The Trouble with 20th Century Paganism

I discovered Paganism at 14. I’d done the standard church confirmation thing and cried for two hours before and right through the ‘ritual.’ [don’t get me started on Protestant ‘rituals’] I wasn’t crying because it was beautiful. I cried because I wanted it to mean something and it didn’t. At the time, I didn’t know why I was nearly hysterical. [I’m sure that 14-year-old-girl hormones didn’t help either.]

Later I realized that the path laid out for me by Presbyterianism looked like a slow death of my soul. I felt no connection to the divine when in the sanctuary [with the exception of the candlelight service on Christmas Eve] and there was nothing beautiful or nourishing about what I was taught in Confirmation classes. Quite the opposite. Calvinist theology would have us believe that some people were saved, some were not, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. This was God’s will and we should all just act as if we were saved because… [incoherent mumbling from the instructor.]

It wasn’t my teachers’ fault. Christianity hasn’t faired well against the Enlightenment and the barrage of ‘rational thinking.’

But that’s their problem to solve, not mine.

I found Paganism and didn’t look back. 45 years later, I’m still Pagan.

And I’m frustrated.

John Beckett talks here about how Paganism hasn’t quite gone in the direction he’d like. Where are the temples? Where is the community we long for? He’s at a loss and seems prepared to give up. I’d like to see those things too. Preferably before I check out. Beckett doesn’t understand why what we all hoped for didn’t materialize.

I do. When I first started going to Rites of Spring in Western Massachusetts, the community was 20 years younger and full of vitality. The rituals were spectacular, the drumming circles were transformative, the people comforting, creative, and fun.

It’s 24 years later, and I stopped going to Rites about 6 years ago. There was some life stuff and logistical challenges, but I could have overcome those. What put me off the Pagan world was the anti-male and anti-human attitudes that I saw in the people around me at events and in school. For about 10 years, I was also taking classes at Cherry Hill Seminary for an M. Div. CHS is the only school to offer such degrees in a specifically Pagan worldview. I didn't just take classes, I did web design, served as the Assistant to the Director [lovely woman], and wrote their curriculum for incarcerated Pagans. I was privileged to meet Elders and teachers in the Pagan community who saw the value of having an institution that met the standards of the wider world and would allow better service to those in the greatest need.

Most of these elders and teachers were much more pragmatic and open-minded than the average Pagan. It was the people I would theoretically have been serving who put me off. When my computer crashed in 2018, taking every single password with it [and right in the middle of rehabbing a duplex that was 1.5 hours away from us.] I threw up my hands.

And now I’ve been called back.

If Paganism is going to survive the coming tide of Christian revival [and it’s coming folks] we’d best get our act together and figure out how we fit into the wider community. We can’t afford to sit quietly and say nothing if we want a seat at the table. If we don’t communicate with people in other religions - Christians in particular - we are in the vulnerable position of having our rights taken away. The current state of Paganism is not going to get us that seat, and most Christians don't have a clue who we are, or more important for them, what we stand for.

If we don’t talk about what’s wrong in Paganism, we can’t get to what could be right.

In going through my old blog posts [which go back to 2011] I realize my frustration isn’t new. The current political environment is especially toxic, but it didn’t start in 2020, or even 2016.

Pagans as a group tend toward being open to new things, creative, and not fond of rules and order. This corresponds to the traits of liberals. In my experience, this is the political position of many Pagans. A position that includes environmentalism, feminism, a desire for justice for all, and a demand for inclusion.

The first problem is that ‘inclusion’ doesn’t mean differences in political opinion. ‘Inclusion’ comes across as comfortable tribalism for those who agree, and like something much less pleasant to those who don’t. But we’re a small community and being ostracized can mean no community at all.

We can’t afford to be pushing people out if we want to be a viable religion in the future. Paganism is barely viable now. Since I first discovered Paganism, I have watched my fellow practitioners, slowly fall into a worldview that is tragic, depressing, and possibly nihilistic. Recognizing the sacred aspects of nature has become an anti-human perspective; a perspective that discourages human thriving and discourages having children.

When I was still attending Rites, I loved watching the young people engage with the world around them and the adults in the community. At the time, I didn’t realize how few there were, but now, I’m watching the people I knew age, and there isn’t anyone replacing them in the community. At the last circle I went to in Connecticut, there were maybe 30 adults and three kids.

That’s not exactly replacement numbers.

[This is something the Heathens are mostly getting right. They seem more inclined to have families.]

The political problem is deeper than that. The solutions to the problems we feel drawn to aren’t necessarily what politicians claim. If we want to solve environmental degradation as a religious imperative, we must find common ground with anyone interested in solving the problem regardless of politics. There are excellent solutions to environmental problems. Solutions that align with finding the sacred in nature but that also support human thriving. These things needn’t be mutually exclusive.

The anti-human agenda is tragic. One of my Pagan friends expressed the opinion that if humans all died out, it might be just fine [although she did seem very depressed about it.] I’m very fond of this woman and this made my chest hurt. What are the gods for but to give us hope and guide us in making our world better for both humans and other creatures?

I do not believe the gods want us to be this divided. I believe it is our human foolishness. I understand that we have genetic inclinations and biological drives that lead us down certain paths. But just because we naturally have such drives doesn’t meant that we have to indulge them.

Paganism needs a rebirth if we aren’t going to just fade into oblivion. I think we have some valuable things to offer humanity: creativity, art, ritual, and intuition among other things. If you’re Pagan [or Heathen] and believe we have viable practices that could be part of a vibrant community of religions [as was the case in the ancient world] then subscribe now.

If it is not in the nature of deity to guide us into alignment with our best selves, what is the point? What better reason could there be to engage in religious activities?

Pagans have things to fix if we aren’t going to fade into oblivion. If you’re Pagan [or Heathen] and believe we have practices that could be part of a vibrant community of religions [as was the case in the ancient world] then subscribe now. I’ll will go into theology, how to live as a Pagan in the 21st century, and what will help us talk to Christians.

Selina Rifkin, M.S. [Nutrition], LMT, has 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. 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.