fourth Circuit, in a decision by Senior Circuit Judge John D. Butzner, Jr., affirmed the district court's ruling that Wicca was a religion, but vacated the injunction.
The appellate court considered but rejected the claims of the government about Wicca itself, which included that Wicca was a mere "conglomeration" of "various aspects of the occult, such as faith healing, self-hypnosis, tarot card reading, and spell casting, none of which would be considered religious practices standing alone," and that even if Dettmer's beliefs were religious, the rituals were not.
The conclusion of the Fourth Circuit was that the District court had found that Dettmer had a religious belief entitled to full First Amendment protections, but that he was not entitled to an injunction, since "he decision to prohibit Dettmer from possessing the items that he sought did not discriminate against him because of his unconventional beliefs."
Read more about this topic: Dettmer V. Landon
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