Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Religious belief takes many forms in the Las Vegas Valley

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With more than 500 houses of worship in the valley, Las Vegas frequently — and perhaps counter-intuitively — makes the list of U.S. cities with the most churches per capita.

Tucked among mainstream believers who worship at churches, temples, mosques and other religious sanctuaries are scores of locals who quietly practice religions that largely go unnoticed. And for good reason.

Plagued by stereotypes and misconceptions, local followers of fringe religions say they have experienced discrimination and persecution because of their beliefs. As a result, most choose to keep a low profile and generally worship alone at home or in small groups. Their exact numbers are unknown.

What followers are trying to achieve is largely the same as those who practice more mainstream faiths: salvation. The guiding principles behind a good number of the valley’s fringe religions involve leading a peaceful and productive life for which believers say they will be rewarded after death.

Goddess Spirituality

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In the Nevada desert, near Indian Springs, sits the temple of Goddess Spirituality.

To learn more about the temple, go to sekhmettemple.com or call 702-569-0630.

Three miles west of Indian Springs is a dirt road marked only by a faded billboard. The location, at the edge of the Nevada National Security Site, is off the grid.

Gravel crunches beneath the feet of 19 women and three men as they stand, waiting to be bathed in the smoke of burning sage. “We smudge with sage to rid ourselves of negative energy,” Priestess Melissa says.

The group is gathered to pay homage to the ancient Egyptian Goddess Sekhmet. All are members of the Goddess Spirituality religion.

One of the oldest known deities in Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was a warrior goddess and the pharaoh’s protector in battle. She has the body of a woman and the head of a lion. Honoring her is believed to bring an end to destruction.

With the sun sinking against a cotton candy sky, the group walks toward a domed stucco temple adorned with crystals to celebrate the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Candles and torches flicker, casting long shadows against the crimson walls, in a space only slightly larger than two poolside cabanas.

The group forms a circle and people join hands to connect their energy. Watched by sculpted and painted deities that dot the room, Resident Priestess Candace Ross leads the group in a sequence of breathing and vocal toning exercises. A drawn-out, singular syllable “Ma” reverberates off the stucco walls.

The group prays and sings around a fire. Ross summons the spirits of each direction, the earth, the cosmos and the circle itself. Each action honors the feminine divine, whom the worshipers call the one true Goddess.

The rituals are based in Wiccan scripture but vary widely among followers. Because there is no central administration in the Goddess Spirituality, few defined standards of worship exist. Prayers resemble poetry and are customizable. There are no imposed rules on lifestyle choices, although followers are encouraged to do no harm, leading some to choose a vegan or vegetarian diet.

Writer and activist Genevieve Vaughan bought the land in 1993 from the government, returned it to its indigenous people, the Western Shoshone, and now pays rent to use it as a worship ground. She built the Temple of Goddess Spirituality on the site.

Becoming a priestess takes years of dedication and training. Ross, 62, leads a priestess program that requires at least a year of study and temple work. Students must devote a minimum of 100 hours to clergy, administration and grounds keeping.

“We all have different fathers, but we all have the same mother,” said Ross, who is legally ordained by the state of Nevada.

Goddess Spirituality followers say they aim to combat man’s brutalities against the earth and each other through messages of love, compassion and acceptance. Rumors of casting spells, black magic and sacrificing children give Ross a good laugh.

A San Diego transplant, Ross was a single mother of two working for a nonprofit group aimed at ending global warfare when she became interested in Goddess Spirituality. After years of searching for spiritual enlightenment through mainstream religions, Goddess worship provided a better fit, she said.

Ross is the most recent of a handful of priestesses who have managed the Temple of Goddess Spirituality. For the past seven years, she has lived and worked from a small house on the property.

Considered Pagan by many, Ross doesn’t identify herself or the temple with a single form of religion. She believes Goddess worship is an extension of many belief systems.

The temple boasts religious shrines dedicated to deities worldwide. Ross has a particular affinity for Kuan Yin, the Buddhist goddess of compassion, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary. Altars to both deities stand in the temple with an array of offerings at their feet.

“Gifts are left up to the individual,” said Ross, who frequently finds flowers, candles and incense near the figures. “I have seen sobriety chips and once found a set of keys.”

Unification Church

Family Federation Las Vegas

98 E. Windmill Lane, Las Vegas

unificationlv.org

When the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife moved to Las Vegas with plans to build a convention center and dormitory on six acres, their daughter, the Rev. In Jin Moon, proclaimed that her parents would turn Las Vegas “from a city of sinning to a city of giving.”

Sun Myung Moon, the founder and leader of the Unification Church, relocated to the valley in 2008 after receiving revelations while in Hawaii “that Las Vegas would be the hub of a new cultural and economic revival in America,” the church’s website says.

In 1965, during a nationwide trek, Moon visited every state in the contiguous United States to bury stones from his homeland Korea. He deemed the sites holy ground. In Las Vegas, his chosen land was a park, later paved for the Sawyer Building.

Members of the Unification Church adhere to the teachings of the Christian Bible but believe that after the death of Jesus, the responsibility of creating a godly existence fell to Moon, who founded the Unification Church in the 1950s in Korea.

Members regard Moon and his wife as the True Parents of humanity, tasked with restoring the planet and its people to the paradise that was the Garden of Eden.

The church is perhaps most recognizable for its mass weddings. In those ceremonies, thousands of couples marry at the same time, often to spouses they have never met and who may not speak the same language. The process is seen as necessary to bring about world peace through different countries and cultures.

Members also are active in community service, and the Las Vegas congregation hosts services and events six days a week. The church’s Facebook page has 805 likes and features photos of dozens of smiling members.

Scientology

Church of Scientology and Celebrity Centre Las Vegas

2761 Emerson Ave., Las Vegas

702-731-1500

scientology-cclasvegas.org

Ten minutes from the Strip sits the Church of Scientology and Celebrity Centre Las Vegas. It is the house of worship for an estimated 2,000-plus local believers.

From the outside, the building is modern but unassuming. But the 3-acre campus boasts a 300-seat chapel for religious ceremonies, concerts and lectures; two courtyards with couches and fountains; a cafe; space for Scientology Academy students to pore over books and materials; a President’s Lounge for guests; and several auditing rooms, much like psychiatrists’ offices, where auditors try to help worshipers rid themselves of spiritual disabilities.

The center opened in 2010 with a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and dozens of dignitaries.

“I look forward to partnering with you,” then-Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said.

Created in the mid-1950s by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. Adherence by many Hollywood celebrities, including Tom Cruise and John Travolta, has helped extend its reach.

The church is guided by Hubbard’s “Dianetics,” a book that outlines his theories on the relationship between the mind and body. Hubbard believed the human spirit is an immortal being that uses the body only as a vessel, and harnessing one’s mental power to transcend the physical is a direct path to enlightenment. Spiritual counseling, or audits, help evaluate followers’ fears and past traumas so they can be released from those constraints, worshipers say.

But the church is rife with controversy. Ex-believers accuse leaders of brainwashing members, alienating them from their families and embezzling money. Critics ridicule some of the religion’s beliefs, including their faith in alien descendants. The church denies the accusations.

In Las Vegas, church leaders host dozens of weekly sessions to teach people about Scientology. Tours, movie screenings and training courses are offered seven days a week. The Las Vegas parish was established in 1968.

“(Las Vegas) is a city that rose out of sand to become an artistic empire and inspire the world,” Scientology leader David Miscavige said at the church’s dedication. “As such, it really is a place of dreams — and extravagant dreams, at that. So as we, too, know what it means to build upon a dream, let this new Church of Scientology signify the fact we believe in your artists, we respect the audacity of your vision — and together, we can light up this city so brightly, it will shine unto eternity.”

Urantia

Urantia Study Group of Nevada

urantiabook.org

The Urantia Book claims to include more than 2,000 pages of information collected from celestial beings. Worshipers say it connects science, philosophy and religion.

The faith’s main principles are built loosely on Christianity. The Urantia Book uses 775 pages to tell the story of Jesus Christ from birth through resurrection. But the religions also differ significantly. For instance, Urantia followers believe Jesus is the human incarnation of Michael of Nebadon, one of more than 700,000 “Paradise Sons” of God, or “Creator Sons.”

The exact origin of the Urantia Book is unknown. Believers say it was dictated in the 1930s to Chicago psychiatrist William Sadler by an unidentified neighbor who channeled spiritual beings.

There are at least four Urantia Book Fellowship study groups in Nevada — two in Las Vegas, one in Boulder City and one in Reno. There are hundreds nationwide.

Las Vegas hosted a Urantia Book Fellowship young adult conference in November. Twenty-five people, mostly from western states, attended for prayer, workshops, meditation and community service. In between eating, light gambling and sightseeing, the group evangelized at UNLV and hosted prayer circles around town.

A Urantia Outreach seminar is scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at the Aquarius casino in Laughlin. It is titled, “Back to the Future: Nostalgia, UFOs and Consciousness.”

Santería

Green Eyed Witch

702-473-0142

katzrodriguez.com

Commonly mistaken for Voodoo, Santería, also known as Regla de Ocha, stems from traditional African religions brought to the Americas by slaves. Believers worship spiritual manifestations of God, or orishas, with offerings and ceremonies they hope will bring them health, wealth and happiness.

The predominantly Afro-Cuban religion, a blend of African mythology and Roman Catholicism, generally is passed down by word of mouth, and followers rarely divulge details of their beliefs to those who are uninitiated, in part because of fears of discrimination.

But at least one believer in Las Vegas is willing to share her knowledge.

Katz Rodriguez bills herself “the Green Eyed Witch” and works as a life coach and spiritual adviser. She casts love spells and money spells, hosts channelings and seances and performs spiritual cleansings. She also sells lucky charms.

“As a bruja (witch/spell caster), I can stand with my head up high and say I am proud of who I am today,” Rodriguez writes on her Facebook page. “I help a lot of people and I am learning cultures, the old ways, and old religion. I don’t have to sit around and wait for life to come to me. I actually do something about it.

“If you ask me why? I want everyone in the world to know about the orishas, Ifa, witchcraft and the old religion. I want the religion to be affordable. I want to teach people to believe in something where so many are lost. Our ways, our path and our religion make us who we are and pave the way for our children after.”

Rodriguez has practiced Santería for 20 years and belongs to a Santería/Ocha House in Las Vegas. She says she comes from a long line of witches and Cherokee shamans.

Santería’s orishas serve as messengers between the human world and the divine. They are called upon by drumming, trances, divination and animal sacrifice.

Some believe that piles of beheaded birds dumped this year on east Las Vegas streets were the result of Santería ceremonies. Chickens, pigeons, doves, ducks and other animals commonly are sacrificed in rituals.

After animal rights activists protested, the Supreme Court in 1993 declared it a constitutional right to use animal sacrifices in religious practice.

Druidry

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John Roberts, a practicing Druid, poses in the Clark County Wetlands Park.

Public meetings of the Larrea Tridentata Grove are held 7:30 p.m. Thursdays at 2860 N. Bronco St., Las Vegas.

John Roberts, a 49-year-old Navy veteran and salesman, was raised Catholic but has been practicing Druidry for 20 years.

An Ohio native, Roberts was an avid hunter until a trip two decades ago. Sitting in the grass for a break, he wondered: Why am I killing these animals? The moment inspired him to search for deeper meaning in life. He found the Druid religion and connected with it immediately.

The ancient pagan religion promotes the worship of natural elements as gods. Druidry emerged in the United Kingdom and influenced cultures across Europe; it was replaced by Christianity as the continent’s dominant religion in the seventh century. Scholars in Britain, France and Germany helped revive the religion in the early 18th century.

Speculation about hooded figures and human sacrifices has plagued Roberts for years. But modern Druid worship is much less Hollywood, focused instead on observation, appreciation and meditation of the earth’s endless wonders. Las Vegas, a gateway to some of the most expansive natural settings in the country, is a comfortable locale for some Druids as they easily can escape to the desert or mountains to meditate and worship.

There is little formal liturgy in the faith. Ancient Druids kept only oral records of their practices, making their rituals and history almost impossible to verify. But followers tend to hold a few common beliefs: in Spirit (something more than just matter), rebirth (life after death in some form), the Otherworld (life beyond that which we live on Earth), the web of life (the interconnectedness of all beings) and the Law of the Harvest (that people harvest the results of what they sow.) Wisdom, love and creativity also are highly regarded.

Many Druids worship privately, but certain astronomical occurrences prompt group congregation. Weekly meetings of a Druid grove in Las Vegas generally draw fewer than 10 people, while the eight High Days can attract as many as 40. The recent Summer Solstice was celebrated at the grove president’s home. Sometimes, he hosts pot lucks and crafts nights where believers make prayer beads, candles and altar figures.

“Just as there are ‘Easter and Christmas Christians,’ there are ‘Samhain and Beltainne Druids’ — folks who put in an appearance only for particularly celebratory rites,” said B-J Rogers, co-founder and Senior Druid of Las Vegas’ Larrea Tridentata Grove, founded in 2009.

Members come together through social media; local sites list more than 500 connections. The local Larrea Tridentata Grove welcomed at least two new members in 2009, two in 2010, two in 2011 and five in 2012.

Local worshipers include an architect and an executive chef. They didn’t want to be named for fear of persecution.

Respecting the religious beliefs of others is a fundamental tenet of Druidry, but such tolerance isn’t always returned. Roberts recalled being heckled during a happy hour game of pool because he stopped to admire a rainbow. He considered it a gift from the water gods. He now has come to expect persecution because of his beliefs.

“People fear what they don’t understand,” Roberts said.

Some scholars believe Stonehenge was an ancient temple built by Celtic Druids.

More than 15,000 people have studied with the Druid Order since a distance learning course launched in 1988. Membership and leadership in the Druid Order is almost evenly divided between men and women.

Kabbalah

Kabbalah Centre

3824 S. Jones Blvd., Suite B, Las Vegas

702-243-0559

meetup.com/KabbalahLV

Madonna and Demi Moore made it famous in the mainstream, but Kabbalah, derived from Jewish mysticism, dates back more than 5,000 years.

Twenty-three books make up the Zohar, a compilation of texts Kabbalists believe are the secret to understanding the Bible and how to navigate life. Traditional Jewish practitioners, however, complain new-age interpretations have commercialized traditions and bear little resemblance to ancient practices.

The Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre, which has helped spread Kabbalah nationwide with brick-and-mortar locations and online lessons, operates a center in Las Vegas and more than 40 other cities to help guide people in the study of the texts. The local center has several events each month.

Las Vegas rabbis, however, have complained that some Kabbalists try to profit from the Jewish religion by selling trinkets and charms, such as specially blessed Kabbalah water and red strings that are supposed to protect from evil and envious thoughts.

A Kabbalah meetup site for Las Vegas lists 92 Kabbalah students.

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