A Wiccan professor has sued her employer, a Catholic university in western New York state, alleging that it discriminated against her because of her faith and gender.
Pauline Hoffmann, former dean of St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication, contends that the university pressured her into accepting a demotion.
Now an associate professor at the same school, Hoffmann filed her federal lawsuit last month in the Western District of New York, seeking to get her old job back, as well as lost pay and unspecified damages.
Hoffmann, 49, told HuffPost that she believes the school’s treatment of her may stem from “a fear of the unknown.”
“Wiccan isn’t a ‘mainstream’ religion like Judaism,” she wrote in an email. “I think there are many stereotypes surrounding it that are grossly inaccurate.”
Wicca, one of many branches of modern-day Paganism, is an earth-based spiritual practice. Hoffmann, a St. Bonaventure alumna, told WIVB 4 that she first learned about the tradition in college and was drawn to its focus on nature.
Hoffmann told HuffPost she started working as an assistant tenure-track professor at St. Bonaventure in 2006. (The school said she “began teaching” there in 2005.) She said that she identified as Wiccan at the time, but that her faith wasn’t discussed during the interview process.
Hoffmann claims her faith became an issue for the school in the fall of 2011 when she agreed to appear on the university’s student television channel to offer a witch’s perspective on Halloween. She was an assistant professor and the interim dean around that time, WIVB 4 reports, and seeking the permanent position as dean.
“They kind of hemmed and hawed, and they had told me that one of the issues that they were having is that I’m Wiccan and that that might be a problem,” Hoffmann told WIVB 4.
Pauline Hoffmann is currently an associate professor at St. Bonaventure University's Jandoli School of Communication. (Photo: Pauline Hoffmann)
The following May, the school’s then-provost, Michael J. Fischer, demanded that she sign a document promising to uphold the school’s Catholic values, according to the lawsuit.
Hoffmann’s suit says she asked Fischer, “If I were Jewish, would I have to sign this?” And Fischer allegedly replied, “If you were Jewish, then I guess not.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Fischer told Hoffmann, “You might not want to be so overt about being a witch if you want to move up.”
Hoffmann ultimately got the permanent job in May 2012, but the lawsuit alleges that she was given a two-year contract, while other deans at the time, who were all male, had three-year contracts and higher salaries.
She told The Buffalo News that she was deeply upset by the school’s treatment. “I was angry but also confused and hurt,” she said. “It was like someone telling you, ‘Don’t be you.’”
Hoffmann contends she was subsequently pressured to resign as dean of the school of communication. She stepped down from that post in January 2018, which she said resulted in a significant pay cut. The professor also claims she was unfairly passed over for a promotion to provost.
“I felt pressured to be quiet about being Wiccan,” she told WIVB 4. “And after a certain point, I did just feel the pressure that, OK, they clearly don’t want me in this job and it almost wasn’t worth it for me. It was emotionally and physically taxing for me.”
In February, Hoffmann filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which subsequently sent her a “right to sue” letter.
St. Bonaventure University’s chief communications officer, Thomas Missel, told HuffPost that the school would not be commenting on the case “since this is both a personnel and legal matter.”
This story has been updated with a response from St. Bonaventure.
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![By Zsuzsanna Budapest [Dianic] Wicca "A women's spirituality classic now back in print! The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries is essential for Pagans, feminists, and women seeking to learn more about the spiritual path as it relates to the feminine and the Goddess aspects of witchcraft and Wicca. This book is not about reinstating a matriarchy or tearing down patriarchy; it is about women's spirituality and its relationship with politics and lifestyle. Z. Budapest is one of the founding mothers of modern women's witchcraft, beginning with the establishment of Susan B. Anthony Coven in Los Angeles in 1971. She catapulted herself into the media spotlight when she was tried as a witch and found guilty in 1975 after being arrested on Venice Beach for reading tarot cards. She fought the charges and, after a nine year battle, won the right for every tarot reader to do so legally. The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries is a seminal text that contains invaluable information on Dianic witchcraft and spells, including everyday magick, sabbat rituals, and divination methods; a section on how vegetarian theories and politics relate to witchcraft and the feminine aspect; and a good deal of information on goddesses and how the patriarchal religions distorted old myths to serve their own needs. There are several unique and beautiful Rites of Passage for women and men that you don't often find, and Budapest's personal life stories are an equally valuable read, from her escape across the mountains from Communist Hungary to her fight for women's religious freedom upon moving to America."](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/o9ZStCY4O0cBcl_WyKw1Tw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5bb7b7ff2400003100989e06.jpg)
![By T. Thorn Coyle [Feri] Wicca "A learned and serious manual to Witchcraft for the mature practitioner, by one of the craft's leading teachers."](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/h.MShNEyvOR9m7gOIw0I9w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5bb7b800250000320039fc9d.jpg)
