Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
The Pagan Bubble

The Pagan Bubble

Last updated on: March 26, 2013 at 9:41 pm by John Beckett

The Pagan Bubble 2013-03-26T21:41:34-06:00 John Beckett

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.

Teo Bishop of Bishop in the Grove has a guest column on today’s Wild Hunt titled The Pagan Bubble, which I encourage you to read for yourself. It was inspired by a conversation with his step father, who told him “I read your blog, but I don’t really have any idea what you’re talking about.”

Teo describes how much of our conversation as Pagans – especially on the internet – is insular and isolated:

this talking to ourselves about ourselves is debilitating. We become steeped in our own lore, influenced by our own memetic waves, and stuck within a vocabulary and symbol system that could really benefit from a Universal Translator. We are well versed at talking about who we are to each other, but I’m beginning to think that we are (or, at least, I am) unpracticed at talking about who we are to people who do not share our vernacular.

I think Teo has a valid point that we need to be better prepared to explain who we are, what we do and why we do it to people who are immersed in a mainstream culture still heavily influenced by Protestant Christianity. But religious bubbles have existed ever since religion became a formal, organized thing, and they persist for good reasons.

The mainstream doesn’t need a bubble. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the mainstream is a bubble so large those inside it don’t realize there’s anything else. In the Wild Hunt comments, CUUPS National President David Pollard called that what it is – privilege.

Remember how the mainstream media explained all the details of the recent papal conclave (not always correctly) because even though Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination, most Christians (including many Catholics) don’t understand its intricacies. Go over to the Patheos Evangelical Channel and read some of the debates on Calvinism vs. Arminianism. I grew up in a Baptist church and I still have to look up some of the terminology.

These bubbles are necessary in order to promote deeper discussion and deliberation of religious concepts. The average American (including more than a few Pagans) doesn’t know what we mean by hard polytheism vs. soft polytheism because it isn’t important to them. But for those of us whose spiritual practice centers around a reciprocal relationship with one or several deities, it matters a great deal.

We need our Pagan bubble because it’s safe space – and comfortable space. I love going to Druid camp because I know I can strike up a conversation on the nature of the gods or the spirits of the land and people will know what I mean. I know they’ll respond thoughtfully, and even if they see things differently than I do they’ll still be respectful.

The most successful religious bubble of all time is Judaism. Shortly after 600 BCE, the Hebrews were conquered by the Babylonians and many of them were taken back to Babylon – modern day Iraq – as captives. Over time, some of them became more Babylonian than Hebrew – they were assimilating. In order to maintain their identity, they not only maintained their worship but they also adopted distinctive rules of conduct, dress and diet.

It was a very effective process. A small tribe of people who held their own land for perhaps 600 years, who were exiled for 2500 years, and who have been persecuted throughout history, are still alive and well and are considered one of the five major religions of the world.

Do we need a cultural bubble? While it’s impossible to completely separate religion and culture, as the Jews have shown there is value in adopting distinctive dress, foods, music and such. But here’s where it gets problematic – we’ve all run into Pagans whose appearance and behavior bear a strong resemblance to a Halloween caricature of a witch. There is magic in putting on a uniform… but that magic will be weak unless there’s some study and practice behind it.

Teo made a comparison to the “gay bubble” that he knows well. But I don’t think that’s a perfect analogy. If the gay bubble went away, gay people would still be gay. Their culture might become indistinguishable from mainstream culture, but gay men wouldn’t suddenly start wanting to have sex with women. If the Pagan bubble goes away, what would keep you Pagan?

Our mainstream society’s values are frequently at odds with our own. It promotes conformity, consumption, and the domination of the many by the few. It offers distractions and illusions and its attraction is strong.

If the Pagan bubble goes away, what would counteract popular culture? Is your connection to the old gods and to Nature strong enough? Is mine strong enough? Is the connection of the average Wiccan, Druid, Heathen, or Hellenist strong enough? Or would we meld into the mushy mainstream? This is one of the reasons I’m such an advocate for group practice – it provides reinforcement of what it means to be Pagan.

Teo asks “might we be better served by the deconstruction of our ghettos?” I don’t think so. But while we need the Pagan bubble, our bubble needs to be permeable. We need to be able to explain the essence of our Paganism to Catholics and Evangelicals and Buddhists and the ever-growing Nones. There are Pagan ideas the rest of the world desperately needs to hear, like the sacredness of Nature, the Divine Feminine, the multiplicity of the Divine, and a proper definition of sovereignty. These aren’t exclusively Pagan concepts, but we’re in a good position to articulate them.

Our bubble needs to be permeable both ways – we need to be open to good ideas and helpful practices no matter where they originate. We’re quick to borrow from other minority religions – sometimes too quick. Most of us have a positive view of Buddhism. But a good idea is a good idea, even if it comes from an atheist or a fundamentalist Christian.

Only a few of us grew up Pagan. Most of us are Pagan because we’ve been called by something or someone: by Goddess, by a particular goddess or god, by our ancestors, or by Nature. We need the safety and the reinforcement of our Pagan bubble to nurture that call and to help us learn and grow. But we don’t need to learn and grow so we can become a big fish in a small religious pond, we need to learn and grow so we can transform the world. That’s only possible if our bubble is permeable.

Write and rehearse your Pagan elevator speech. Figure out how you’ll respond to those who are genuinely and respectfully curious. See how you can present Pagan concepts to the mainstream world, with your life as well as with your words.

But spend as much time as you need in the Pagan bubble.

Previous Post

March 24, 2013

A Pagan Looks at Easter

Next Post

March 28, 2013 Why I Am a Pagan

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Books Community CUUPS Druidry Foundations and Context Gods and Goddesses Magic Myth Nature Ritual Spiritual Practice Theology Travel Uncategorized Videos

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 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 April 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 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who found baby Moses in the river?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Miriam Moses' mother A shepherd Pharaoh's daughter