Writer's Block: Conversion Rate
No. I intend to die a witch and never be swayed from my chosen faith. There is no other religion in existence which so perfectly agrees with my own beliefs. Not only that, but I prefer the individual freedom and mutual respect I've found in this "disorganized" religion. Witchcraft has no dogma, no absolute hierarchy, and is one of the religions that charismatic individuals find difficult to abuse for their personal agendas.
I already converted from the religion I was raised in, and like a lot of converts I was originally very fervent in my belief. For a while, I was *almost* that witch with the "Christians: can't live with 'em, can't feed 'em to the lions anymore" bumper sticker. Luckily I never got quite that extreme and inflexible in my attitudes. Later on, I grew more comfortable in my faith and more mature as a person, which toned down my aggressive reactions to people who practiced certain other religions. Now some of my closest friends are devout Christians. Go figure.
Over time, I've maintained my faith, though I'm not as active in it as I once was. The Neo-Pagan community in my area has a core group of very active members, all of whom I used to practice with ... and one of their leaders is my ex's mom. I don't want to cause drama, so I avoid meetings. Plus, my working hours conflict with the mainly Friday-night rituals of the local groups. Trying to practice solitary has been difficult, so I guess this makes me a lapsed witch the way I used to be a lapsed Catholic?
The one thing that strengthens my faith most is challenge. I had a fundamentalist Christian coworker - one of the ones who gives all fundies a bad name. She felt the need to, as soon as I arrived at work, lean into my personal space and bounce her cross off my pentacle. That resulted in me wearing my pentacle every day where I used to only wear it on special occasions, and insisting that I be allowed to take pagan holidays off. I had to threaten legal action, but I got Samhain off every year. I grew a lot stronger in my faith when it was challenged daily. Maybe I can get my boss to hire another person like her...
I already converted from the religion I was raised in, and like a lot of converts I was originally very fervent in my belief. For a while, I was *almost* that witch with the "Christians: can't live with 'em, can't feed 'em to the lions anymore" bumper sticker. Luckily I never got quite that extreme and inflexible in my attitudes. Later on, I grew more comfortable in my faith and more mature as a person, which toned down my aggressive reactions to people who practiced certain other religions. Now some of my closest friends are devout Christians. Go figure.
Over time, I've maintained my faith, though I'm not as active in it as I once was. The Neo-Pagan community in my area has a core group of very active members, all of whom I used to practice with ... and one of their leaders is my ex's mom. I don't want to cause drama, so I avoid meetings. Plus, my working hours conflict with the mainly Friday-night rituals of the local groups. Trying to practice solitary has been difficult, so I guess this makes me a lapsed witch the way I used to be a lapsed Catholic?
The one thing that strengthens my faith most is challenge. I had a fundamentalist Christian coworker - one of the ones who gives all fundies a bad name. She felt the need to, as soon as I arrived at work, lean into my personal space and bounce her cross off my pentacle. That resulted in me wearing my pentacle every day where I used to only wear it on special occasions, and insisting that I be allowed to take pagan holidays off. I had to threaten legal action, but I got Samhain off every year. I grew a lot stronger in my faith when it was challenged daily. Maybe I can get my boss to hire another person like her...