The Future of Pagan Leadership

Last updated on: June 3, 2013 at 12:49 pm by Adrian Monogue

The Future of Pagan Leadership 2013-06-03T12:49:36+00:00 Adrian Monogue

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

***Disclaimer: I would like to state that this is entirely my opinion and doesn’t reflect the opinions of anyone else. I am not referring to anyone but wish to have an open and honest discourse about the subject. Please let me know why you agree or disagree with me civilly! I would sincerely love to hear it.***

A few months back I stumbled upon a fascinating article on the future of Pagan clergy and a possible direction that it could take over at Penton called “Paganism: No longer a religion of clergy” by Erebos. The article espoused what I considered some revolutionary ideas in regards to differences between what being a lay clergy and full time clergy could potentially be.

The article suggests that full-time Pagan clergy hypothetically should be:

Clergy serve both the gods and the communities in which they practice.

Clergy are those who have advanced spiritual training, commitment, service and experience.

Clergy are the spiritual leaders, teachers and interpreters of their traditions and faith.

Clergy are those who find that their particular talents and temperaments incline them to assist, nurture and guide the religious and spiritual practice of others.

Clergy administers and runs, on a day-to-day basis temple/coven/hearth/grove/organizations, etc. business.

Clergy provide a central point for communication and crisis intervention.

Clergy act as the public face of the tradition or belief system; they invite interfaith dialogue and information sharing.

Clergy guide those who are inspired to find their own path to the Divine.

Clergy work with the Gods directly, but they do not act as permanent intermediaries, but more like guides to help others until they know their way around.

I think and feel that this is a very good representation of what full-time Pagan clergy should be. I know that others may feel that some requirements should be added or taken away, but in general I believe that this represents a good solid foundation for full-time Pagan clergy to model themselves after.

A few months later, I got into a discussion with Lady Charissa of North Georgia Solitaries (and several others) about Pagan leadership and ministerial duties over a couple of articles she shared. One of those articles was Sunfell’s (article link) which has been around since the early 2000’s. This means the concept and desire for change has been prevalent in the Pagan collective (sub)consciousness for over a decade now. From my own experiences, I do not think much has changed from the standard model of Pagan leadership. But why hasn’t it? One reason for this seems to be the diversity of the Pagan religious community. We are a varied bunch and I think at times that this can be both a great strength and a hindrance in some circumstances. Due to this diversity I think the Pagan community is slow to change. Much like ripples in water it takes time for them to expand after the initial cause has taken place. Another reason is Pagans tend to balk at organization and structure. The distaste with their current organized religion is a something that led many Pagans to the religion in the first place. However, I think that the concepts of organization and structure as manifestations of the Goddess (Form) in our lives is something that we as Pagans can get behind. As our religion grows to face the issues that we will and are currently facing we will need to be able to process needed changes in order to grow, adapt, and evolve. I believe that structure and organization are tools that will allow us to do so. Finally, I suspect Pagans desire to analyze and understand the mysteries and questions of life (such as ‘Does God have a wife?’) causes them to want to dissect and evaluate any changes as well. This attempt to garner a greater knowledge and understanding of the change can potentially delay and disrupt transitions.

After some personal reflections on the subject, I came to a conclusion about the model that is currently in place and why I disliked it. This model provides a “one size fits all approach” to modern Pagan leadership and seems to ignore the diversity amongst the practitioners and leaders of the religion. Typically, in my experience, this is based off of the degree system that many traditions practice. The degree systems flaw is that it’s a very binary system. You either are or you’re not. Relying on this type of leadership model causes those that possess leadership skills and abilities but not a degree role to potentially be diminished and down played.Beyond the black and white degree system are many shades of grey which can be valuable commodities that lay unused and untapped.

So where do we as Pagans begin? During my conversation on this subject a concept image of a Venn diagram got lodged in my mind. I sketched this image out, and shared it with my pagan friends and teachers to get feedback. After a lot of discussion and revisions this is the image that I had produced.

The benefit of a model such as this one is that it plays to an individual’s strengths and aptitudes. It would also help alleviate the “one size fits all” mentality. There are many Pagans within the community who would fit this leadership model but who do not quite fit into the traditional model that is currently being used. A secondary or separate system of training, evaluation, and recognition (not a degree system per se, but more of a certification) exclusive to that of the current model would provide opportunity and recognition for those Pagans who wish to serve their community. By implementing a model such as this one, we allow for the growth of the religion while providing a greater and improved foundation, and leaders with wider range of skills for generations to come.

As 2012 is turning out to be a year of massive change for many people and communities, we should all strive to ask ourselves how we can be better members of our community and religion. What can I do to help? What changes can I make within my own life to bring about a better Pagan community? Do I have a skill or the desire to learn a skill that will benefit the community and Paganism? How can I assist my religious leaders? How can I better serve the Gods? I am sure that there are other questions we can ask ourselves to these ends. We would be wise to keep the thoughts about what changes that we desire in our minds and in our conversations. We should tell our leaders what we would like to see from them. We should use this chance to open up an honest dialogue with the leaders and strive to help them make these changes. We can and should work together to help create the future for our religion we all want. After all, now is the perfect time for that talk and action to begin as Imbolc is a time for new beginnings.

Previous Post

January 31, 2012

Naturalistic Traditions: All Things February

Next Post

February 1, 2012 A State of Exclusion: Religious Demagoguery and the State of the Union Address

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Lakeside Hearth Adventures in Wortcunning Alone In Her Presence Arts, Crafts & Cooking Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft Book of Blackbirds Book Reviews Born-Again Witch Cauldron, Sword, Spear, & Stone Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Dear Jasmine Druid Thoughts Editor's Picks Everyday Pagan Family & Household Practice Family Traditions Full Frontal Magic Gateway Goddess Guest Articles Happily Heathen Health and Wellness Hearth of Hellenism Heathen Woman Hills of the Horizon History Holidays Horse Goddesses Interfaith Interviews Irish-American Witchcraft Jewish Witch Lamp & Labyrinth Letters from Midgard Literature, Media, Film, Music Loop of Brighid Love, Sex & Relationships Magic or Magick Making Light Naturalistic Traditions Nature News Outside The Circle Pantheisticon Politics Prayers, Poems, Blessings & Stories Queer Femme Mystic Queer of Swords Recipes Ritual and Practice Science and Research Seekers and Guides Seeking the Grail Socially Responsible Magic Spear of Athena Star Made Witch Syncretic Electric Technology The Blooming Staff The Busy Witch The Cartomancer The Crow's Nest The Dance of Pagan Recovery The Hearth of Hellenism The Lady's Quill The Other Side of the Hedge The Path of She The Rantin' Raven The Witches Next Door The Zen Pagan Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Tree City Witch Urban Earthwitch Wayfaring Woman Witch on Fire Wyrd Words

Select a Month January 2026 March 2025 December 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In what city was Paul shipwrecked?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Crete Cyprus Malta Rhodes