I've seen more than one article on the growth of Atheism lately. I've even listened to an entire series of Podcasts about a woman who was Wicca for 20 years and woke up one day to decide she was an atheist/humanist. Strangely, she says things like "The answers are within us". I had to stop myself from emailing her and asking how she had been Wiccan for 20 years without figuring that one out. I mean, has she even read the Charge of the Goddess? Besides the point, I've had similar experiences of questioning my faith and I know there are plenty of people who could echo the same. Maybe this is evidence that the books on our shelves and the often vapid ways our communities can practice is wearing on us. It's time to go deeper into our religion(s) and find meaning that resonates without being too dogmatic.
Honestly, are any of you farmers? Sure some of us have our hobby gardens, but does your life and livelihood depend on whether or not the harvest is good? Not likely. I think farmers make up like 1% of the American population. Don't quote me on that though. My point is, what do the practices of an agricultural people have to do with modern, grocery store consumers? Has Wicca really ever made it out the 1800's? Rather, was Wicca intended to make it out of an antiquated mind-set when it was created by Gardner in the 50's?
Most of what I see from atheists is a backlash of Judeo/Christian religions - mostly people who feel the dominance of those religions in this country is detrimental. With books like The God Delusion and The End of Faith hitting the shelves, Atheism seems to be making a run for the top of the religion (or anti-religion) food chain. What could this mean for Pagans? What could this mean for religion in general in this country? Would your rather live in a world with some religion (even if it was not your own) or no religion at all?
2 comments:
You've struck on the reason I don't celebrate any of the traditional holidays of Wicca and/or Paganism; they have very little if anything to do with my life and my conception of how the world flows. When I lived in Louisiana, it always astonished me that Pagans there celebrated the beginning of summer at the end of June, as if that was even marginally connected to daily life. Try the end of April! Or in Minnesota, I saw celebrations of winter in December, the celebrants knee-deep in the 9th or 10th snowfall of the season. And I wondered.
I do celebrate the seasons, and they do have impact on my life, but I celebrate them as they exist where I am, rather than by a calendar. The agricultural festivals I skip entirely; harvest doesn't mean much more to me than when the apples are good in the store and when the oranges are.
As for atheism, I don't worry much. They "backslide" too. And if they're the ones in for the next round of being "cool (non)spirituality of the year," I wish them well. Maybe it'll slow down the glut of very bad books about shamanism at long last!
Gypsy,
I have to admit that I do find myself in the middle of circle during the Sabbats. Instead of focusing on the agricultural aspects of them I tend to find goddess-centered meaning instead. I can't say I have found the right meanings in the "greater" sabbats just yet. I'll keep on searching or eventually throw them out all together. For me this is all part of a continual process of evalutating and re-evaluating my beliefs.
Thanks for the comments!
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