Paganism Rant

[moon_ferret]

One the message boards I am on is populated by some wild and woolly Pagans. There are a couple in particular that are quite a bit older than me and have been around the Pagan community for thirty plus years. One has the screen name of Daimon and is one of the ones that I always know I want to read his posts. This one was one of my favorites and

Comments

[misslynx]

Personally, I'm Pagan for some of the same reasons I'm alternative in other ways -- I have very different values from the mainstream, from gender identity to sexuality and relationships, from cultural and stylistic expression to religion.

That's a very good point, and a statement that I can identify strongly with as well. No, I don't think being pagan necessitates being part of any other sort of subculture, but it can mesh very well with some of them. Statement like that long list of "______ is not paganism", while technically true in that none of these things are a requirement for being pagan, can also come across as judgemental and imply that either you can't be pagan and any of these things, or at least that you have to experience those different parts of your life as completely unrelated.

That's not the case for me any more than it sounds like it is for you -- for me, the various ways in which I fall outside the mainstream do relate to or at least parallel each other... I can't carve my life up into separate little boxes like that just to satisfy someone who insists on lecturing me about how thus-and-such feature of my life is Not Paganism, and there's no reason I should be expected to.

I know it's probably a backlash against the stereotype of all pagans being innately freaky, but I find there's a creeping trend of conservatism and conformity in the pagan community, a growing sense that in the interests of PR we have to be "just like everyone else", and that really disturbs me.

[heresiarch]

I completely agree -- I think you articulated a lot of what I was trying to say :). This kind of attitude does bother me a little. Maybe I just haven't been exposed to a lot people who try to use Paganism to justify polyamory or kink or other kinds of alternative lifestyles -- but really, why would anyone need to justify those choices? I definitely don't think you have to be alternative or countercultural to be Pagan, but you can't escape the fact that it's a minority religion and viewed socially as an alternative religious affiliation. Furthermore, I do think Paganism requires questioning some basic social norms and assumptions, such as patriarchical religion and monotheism. Too many people today "convert" to Paganism without really examining their underlying assumptions about religion which they bring with them, usually from Christianity.

[moon_ferret]

Maybe I just haven't been exposed to a lot people who try to use Paganism to justify polyamory or kink or other kinds of alternative lifestyles -- but really, why would anyone need to justify those choices?

Very good question and one that I have asked. I don't think that you have to justify your lifestyle any more than I should have too. Believe me, I am living a doozy right now. The fact that my mother hasn't had a heart attack yet...

I think what I get out of it is that while these things are personal and "acceptable" (and I am using that term in quotes to try and say it is none of my damned business who anyone sleeps with) I am not sure why people feel the need to link them with Paganism. Or to explain their choices with the answer "Because I am an Pagan". I avoided the local Pagan community like the plague for years because of issues like these. I prefer to think that these are personal choices and personalities rather than Religious Callings. Once again I am not sure if that makes sense to anyone other than me.

Furthermore, I do think Paganism requires questioning some basic social norms and assumptions, such as patriarchical religion and monotheism

This makes sense. I agree.

Too many people today "convert" to Paganism without really examining their underlying assumptions about religion which they bring with them, usually from Christianity.

But who is to say which are assumptions and which are personal choices? I prefer to be monogamous and am attracted to males. Does this make me less of a Pagan? Does that mean that I brought those ideals from Christianity? I also have a problem with the rampant drinking and drug use that I run into at a lot of Pagan gatherings. I also have a problem with them at Non-Pagan gatherings. So I avoid places that make me uncomfortable. I don't link behaviors that I don't like to someone's religion with the exception of giving me leaflets. And even that I usually write off to someone's world view rather than the fact that they are Christian. Not that I am disagreeing with that last sentence. I am just not sure how I feel about it.