A few years ago, most of my friends were Pagan. If I were a member of a majority religion, this would have been quite average. I went out of my way to find such friends and this served me well. Pagans don't judge me for what would be odd and quirky in average American culture: talking to land spirits, a fondness for discussing theology and metaphysics, a love of all things creative, and a willingness to embrace difference. All of these have been instrumental in my growth and healing, and in becoming a better person. I am deeply grateful to have a place to express that part of myself.
And yet, I often find myself feeling frustrated when talk turns to politics. This isn’t shocking and it would be easy to do what we so often do with our relatives; just not talk about that particular subject. However, among Pagans, I’ve felt safe enough to allow my deepest wounds and secret places to be seen, and yet I may still be lambasted for holding an opinion that runs contrary to the majority.
Should I do what I do with my family and set aside that part of myself? As with my spiritual path, my understanding of human behavior and history continues to grow. These are insights and understandings that I want to share and mull over with others, especially people who might not agree with my position. If my ideas will fall under the first challenge then they aren’t worth maintaining. But I don’t usually get to do that because of the current political atmosphere. Many, although certainly not all, Pagans land on the left.
This is frequently because of the quirks I first mentioned. I know far too many Pagans who left the fundamentalist Christianity in which they were raised because they were told how they saw the world was evil, or even because of outright abuse. They refuse to have anything to do with Christians. If I mention talking to Christians, I risk being viewed with the same suspicion their families dished out to them.
But why bring politics up at all? What does politics have to do with religion anyway? In the USA, we have as the basis for government a document that contains the statement that government shall not endorse any religion. I think all of us who were born here take that for granted - even being part of a minority religion - until we run up against some petty local tyrant that knows beyond the shadow of a doubt that Pagans are evil. It would be nice to ignore politics. Politics is messy. One might even say filthy in the most spiritual sense.
I use the term "filthy" with deliberation. In our spiritual communities, we can practice our ethics as we see fit. We try to be the best people we can and stretch ourselves to keep calm, apologize, offer more, and do those things that grow our humanity. As Pagans we may practice inclusivity, respect for differences, honoring the feminine, and so forth.
Politics on the other hand is about dealing with people who not only don’t agree with you, but who might just think you’re disgusting. I use that word specifically as well. According to Jonathan Haidt, PhD., our moral sensibility around the spiritual and religious partly evolved from our ability to be omnivores. We have both deep curiosity about new foods and caution that can turn quickly to disgust. It’s more than fear and anger that keeps us apart. Fear and anger can be overcome. Disgust is much more difficult.
Also, once someone decides you’re evil, it’s pretty easy to find reasons to feel the same way about them. That’s what humans do. But religion is supposed about moving past that. Right?
There are very good scientific arguments that religion evolved because it helped us build coalitions between differing groups. Pagans often used the concept of tribe to denote chosen extended family within our spiritual traditions. But the flipside of tribe is that it excludes. Historically, tribal societies didn’t think much of their neighbors. Among the native peoples of the Americas, as well as in New Guinea, whatever tribe you lived in referred to itself as "the people," while the neighbors were others, or maybe even monsters. It was a part of our survival and is ingrained in our biology. This attitude is part of our moral foundations in the form of in-group loyalty.
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That question is, which larger groups do Pagans want to be part of? We have to choose. Nations are the next step in the trajectory of humans being groupish. Paganism can only survive as an open religion is a place where religious liberty is constitutionally protected. Yes, Wicca started in the UK, but that’s not going to last if the current political trajectory of jailing people for Tweets continues.
Politics is about dealing both with people we see as monsters, and sometimes real monsters in the form of sociopaths and narcissists. At best, we’re dealing people outside our tribe. While we’re most comfortable in our own groups, the grime of politics is necessary to our survival as well. To paraphrase the late Charles Krathhammer, in the introduction to his book Things that Matter, while the gods – or nature – are more destructive than humanity, nothing matches humans for cruelty. The massacre of innocents is the work of humans organizing to gain power. The most destructive regimes - those that have killed the most people - are those that have sought to undo the bonds of family, religion, and ethics and all happened in the 20th century.
Libertarians - and much of the Pagan ethic is libertarian, much as some want to deny it - just want people to leave them alone. But humans don’t leave each other alone. We survive better if we can build coalitions. With coalitions, we get more done. That allows us to withstand the onslaught of nature and other humans.
John Adams said "I must study politics and war so that my sons may have the liberty to mathematics, philosophy, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children the right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." Without the right politics, there is no religious choice, or even no religion at all.
Pagans as a group are too small to risk such a fate. So no, I won’t stop talking about politics.
If you’re curious about Paganism/Heathenism/Wicca/Druidry, please feel free to message me and I’ll be happy to answer questions.
Selina Rifkin, M.S. [Nutrition], LMT, has been Pagan since she was 14 [which was a long time ago] and been to Hades in a handbasket. More than once. This has given her some opinions. She has direct communication with her gods and they’ve always given her answers when she asks. [One does have to ask.] Like most of her generation [X] she’s okay with snark. Most days she tries for good writing. But the snark, and side comments creep in. Be warned.
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