Three Reasons Why Pagans Need a Community Statement on the Environment

Last updated on: March 28, 2016 at 6:04 pm by John Halstead

Three Reasons Why Pagans Need a Community Statement on the Environment 2016-03-28T18:04:18-05:00 John Halstead

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A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment had garnered over 7,000 signatures since Earth Day 2015, and we are hoping to reach 10,000 by Earth Day 2016. We need your help, though. Please share the Statement on social media and ask any Pagan organizations you belong to to help promote the Statement.

I’ve been asked before why we need A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment. What good are words, after all, when what we need is action?

Here’s three reasons why I think we need a collective statement on the environment:

1. A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment helps spread the message that we urgently need to reform our relationship with the earth. Surprising as it may seem to some, there are still those that need convincing — even in the Pagan community. And a single statement of thousands of Pagans is, in some ways, “louder” than thousands of statements by individual Pagans. Of course, it’s not enough to convince people of the problem; we need inspire deeds. And for this reason, ecopagan.com, which hosts the Statement, also includes a “Take Action” page with dozens of suggestions for transforming conviction into action. A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment is intended to be a beginning, not an end — we hope that it will foster more conversation and inspire more action.

2. A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment helps foster intra-Pagan unity. The Statement has garnered thousands of signatures from over 70 countries around the world. It includes signatures from Witches, Wiccans, Druids, Shamans, Animists, Pantheists, Gaians, Heathens, Polytheists, Reconstructionists, Ceremonial Magicians, Goddess Worshipers, Humanist Pagans, Atheopagans, Buddho-Pagans, Hindu-Pagans, Christo-Pagans, Quaker Pagans, Unitarian Universalist Pagans, and many more. The Statement includes signatures from traditionalists and eclectics, initiates and solitaries, newbies and elders. The Statement has bridged many of the lines that divide our community. Protecting the biosphere and the web of life is a goal that a large majority of Pagans can support, regardless of whether they describe themselves as earth-centered or nature religionists.

3. A Pagan Community Statement on the Environment increases our credibility with the interfaith community. There are important discussions taking place about the role of religion in shaping our relationship with the earth, and Pagans are often left out of those discussion. Our power is diminished in proportion to our inability to connect with others working toward the same goals. There are numerous reasons for the relative absence of Pagans from interfaith efforts, but part of the reason is that we have not (until now) spoken with a unified voice about our concern about climate change. We need to prove to other faith communities that we are serious about our care for the earth — serious enough to set aside our egos and relativize our internal divisions, serious enough to speak harmoniously in response to the desecration of the earth.

We’re well on our way toward our goal of 10,000 signatures by Earth Day 2016. Here’s what you can do to help:

If you belong to a Pagan organization that has a mailing list, email list or newsletter, ask someone in the organization to promote the statement to its members.
Share the statement with 5 Pagan friends in a personal email or personal Facebook message.
If you haven’t already done so, go to ecopagan.com to sign the statement.

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