Judge Rejects Suit to Exclude Textbooks : Courts: Federal jurist finds no evidence school officials were trying to promote ‘witchcraft and neo-paganism’ by using ‘Impressions’ anthology.

In a case watched closely by educators and religious interests, a federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit alleging that textbooks used widely in California schools violated the state and federal constitutions by promoting the “religions of witchcraft and neo-paganism.”

U. S. District Judge William Shubb, ruling on a suit brought by a couple from Woodland, Calif., said he found no evidence that school officials, who use the “Impressions” books in kindergarten through sixth grade, were seeking to promote any religion.

“While the court is not unsympathetic to plaintiffs’ concerns,” Shubb said, “there is no constitutional basis for the court to order that the activities in question be excluded from the classroom simply because isolated instances of those activities may happen to coincide or harmonize with the tenets of two relatively obscure religions.”

Shubb rejected claims by Douglas and Katherine Brown and by the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon’s Mississippi-based American Family Assn. that parts of the “Impressions” series violate the constitutional separation of church and state by espousing witchcraft and neo-paganism.

“We’re very happy,” said Velma Villegas, associate superintendent of the 9,000-student school system in Woodland, 20 miles northwest of Sacramento. “The kids love these books. They’ve got exciting stories that kids really like. We feel (the decision) validates our philosophy that, in order to bring about powerful learning, you have to provide for academic freedom.”

Michael Hudson, vice president of People for the American Way, a constitutional liberties organization that intervened in the case, said, “Today’s ruling is a clear repudiation of the religious right’s campaign against these books. This is the national test case on the ‘Impressions’ controversy, and the judge has handed Don Wildmon and the AFA their hat.”

Benjamin Bull, general counsel for the American Family Assn., said the organization will take the case to the U. S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, “where the real battle will take place.”

In a telephone interview from American Family Assn. headquarters in Tupelo, Miss., Bull said: “If witchcraft and neo-paganism are religions--and we know they are--then children cannot be allowed to role-play the practices and employ the tenets of those religions if they cannot do the same for Christianity or other religions.”

But Bruce Sarchet, attorney for the Woodland schools, said Shubb “simply rejected those arguments.” He expressed confidence that the opinion would be upheld on appeal.

“Impressions” is an anthology of stories, poems, fables and other writings that seeks to stimulate children’s imaginations and encourage them to think independently.

The stories are filled with witches, goblins and people who turn into snakes or toads. To supplement the textbooks, children make up their own poems and songs and perform small dramas, among other activities.

All of this was too much for the Browns, fundamentalist Christians who then had three children in the Woodland schools. Two years ago, they filed a complaint about “Impressions,” which was one of 17 sets of reading materials adopted by the state in 1988.

Although the books already had been subjected to rigorous review before they were adopted, Villegas said, a special committee of teachers and community members was appointed to review the Browns’ complaints.

The committee recommended that the series be retained and the Woodland school board agreed.

At that point, the Browns filed suit. When the American Family Assn. joined them, and People for the American Way intervened on behalf of a group of Woodland students and parents, the case took on national significance.

Initially, the suit charged broadly that the material was too morbid, that it displayed disrespect toward parents and that there were too many references to witches and goblins.

Later, the grounds for the suit were narrowed to allegations that 38 stories, poems and supplementary activities promoted witchcraft and neo-paganism, in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U. S. Constitution and similar provisions in the California Constitution.