It's been an eventful year for Alternative faiths, and a banner year for Pagans especially, who have suffered many indignities and much heartache but scored several important victories, including legal recognition by the Veteran's Administration and numerous municipal nods. Sadly, others have not fared so well- several religious groups may not survive the first century of the new millenium.

2007 also saw the passing of several important figures, including Discordian intellectual Robert Anton Wilson and Archon-inspired activist Jerry Falwell.

The year's most important Altreligion Stories:

Veterans' Pentacle Victory Wiccan and other pagan war veterans fought for recognition of their fallen, a difficult battle in light of an increasing evangelical lean by military leadership. Despite the difficulties, tenacious activists hung tough and public attention increased until the Veteran's Administration finally caved and Veteran's choices have expanded to include a pentacle inscription on official grave markers.

Army Ditches Chaplain after Wiccan Conversion In one of the years' many clashes between the military establishment and Pagan enlisted, a long-serving Army chaplain found himself being unceremponiously shipped home after changing his religious affiliation from Protestant Christian to Wiccan, despite having the support of his troops and an established Wiccan church.

First Official "Holiday Pentacle?" My childhood hometown hosted the very first officially sanctioned "holiday pentacle," which stayed on display for about three days before an anonymous "activist" backed over it with a truck. A similar display in Wisconsin lasted about as long before meeting a similar end.

The Prison Booklist Admidst fears that prisoners were secretly training for jihad, the Feds removed every religious book from prisons, allowing back only a random selection of "specially reviewed" books that left some faith groups with no reading material at all. The public reaction was oner of unanticipated outrage, and the books were swiftly restored.

Another Historic Moment Ruined Congress' first ever Hindu prayer was disrupted by loud "Christian" activists.

The Seven Hermetic Aphorisms go on public display in a Utah Park The religious group Summum erected the first officially sanctioned Hermetic monument in a public park in Utah. The stone monument features the seven "Aphorisms of Summum," a ver4sion of the seven Hermetic principles outlined in the Kybalion.

New WM3 Evidence More exculpatory evidence was revealed in the case of the "West Memphis Three," which may eventually lead to freedom for three men wrongly convicted of a "Satanic" murder.

Yezidis and Mandaeans Face Extinction in Iraq. Two of the world's earliest and last surviving Gnostic religious sects are both in serious decline and threatened with extinction. The Kurdish Yezidis face opposition from Iraqi Muslims and Turkish incursions; the Mandaean's historic population in Bagdhad has been so drastically reduced there may not be any left if and when the war ever ends.

Robert Anton Wilson, 1932-2007 Well loved novelist, conspiracy theorist, and early devotee of Discordianism Robert Anton Wilson skipped the planet after struggling with a long illness.

Jerry Falwell 1933-2007. This one will not be missed so much. The Evangelical crusader made so many enemies with his derogatory and inflammatory screeds against just about everyone that his death was met with everything from sighs of relief to refrains of "Ding, dong, the witch is dead." In any case, Falwell's passing signals the end of an era. Whether that's good or bad news depends on what side of the fence you're sitting on.