Rev. Mary Magdalen (Rachel Bevilacqua) of the Church of the SubGenius, a postmodern or parody religion ,  lost custody of her child in February of 2006, seemingly due to her involvement with the church. Church members are touting the judge's response to her involvement with the church together with his decision as religious discrimination, and the ACLU is examining the situation. Judge James Punch ( Orleans County ) allegedly denied custody of the child her son out of anger, after seeing videos of Rev. Magdalen in a bondage "dress" and papier maché goat’s head at the church's X-Day celebration and performance art piece. Judge Punch repeatedly asked, "Why a goat? What’s so significant about a goat’s head?" When Rev. Magdalen replied, "I just thought the word 'goat' was funny," the court then pressed her to explain how her actions were funny, finally concluding with the statement, "Obviously there's nothing funny in those pictures." Rev. Magdalen has been a major figure in the Church of the SubGenius since 1997 when she and her son moved to Dallas, Texas to be with her fiancé Rev . Jesus (Steve Bevilacqua) and help keep the for-profit church afloat. The church members traditionally consider the for-profit arm to have "religious significance", due in part to the church's intentional parody of Scientology and New Age religions , and the church declares itself to be "the only religion that is proud to pay its taxes." The Bevilacquas relocated to Columbus in 2004. Religions or deities engaging in satire , such as the Church of the SubGenius, Discordianism, the Invisible Pink Unicorn , and the Flying Spaghetti Monster , have become significantly more widespread through the internet. However, the Church of the SubGenius is relatively old, dating to 1979, and gained much of its current popularity through its published books, including the Book of the SubGenius , and its Hour of Slack radio program. Discordianism is even older, dating to 1958 or 1959, and has strongly influenced modern non-satirical neopagan religions. Such religions are now generally termed "postmodern" instead of "parody", as their followers frequently insist the religion is as real and valid as any other religion, but often accept the postmodernist critique of religious metanarratives. Rev. Magdalen's case has been profiled on a number of popular blogs and Internet sites, including Boing Boing and Fark . External links Rachel Bevilacqua's Blog entry Summary of Rev. Magdalen's case, with updates TV news story on the case, March 26th, 2006 boingboing article on the case, 3, 20,'06%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Related links Rachel Bevilacqua's blog containing court documents filed against her, and the custody ruling Affidavits filed by Rachel Bevilacqua in her defense Court transcript of Rachel Bevilacqua's testimony on Feb. 3, 2006 Copy of the judge's order The Office Pulpit of Rev. Ivan Stang Notice from the Church of the SubGenius MetaFilter discussion Judge James Punch judicial directory entry
Rev. Mary Magdalen (Rachel Bevilacqua) of the , a or , lost custody of her child in February of 2006, seemingly due to her involvement with the church. Church members are touting the judge's response to her involvement with the church together with his decision as religious discrimination, and the is examining the situation. Judge James Punch ( ) allegedly denied custody of the child her son out of anger, after seeing videos of Rev. Magdalen in a bondage "dress" and papier maché goat’s head at the church's and piece. Judge Punch repeatedly asked, "Why a goat? What’s so significant about a goat’s head?" When Rev. Magdalen replied, "I just thought the word 'goat' was funny," the court then pressed her to explain how her actions were funny, finally concluding with the statement, "Obviously there's nothing funny in those pictures." Rev. Magdalen has been a major figure in the Church of the SubGenius since 1997 when she and her son moved to Dallas, Texas to be with her fiancé Rev . Jesus (Steve Bevilacqua) and help keep the for-profit church afloat. The church members traditionally consider the for-profit arm to have "religious significance", due in part to the church's intentional parody of and , and the church declares itself to be "the only religion that is proud to pay its taxes." The Bevilacquas relocated to in 2004. Religions or deities engaging in , such as the Church of the SubGenius, Discordianism, the , and the , have become significantly more widespread through the internet. However, the Church of the SubGenius is relatively old, dating to 1979, and gained much of its current popularity through its published books, including the , and its radio program. Discordianism is even older, dating to 1958 or 1959, and has strongly influenced modern non-satirical neopagan religions. Such religions are now generally termed "postmodern" instead of "parody", as their followers frequently insist the religion is as real and valid as any other religion, but often accept the postmodernist critique of religious metanarratives. Rev. Magdalen's case has been profiled on a number of popular blogs and Internet sites, including and . %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Sister links
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Church of the SubGenius, a postmodern or parody religion
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a or ,
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ACLU
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Orleans County
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X-Day celebration and performance art
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Scientology and New Age religions
and
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Columbus
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satire
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Invisible Pink Unicorn
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Flying Spaghetti Monster
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Book of the SubGenius
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Hour of Slack
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Boing Boing and Fark
and
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External links
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Rachel Bevilacqua's Blog entry Summary of Rev. Magdalen's case, with updates TV news story on the case, March 26th, 2006 boingboing article on the case, 3, 20,'06
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Related links Rachel Bevilacqua's blog containing court documents filed against her, and the custody ruling Affidavits filed by Rachel Bevilacqua in her defense Court transcript of Rachel Bevilacqua's testimony on Feb. 3, 2006 Copy of the judge's order The Office Pulpit of Rev. Ivan Stang Notice from the Church of the SubGenius MetaFilter discussion Judge James Punch judicial directory entry
Sister links