Why “Pagan”? – An Atheist Pagan’s Response to a Theist

[rug]

September 10, 2015
by John Halstead

Over at the Heathen blog, Jön Upsal’s Garden, the (unnamed) writer of the blog has addressed “A Question for John Halstead”.

His question is essentially “Why the heck do you call yourself Pagan?” Since I don’t know the author’s name, I will call him Jön. Jön’s question is a genuine one, and it is one I have heard several times in the last few weeks. Jön’s question is addressed not just to me, but to other atheist Pagans and Humanistic Pagans out there, so I encourage others to post their responses as well. And to that end, I will be cross-posting this response on the HumanisticPaganism.com blog next month. The blogger, NaturalPantheist, and social media coordinator for HumanisticPaganism.com has already posted his response here.

So the question is: Why do we call ourselves “Pagan”? Why not just call ourselves atheists or humanists? What does the “Pagan” label add to our identity? Implicit in Jön’s question is the assumption that the term “Pagan” implies a belief in the literal existence of gods. And it is that assumption that I need to address first.

1. Theism was never a necessary element of contemporary Paganism.

I guess it makes sense to assume that all contemporary Pagans must be polytheists, given that ancient pagans were polytheists. But I have always found this assumption to be odd, given the history of the Neo-Pagan revival. Following Sarah Pike, author of New Age and Neopagan Religions in America, I date the beginning of the Neo-Pagan movement to 1967, which was the year three of the most important early Neo-Pagan groups were organized. In 1967, Feraferia was incorporated, the New Reformed Order of the Golden Dawn was founded, and the Church of All Worlds filed for incorporation. Literal belief in gods was not a requirement for membership in any of these organizations. Even if you date the Neo-Pagan revival earlier to Gerald Gardner, literal theism was not a requirement for British Witchcraft either. Even modern Heathenry (which also began in the 1960s) was historically ambivalent about the nature of the gods.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/allergicpagan/2015/09/10/why-pagan-an-atheists-response-to-a-theist/

[underpants]

1. For God's sake! Can't we all just get along?

[rug]

2. You wandered in here by mistake, didn't you?

[underpants]

3. Just following my path

No I wanted to read the article.

Turn or burn. That is all.

[icymist]

4. Oh, this is hilarious!

First, I must thank you for the laugh. It is rare when I read something that is as outrageous as saying that you don't need to believe in the Gods to practice Feri! Obviously, this guy does not know Feri.
Second, in my experience, I have found that there are indeed two kinds of pagans; those who sit around all day long reading about it and then claiming some kind of expertise, and those who actually practice.

This is all I'm going to say on this matter because if there is anything that witches have learned in the last few hundred years is to keep silent.

[rug]

5. Thanks for contributing your experience.

What do you think of the Humanist Paganism he linked to?

http://humanisticpaganism.com/

[icymist]

7. I have to run out with the roommate for a bit.

Last edited Fri Sep 11, 2015, 01:13 AM - Edit history (1)

I'll get back to you on that.

[icymist]

8. Hi Rug. I have a little bit of time right now.

My, that's a lot of material to go through. If this is what works for you, then great! My problem with John Halstead is that he simply states that Sarah Pike's book puts the beginning of the neo-paganism at 1967 and then proceeds to claim that there was no need to believe in deity for the secretive feraferia (Feri) faith, the complicated system of the Order of the Golden Dawn, and the organization called the Church of All Worlds. I'm sorry, but he got some of this wrong.

The creator of the Feri Faith, Victor Anderson has stated firmly that the belief in the Gods/Goddesses is a must. The entire Faith works through these. You can learn about Feri Tradition here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feri_Tradition

As for the Golden Dawn and the Church of all Worlds, there are indeed those who work outside of a belief in divinity. They work with the archetype of the God and/or Goddess.

I will have more for you later after I've gone through all that material Mr. Halstead has linked through.
Best Witches, icy

[rug]

9. Wow, you're well-informed.

No, the original article is not my position at all. I found it curious that he claimed to be both pagan and atheist.

[AtheistCrusader]

11. I have a close friend that identifies as a pagan atheist.

He does participate in at least some rites. But I believe him when he says he doesn't believe in the supernatural.

[allergicpagna]

10. You're confusing Feri and Feraferia

Last edited Fri Sep 11, 2015, 02:19 PM - Edit history (2)

icymist,

Feri and Feraferia are not the same thing. Feri was founded by Victor Anderson. Feraferia was founded by Fred Adams. They are completely different things. I don't write about Feri because it is a closed-initiatory tradition. Feraferia is not.

But I'm going to have to check with some of my Feri-initiate acquaintances to see if "belief in the gods" is required. I know that Feri lore talks about the gods a lot, but I thought Feris are more concerned with practice than belief -- so I thought one could practice Feri and believe the gods are archetypes and not metaphysical beings.

John Halstead

[icymist]

12. Hello allergicpagna and welcome to the DU!

Thank you for your response.

It's been almost thirty years since I last read Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon and I did indeed confuse Feri with Feraferia. Both of these groups were explained in the same section of that book as I recall. I think that because Feraferia has declined so much in the past is where the confusion may have originated. There simply are not any followers around here these days. I have since, talked with friends from many other different traditions: Feri, ADF, G.: D.:, O.T.O., even eclectic, and those practicing a solitary path. All whom I have talked with about this matter cannot imagine practicing their Craft without the Goddess or God being present. I know that I, myself can't imagine practicing with only the archetype of the Goddess or God pertaining to what I'm working with. This is how I was taught and there I may be biased regarding this subject. A good friend of mine back in the early '90's had a motto: Whatever works for you. That is where I'm going to leave this. I do hope that you stay with the DU and share with us. BB ~icy

[rug]

13. What a nice post.

You should post in here more yourself.

[icymist]

14. Thank you.

I would like that.

[Cartoonist]

6. Oh, you mean the New-Pagans.

Watch out for militant pagans next.