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

Pagan Tama

Home
Pagan
Three reasons why Pagans should support equality for the nonreligious

Three reasons why Pagans should support equality for the nonreligious

Last updated on: January 2, 2019 at 10:24 am by Megan Manson

Three reasons why Pagans should support equality for the nonreligious 2019-01-02T10:24:48+00:00 Megan Manson

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.

In campaigning for greater equality for all, it’s vital that Pagan activists stick up for the rights of the nonreligious as well as the religious.

It’s admirable that so many Pagans are active in the field of human rights. Naturally, many have fought the rights of Pagans themselves – and made significant wins. Thanks to the hard work of both Pagan and non-Pagan activists, Pagans are now less vulnerable to discrimination than before in the US, the UK and other countries.

It’s also admirable that many Pagans also stand up for the rights of others outside the Pagan community. Pagans are frequently advocates of gender and LGBT+ equality. It makes sense; the history of modern Paganism is intertwined with feminist and sexual freedom movements.

There are also Pagans who champion the rights of other religious people too. Many work to challenge religious bigotry against Muslims, Jews and other groups who are frequent victims of hatred and discrimination. And others work in interfaith, helping to build relationships and understanding between different religious communities.

This is all fantastic work and long may it continue. But there is one area where I would love to see more Pagan activists coming forward and speaking up: equality for the nonreligious.

By “nonreligious”, I mean the entire spectrum of people who do not identify with a religion, from those who are ‘spiritual but not religious’, to those who don’t give religion much thought at all, to ‘lapsed’ members of religious communities who no longer practise, to those who actively and proudly identify as Atheist or Humanist.

The nonreligious make up a huge percentage of the world population yet their oppression and persecution are often overlooked, especially in conversations about religious freedom. Religious freedom includes the freedom of non-belief, but this right not to hold a belief is frequently forgotten. Consider:

In 13 countries, being non-religious is punishable by death.
In 22 countries, leaving a religion is a criminal offence.
The overwhelming majority of the 192 United Nation member countries discriminate against citizens who have no belief in a god.

Even in my country, the comparatively liberal UK, the nonreligious are probably the most frequent victims of systemic, legally-sanctioned discrimination than any other religion or belief group. When you consider over 50% of British people have no religion, that’s insane. And yet, when it comes to things even as basic as education, the nonreligious regularly find themselves at a disadvantage compared with the religious.

So here’s why I think Pagan campaigners for equality, inclusivity and human rights should bring their passion and compassion to the cause of championing equality for non-religious people:

#1 Many people don’t think Pagan religions are religions at all.

The first reason why Pagans should champion rights for the nonreligious is self-interest. In many people’s minds, Pagans are included in the nonreligious group because they think Paganism ‘isn’t a proper religion.’ It’s true that Paganism does look pretty different from the ‘mainstream’ religions: there’s no formal clergy, no firmly established rules, no holy book, no centralised organisation, and very few official places of worship. To many, this is reason enough for Paganism to not be considered a religion (or group of religions, to be more accurate).

This is even an issue in some legal jurisdictions. In England, the state’s charity regulator failed to recognise the Pagan Federation, one the largest organisations supporting Pagans in the UK, as a religious organisation for the purposes of charity law. This is simply because Paganism looks a little different to religions such as Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and other religions readily recognised as such in charity law.

There are even Pagans who don’t consider Paganism a religion. For some, the word ‘religion’ has negative connotations of control and dogma, and so they do not like to associate Paganism with the term.

As long as the notion that Paganism isn’t a ‘real’ religion is widespread, it makes sense for Pagans to ensure the rights of the nonreligious are given equal protection to those of the religious, in order to protect themselves.

#2 The links between Paganism and Atheism are deep

On one level, it’s understandable that so many people fail to recognise Pagan beliefs as religions: the average Pagan and the average Atheist has a lot in common.

Both Pagans and Atheists usually reject dogma in favour of freedom of thought and expression. Both rebel against authoritarian religions. Both tend to value the concept of universal human rights for the individual over obedience to religious authorities. Both usually have at least an appreciation for science and environmentalism. And both have long been despised by fundamentalists and theocracies, and there’s still often a stigma attached to the labels “pagan” and “atheist”. Any time either a Pagan or an Atheist tries to assert their human rights, you’ll find there are religious groups who, sensing that their privilege position is threatened, do their utmost to accuse them of militancy or religious intolerance.

In the minds of many fundamentalists, the terms “pagan” and “atheist” are more or less interchangeable. One historical use of the term “pagan” was simply someone who was not a Christian, or rejected Christian teachings. That could be someone who follows a nature-based, polytheistic path, or someone who follows no religion at all.

The connection between Paganism and Atheism is so strong that there are no shortage of people who identify as both “Pagan” and “Atheist”, or “Witch” and “Atheist”. There are secular witches, who practice magic without believing in any gods; they see themselves as the source of their magic without the need of any spirits of deities. And there the flourishing Humanistic Pagan, Atheopagan and Pantheist movements, all of which vary but are linked by a rejection of superstition and traditional notions of deities.

While they may not see eye to eye on everything, most Pagans and Atheists have enough in common to make natural allies in the battle for equality and human rights for all.

#3 Nonreligious rights = human rights

The most important reason why Pagans should support equality for the nonreligious is because nonreligious rights are human rights. That’s the one thing that links us all, regardless of race, gender, nationality or religion/belief: we are all human. Nonreligious people are just as worthy of respect, dignity and the right to hold beliefs as religious people. Those who believe in universal human rights have moral obligation to recognise and uphold this.

So the next time you’re out fighting for the rights of Pagans and other religious groups, please consider whether your efforts are equally supportive and inclusive of the rights of the nonreligious. In your fight stop children from Pagan families from being discriminated against in education, are you also helping children from nonreligious families? In your fight for the right of minority religious groups to live without discrimination, are you also supporting the right of members who have left, or want to leave the religion, to live without intimidation or shame? In your local interfaith group, are nonreligious people who support the aims of interfaith given an equal right to participate?

Champion the rights of the nonreligious for the same reasons you champion the rights of the religious – because to do so is to champion the rights of Pagans, and the rights of all human beings.

Secularism, Politics & Human Rights

Previous Post

December 30, 2018

The top 10 stories of 2018 in Pagan & Shinto news

Next Post

January 6, 2019 Pagan & Shinto News: Minivan attack near Meiji Shrine blights New Year celebrations

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art, Craft & Expression Musings & Miscellaneous Nature & Science News & Reviews Ritual & Festivals Secularism, Politics & Human Rights Shinto & Japanese Religion Uncategorized

Select a Month 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 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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many chapters are in the book of Hebrews?

Select your answer to see how you score.

10 13 15 16