Religious discrimination against Neopagans

Neopagans are a religious minority in every country where they exist and have been subject to religious discrimination and/or religious persecution. The largest Neopagan communities are in North America and the United Kingdom, and the issue of discrimination receives most attention in those locations, but there are also reports from Australia and Greece (the latter specifically concerning Hellenic Neopaganism).

In 2003, Olivia Watts charged the mayor of the City of Casey, Victoria, Rob Wilson, as violating the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 after he issued a press release in June of that year titled "Satanic cult out to take over Casey", in which Watts was mentioned by name. During a hearing on August 12, 2004 in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Watts said that after the press release, she suffered vandalism to her property and an assault at her home, in addition to general "hatred, contempt and revulsion". On August 13, it was revealed in tribunal that the matter had been settled overnight, and Wilson read a statement acknowledging that Watts was not a Satanist and expressing "regret for any hurt felt by Ms Watts in consequence of his press release".

In modern day Greece, the Greek Orthodox Church has the status of state religion, and consequently, alternative religions such as Hellenic Neopaganism may be subject to discrimination.

The Greek Society of Attic Friends, which state that it has 40,000 members, has been unsuccessful when they asked for recognition as a legal religion and were denied the right to build a temple in Athens and to use existing temples for worship.

In 2006 an Athens court ordered the worship of the old Greek gods to be unbanned and a place of worship has been recognised by court. Referring to the followers, Father Eustathios Kollas, who presides over a community of Greek Orthodox priests, said, "They are a handful of miserable resuscitators of a degenerate dead religion who wish to return to the monstrous dark delusions of the past."

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