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
Real World Benefits of Not Being Pagan

Real World Benefits of Not Being Pagan

Last updated on: May 27, 2011 at 11:23 am by Star Foster

Real World Benefits of Not Being Pagan 2011-05-27T11:23:39-04:00 Star Foster

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.

Find other posts related to this topic on the link round-up post!

When Drew Jacob wrote his post yesterday, I commented “some even claim that their religious communities actually thrive after they leave the Pagan label and community behind.”

I think a lot of people overlooked that point. People began to argue semantics, the history and meaning of the term Pagan, the need for solidarity, and what that label means for their personal identity. Few considered what it means that while not changing your beliefs and practices, your spiritual community improves simply by walking away from the Pagan label and community.

I’ve heard this from Hellenics and Heathens alike, but I’d always filed it away in the same part of my brain that processes the “where’s the birth certificate?” kind of statements. It seems so improbable and so against what I’ve truly believed for years about the Pagan community. Then again, some of the most successful lines of Witchcraft have maintained some distance from the Pagan community, my own tradition included.

My elders, almost none of whom identify as Pagan, had some interesting things to say about this. One told me the main problem with interacting with each other and trying to build pan-Pagan solidarity is that “we horrify each other” and I find that a fascinating way to characterize casual Pagan interactions. While we try to be open-minded and tolerant, so often deep inside we’re simply horrified because we secretly believe they’re doing it wrong. Even when we meet in good faith, somewhere deep in our soul we’re gasping and clutching our pearls.

I was given a useful analogy from a Wiccan perspective: on an energetic level pan-Pagan community can be like casual sex. Even though you’re perfectly prepared for this to be a one-time or very occasional event, energies still get mixed, and an egregore, however slight, is formed. Which makes sense when you hear people speak of pan-Pagan interaction as exhausting and frustrating. Even so, my elders were all for the greater Pagan community, even though in practice they keep our tradition quite separate and don’t tend to jump on board many pan-Pagan initiatives. As one of my teachers told me, the only flag we fly is the Wiccan one.

Since my tradition has been going strong since the mid 70’s, I have to say that maybe keeping some distance from Paganism (we participated in PPD for the first time last year) has helped them manage that. The Wiccan law regarding not splitting your energy between two covens might apply here, as Drew and others report limiting their interaction with Paganism, as an identity and community, benefited them. It conserved their energy, resources and thought processes for the very unique thing they are trying to do.

One of the teachings of my tradition is “nothing succeeds like a secret,” or as I like to think of it “you will love those shoes until your sister sneers at them, so don’t show your sister the shoes!” Why open up something that you love and works for you for critique by every Raven, Merlin and Rowan? Your tradition isn’t a dissertation to be challenged by every Pagan that comes along, so why not remain separate?

Of course, it’s not just Witchcraft that advocates smaller congregations, as most Pagans and even emergent Christians are committed to smaller groups. According to Robin Dunbar at Oxford, you can’t truly be friends with more than 50 people, so how many people can you have spiritual kinship with? Just what do you base that spiritual kinship on?

Semantics aren’t the underlying factor in this argument. As a polytheistic Wiccan, I often to find that my values are more often found among folks in other Pagan religions than my own. I generally have little in common with Wiccans outside my tradition, and I think that’s likely because we have a values base. It’s not that we aren’t engaging the Mystery and the Magick, but my experience has been that by emphasizing values the Craft itself thrives. When Drew talks about having more in common with Hindus and Native Americans, I get what he’s saying. I recently had a beer with a friend who is part of a Cherokee community and listening to him talk I heard the same values of my own tradition being expressed in a different language.

I had chatted with Drew awhile back saying I sensed a future schism between values/community based traditions, and those based on individuality/magick. Some of us are looking to create tribes and communities, some of us are looking for occult enlightenment, and some for spiritual anarchy. While there is and always will be overlap, I think that difference in emphasis will define the future of Paganism.

So while values, emphasis and such may help explain why groups do better when separate, it doesn’t address the idea that the very label “Pagan” may have become too charged, too political, too Wiccan or too tarnished. Just because it works “on paper” does that mean it truly works as a unifying and inclusive label in real life? Is it truly useful, or merely nostalgic? I honestly don’t know.

I do know that Paganism described in Wiccanate language bugs me, but I am honestly in love with the word. For me it evokes Cicero, Julian, Sappho and Hypatia. My vision of the word “pagan” is very Victorian, and probably not reflective of it’s modern reality. My vision of the Pagan community is “festival culture” where Pagans create a common reality for a few days of sweet harmony, or positive and supportive projects like IPCOD or PAGANdash. I know when I get to Pagan Spirit Gathering in a few weeks I will be engulfed in a truly supportive and inclusive pan-Pagan community.

Yet I don’t have any real answers to the experiences of those who’ve found life outside of Paganism a little greener. If Pagan has ceased to be a useful umbrella term, and if the Pagan community has become a stumbling block, then what next? How do we work together? How do we support each other?

Previous Post

May 27, 2011

Choosing to Remain Under the Pagan Umbrella

Next Post

May 27, 2011 UPDATED-Link Round-Up: Is the Pagan Label/Community Useful?

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

Who was known as the doubter among Jesus' disciples?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John James Peter Thomas