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

PANTHEON

Home
Pagan
What do you get when you cross a Pagan with a….

What do you get when you cross a Pagan with a….

Last updated on: April 30, 2010 at 5:55 am by lachesis

What do you get when you cross a Pagan with a…. 2010-04-30T05:55:44-04:00 lachesis

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.

…well, a Pagan.

I’m Wiccan and my husband is, um, well, he just “is.” He’s 100% Native American and while he doesn’t follow anything strictly, if he did, it would be the traditions and beliefs of his Navajo heritage.

This is generally a good mix for us, especially with the children. The kids participate with me in ritual and sing my Pagan songs (my son’s favorites are “Circle Round” and “Cats, Dogs”). My husband tells them the stories of his people, plays beautiful music on the Native American flute, and tries to teach them to walk “in beauty.” We have a “Night Night Prayer” that we say before bed time, though my pre-teen feels she’s grown a little too old for it. It’s a good combination of both of our beliefs. I have no idea who wrote it, but it was passed on to me via an email and I love it.

“Now I lay me down to rest.

I pray that all the world is blessed.

Lady Moon and Sister Star

Watch over me from afar.

Mother Earth is always there

and keeps me safe within her care.

The Lord of Dreams will dance and sing

and happy dreams will to me bring.

And when I wake to greet the day

Brother Sun will light my way.”

Both of us feel that, for us, this is a much preferred vision to send our children to sleep, rather than something that warns them they may die before they wake up.

But things aren’t always easy. My husband has no clue why I feel the need to light candles all the time. He likes them, just doesn’t know why I “need” them. And I don’t feel the same need to be within sight of mountains. They’re beautiful and I love them, but for the three years that we lived in Louisiana, he felt isolated and cutoff from his source.

All we can do is nod that we recognize this need in each other and be there to support each other.

Our kids are going to grow and find their own paths. Maybe it’ll be one of ours, maybe not. I know many parents in mixed faith relationships who understand this. Many choose to raise their children in one faith or the other, or in no faith, allowing the children to come to their own terms with spirituality.

I take the kids to a Unitarian Universalist church. They see me participating in large Pagan events like Front Range Pagan Pride Day. I like showing them how important it is to me to be part of a larger faith community. And I encourage them to meet and accept the kids of other faiths, to get to know what they know and learn to appreciate all the wonderful things people do to express their faith.

This subject came up in a recent conversation with my niece, who’s son is now about 6 months old. We were discussing having children baptized and she asked if some of the extended family had asked me about having my own baptized. And I remember the discussion with other ladies when we were all going through pregnancy together. I also remember this discussion with adults in the Catholic Church, many of whom had not stepped foot inside a Catholic Church since high school, but who still felt they needed to get their child baptized.

There’s a great deal of pressure on parents to have their children baptized or dedicated into the religion in which they were brought up, or into the religion of some family member. Adult family members, some of whom are perfectly content to allow adult children or siblings, still question why new parents may not choose this rite. Sometimes the pressure is subtle, sometimes not. And I know many new parents who go ahead with a baptism or dedication, if for no other reason than to please an extended family member.

And I’ll admit, I may have been one of those parents at one point. Earlier in my life, during a period when I wasn’t active in any faith, I may have been one of those parents who would have baptized my child just to please family members. But one of the most profound questions I heard from a great priest was to new parents. “Why would you want to commit your child to a faith if you have no intention of raising them in it?”

I think it’s a valid question. It certainly made me think and it’s influenced me in my own married life.

I’ve invited my husband to ritual or to attend the Unitarian Universalist church with me and the kids, but since he’s practically allergic to anything with “church” in it, I know he won’t go. I could try to “make” him go, but why would I try to force him into participating in something in which he doesn’t believe?

In the end, I hope that’s the most important thing we teach our children. We don’t all have the same spiritual needs, but we can support each other in what each of us requires to be spiritually whole.

And isn’t that what we want our kids to be, too?

Pagan

Previous Post

April 29, 2010

Walpurgisnacht: May 1st in the Northern Traditions

Next Post

April 30, 2010 A-Maying Around the Web

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category alexandrian asatru astrology ATW Audio books btw ceremonial magick chaos classics community conversion cosmology dianic discordian druid dvd eclectic equinox ethics family feri festivals film Fully Inclusive Events gardnerian gender issues glbt heathen hellenismos history humor initiation interfaith magick meditation Military movies music mysticism myth networking news Open Thread Pagan Pagan 101 Paganism passings polytheism Polytheistic Religion polytheology praxis Reading List religio romana review ritual sabbats santeria service solstice symbols tools values wicca witchcraft

Select a Month July 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What miracle did Elisha perform for a widow?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Multiplied oil Made fire fall Fed 5,000 Raised her son