Reclaiming our Religion
Jun 30, 2022
Religion is any set of actions or texts that express a metaphysical belief. A religion can have a membership of one.
We are facing a democratic crisis in our country. The First Amendment, which allows us as members of the Pagan community to freely follow our own conscience, is under threat by forces of fascism, racism, and Christian supremacy. For too long we have allowed the worst representations of religion to define religion for our culture.
We need to take that back. We have to, or we will be silenced completely.
Many of us have been hurt by institutions of religion, hurt by the institutions that insist on defining religion itself. It is natural for us to push away from something that has done us so much harm, to disavow them on their own terms. Taking on their worldview, consciously or unconsciously, we have declared that "religion" is bad, it is organized, it is dogmatic, it is oppressive, it is disconnected from nature, or from the divine. We have claimed that religion itself is harmful, and called ourselves non-religious, anti-religious, or "spiritual not religious."
How foolish that is! Ask any member of our community what they do for one of our holidays, how they honor the dead or bless and cleanse their houses, and they will provide you with an answer without delay. We each have a coherent set of actions and responses that beautifully express our own metaphysical beliefs. When we gather together for celebration we blend beautifully, having many shared concepts of practice, many shared and memorized invocations and songs.
Some of us have declared or avowed group memberships, but just as many or more do not, and we still recognize our commonalities. We find like-minded others, and frequently we evolve and become part of different groups or practices, but differences in practice are accepted as normal, as interesting, as vital.
So, why do we not honor what we are living? We are faced with a force that wants to codify their definitions into law and erase any other practice of religion. Now is not the time to be shy. Now is not the time to suppress our lived religious truths and allow vengeful bullies to monopolize the dialog.
We are a deeply religious people. Our religious practices embrace freedom of choice, diversity of belief and expression, validity without institutionalism. Our religious culture rejects conformity, especially enforced conformity. Our religious practice supports the individual conscience, and personal gnosis as valid.
For many in our community religious practice is woven into every part of our lives, from magic in the kitchen, to salt across the doorways, to lighting candles and conducting rituals for health and well being on a regular basis. It permeates the way we view the months and the seasons, the way we respond to birth and death.
There are organized groups that would be more than happy to say that we do not have a coherent or recognizable religious practice, they want to define religion and religious freedom only in accordance with their orthodoxy. They want their dominance to be complete and enshrined in the law.
Our survival may depend on rejecting their monopoly on the definition of religion and being willing to embrace, honor, and declare our own. If we succeed, we will have saved religious freedom, not only for ourselves, but for everyone, including those who would deny that freedom to us.
Peace of the mountains to you,
Paulie Rainbow
founder: Druidry Centered Women's Circle