The Celebration of Diversity in Paganism: Embracing Different Beliefs and Practices

By admin 2024-05-23

Pagan values refer to the set of ethical principles and beliefs followed by those who identify as pagans. This term encompasses a broad range of spiritual and religious traditions that are rooted in nature worship and the connection with the natural world. One of the core values of paganism is the reverence for nature. Pagans view the Earth as sacred and believe in the interconnectivity and interdependence of all living beings. This reverence for nature often leads to an emphasis on environmentalism and sustainable living practices. Another important value in paganism is the celebration of diversity and individuality.

Paganism for Beginners: Values

Pagan values and virtues Pagan values are grounded in an appreciation of life and the enjoyment of being physically embodied, and the desire for others to enjoy the same experience. A value is shared norm or expectation of a group; something that is considered desirable. A virtue is a quality of a person or a group that is considered desirable. Traditionally, most Pagan ethical codes were lists of virtues which were considered desirable, instead of a set of rules to be kept. The cultivation of virtues by the individual was said to lead to eudaimonia, a happy state of being.

The Temple of Ancient Virtue.
Built in 1837 to a design by William Kent. Devised as a cenotaph to the four ancient Greeks who embodied Lord Cobham’s virtues – inside are niches containing life-size statues of Socrates, Homer, Lycurgus and Epaminondas.
© Copyright Trevor Rickard and
licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. Hospitality This was and is a hugely important virtue in just about every traditional culture, and governed the behaviour of both guest and host. Imagine you are travelling in a strange land, like Gawain in the story of Gawain and the Green Knight. The offer of a nice warm bed, and a feast every night, would be an absolute godsend if you were riding in a howling wilderness at midwinter. Imagine you were shipwrecked on a strange coast, like Odysseus in the story of The Odyssey. Rescuing and looking after shipwrecked travellers would be a sacred obligation in an age when there were no coastguards and few lighthouses. But the guest must also behave honourably towards the host. Many cultures still have the beautiful custom of the guest-gift – something that the guest brings the first time they visit your house. Being inclusive and welcoming to all could be said to be a logical extension of hospitality. Reciprocity and balance This is linked with the idea of hospitality. “A gift for a gift” says the Hávamál. Connections between people are maintained by the exchange of gifts (not necessarily physical objects, but the gifts of time and attention). Everything in Nature is balanced, and the same is true of society and culture – as in the saying “what goes around, comes around”. This is related to the Pagan concept of cyclicity, which maintains that everything goes in cycles: night and day; the seasons; birth, life, death, and rebirth. A common treasury for all The land is sacred in all Pagan traditions, and looking back at non-hierarchical cultures, we can see that it was held in common by the people, or not owned at all. The persistence of the idea of communal land, despite the Enclosures, the Highland Clearances, and the theft of land from indigenous peoples around the world, shows what an important idea this is. Honour The upholding of personal integrity appears in lists of virtues compiled by a number of different cultures and traditions, including the eight Wiccan Virtues, and the Nine Noble Virtues of Heathenry. What honour means to me is being honest in my personal dealings, including all aspects of life, and doing the decent thing: fighting against injustice, speaking up for the vulnerable. Embodiment: Celebrating being alive Pagans value physical pleasure: eating, drinking, making love, seeing beautiful things. We find that the enjoyment of these things increases our ‘spiritual’ connection, because we find value in the physical world. We love trees, rocks, mountains, flowers, beautiful art, the ocean, animals, birds, other people, the moon, the night, the sun, rolling hills, water, making love, eating, making merry. Oh yes! The Charge of the Goddess, written by Wiccan priestess Doreen Valiente, says that “All acts of love and pleasure are [Her] rituals.” The idea that the divine/deities is/are immanent in the world (intimately entwined with physical matter) also contributes to the sense that being alive in this world is to be celebrated and enjoyed. Sovereignty “Women desiren sovereigntie”, wrote Chaucer, at the conclusion of his excellent story, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. Sovereignty is the ability to determine your own destiny. Pagans love being free, and not being coerced. We don’t like to be told what to think, what to do, or how to live. This extends to bodily autonomy, and not being coerced or cajoled into having unwanted sex or other physical contact. The value of sovereignty is particularly important in Druidry. Conclusion Paganism is a life-affirming religion, and most Pagans view the physical world as sacred. Pagan values flow from that and embrace it. Pagans do not usually regard spirit as more important or more valuable than matter. Most Pagans view matter as entwined with spirit, or perhaps as a denser form of spirit. There are many different values embraced by Pagans, but the ones described above seem to be the most widespread. Have I missed any? Let me know in the comments.

Traditions, Texts, and Values

A series of academic studies on Paganism in the mid-20th century, some of which have since been challenged, helped to revitalize the tradition and provided inspiration for contemporary practice. Pagan beliefs differ, but many uphold the pluralistic view that there are many valid religious paths. In addition most Pagans privilege an individual's spiritual knowledge and experience over any organized form of religion or spirituality.

The modern Pagan resurgence that began in the 20th century was stimulated by academic and semi-academic research and is sustained by individual practices and the many shared values of the movement. The work of folklorist Margaret Murray, beginning in the 1920s, caught the imagination of many with its theories of persistent Goddess worship and Pagan traditions in the Christianized West. In 1948, Robert Graves published The White Goddess, a massive compilation of folklore, poetry, and theories about the worldwide worship of the Great Goddess.

In the 1950s, the repeal of British laws prohibiting witchcraft allowed amateur anthropologist Gerald Gardner to publish the story of his initiation into a hereditary lineage of witches. Gardner called this religion “Wicca,” and his work sparked a wave of Gardnerian covens in England. Wicca came to the United States in the 1960s, where it met the California counterculture and quickly produced a variety of politically active, feminist, and ecologically focused offshoots. Since Wicca was the first widely publicized Pagan religion of the modern revival, it continues to inspire and influence the Pagan movement as a whole, to the point that many people treat “Paganism” and “Wicca” as being synonymous. As a result, even Pagans who are neither Wiccan nor witches must still deal with witchcraft stereotypes. While many outside of the tradition today, as in times past, have understood witchcraft to be a malevolent practice, Wiccans and other Pagan witches use the term for earth-centered practices of spirituality and healing and for worship of the Goddess, goddesses, or gods.

The archeological work of Marija Gimbutas was also important in inspiring feminist Pagan traditions. Gimbutas produced massive studies of Neolithic figurines discovered in what she called “Old Europe” (centered in Malta and the Balkans). She believed that these diverse figurines represented the many faces of a single Great Goddess, who was worshipped thousands of years ago by a pacifistic, matriarchal society. In Gimbutas’ narrative, the migration (or invasion) of Indo-European peoples from the East destroyed this matriarchal culture. In the 1970s and 1980s, many Pagans embraced Gimbutas’ work as a source of hope for a peaceful, modern Goddess-worshipping society.

Contemporary scholars see the work of Murray, Graves, Gardner, and Gimbutas as academically flawed. Although they drew attention to important parts of European history, the evidence is not strong enough to support their frequently sweeping claims; today, parts of Gardner’s work are thought to be straightforwardly fictional. Their work, however, resonated with a need for alternative religious expressions and sparked a revival of Paganism in the West. Since the 1970s, there has been an explosion of Pagan writings, both in books and periodicals. The year 1979 marked two important milestones in Pagan literature: Margot Adler published her journalistic exploration of Paganism in America, Drawing Down the Moon, and Starhawk published The Spiral Dance, a combination theological and instructional text for contemporary witches.

Currently, there is a lively academic debate over whether ancient European religious practices could have survived in a direct lineage from ancient to modern times: How much has been lost? How much went underground? And how much can be reclaimed through ritual? Pagans are now rediscovering and renewing ancient religious ways. Some Pagans choose to call themselves “witches” in solidarity with medieval European heretics, whom they believe were practicing an indigenous religion. For some, to be a witch is also a way to recover women’s power, since witchcraft was once associated with practical women’s knowledge of healing, birth, and death. Other Pagans are reconstructing non-European religions based on historical and archaeological study, and reconstructionism is a strong minority voice in the Pagan movement. Most Pagans, however, are less concerned about historical links to the past. Although they draw on pre-Christian traditions for inspiration, they are most likely to look within themselves and to the land for a connection to divinity.

There is no single text or scripture to which Pagans look for authority. Text is an important source of practice for Heathens, who look to the Icelandic sagas and Eddas, oral poems originally recorded in the 13th century. Other Pagan traditions have formal bodies of liturgical material, generally gathered or written during the last century. For Pagans who identify as witches, these collections of materials are known as a tradition’s Book of Shadows. A Book of Shadows often includes material written by Pagans who practice the tradition, as well as material drawn or adapted from folklore, ancient and medieval poetry, Western mystical traditions, and more. Although these books may be added to, once a tradition has been formed, material is usually never deleted. Academic studies of ancient religions may serve as authoritative texts for reconstructionist Pagans. For others, authoritative texts in any form smack uncomfortably of organized religion. These Pagans often prefer to draw freely on the myths and poetry of various cultures, and sometimes on modern fiction, to create a highly individualized practice and spirituality.

The many strands of Paganism share some attitudes in common. Many Pagans see divinity as both present in the physical world and as multiple, whether in the form of separate gods and goddesses, as aspects of a Goddess and/or a God, or as archetypes (recurring symbols that are thought to be inherent in human cultures). Many also believe in the principles of magick—the idea that performing sacred acts and altering consciousness can have a wider effect on the world. Finally, most Pagans are pluralistic and individualistic, believing that there are many valid religious paths, and that personal religious experience is the most important source of spiritual knowledge. Although not all Pagans share all of these characteristics, most Pagans affirm most of them.

Pagan Family Values

Another important value in paganism is the celebration of diversity and individuality. Pagans embrace different beliefs, practices, and rituals and acknowledge that there are numerous paths to spiritual enlightenment. This inclusivity encourages acceptance and respect for people of all backgrounds and beliefs.

Childhood and the Religious Imagination in Contemporary American Paganism

New and Alternative Religions

Published by: NYU Press

Imprint: NYU Press

Sales Date: July 2013

240 Pages , 6.00 x 9.00 in

Hardcover
9780814769744
Published: July 2013

Paperback
9781479894604
Published: July 2013

eBook
9780814745144
Published: July 2013

For most of its history, contemporary Paganism has been a religion of converts. Yet as it enters its fifth decade, it is incorporating growing numbers of second‑generation Pagans for whom Paganism is a family tradition, not a religious worldview arrived at via a spiritual quest. In Pagan Family Values, S. Zohreh Kermani explores the ways in which North American Pagan families pass on their beliefs to their children, and how the effort to socialize children influences this new religious movement.

The first ethnographic study of the everyday lives of contemporary Pagan families, this volume brings their experiences into conversation with contemporary issues in American religion. Through formal interviews with Pagan families, participant observation at various pagan events, and data collected via online surveys, Kermani traces the ways in which Pagan parents transmit their religious values to their children. Rather than seeking to pass along specific religious beliefs, Pagan parents tend to seek to instill values, such as religious tolerance and spiritual independence, that will remain with their children throughout their lives, regardless of these children's ultimate religious identifications.

Pagan parents tend to construct an idealized, magical childhood for their children that mirrors their ideal childhoods. The socialization of children thus becomes a means by which adults construct and make meaningful their own identities as Pagans. Kermani’s meticulous fieldwork and clear, engaging writing provide an illuminating look at parenting and religious expression in Pagan households and at how new religions pass on their beliefs to a new generation.

S. Zohreh Kermani received a PhD in American Religions from Harvard University in 2010. Her research interests include the history of new and alternative religions in the U.S. and childhood and religion. She currently teaches religious studies part time at Youngstown State University.

"An intriguing, important, and often entertaining look at an under-studied aspect of new religions. Highly recommended." ~Douglas E. Cowan,author of Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet

"Kermanis superb interweaving of survey-data, interviews, and observations of Spiral Scout meetings and festivals offers readers a rare glimpse into religious practice from the perspectives of multiple generations. She expertly explores how children and parents co-create their tradition, working together to build a shared history that is as much about remembering a mythic past as it is about forgetting parents struggles with institutional religion. Analyzing the daily practices of pagan familieswho value childlike wonder and playful behavior in adults and preternatural wisdom in childrenKermani demonstrates the often-theorized interdependence of the definitions of 'child' and 'adult' with a clarity that will cause future scholars to rethink their assumptions about the fixed nature of these categories. This excellent volume is a must read for anyone interested in the creation and maintenance of religious practices, American Paganism, and childhood studies." ~Susan Ridgely,University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh

"This is one of the best and most nuanced ethnographic studies of contemporary Paganism to come along. Kermani takes us into the deeply conflicted religious lives of Pagan families, yet as she so deftly reveals, Pagans are not unique in their ambivalent desires for their children. While paying careful attention to how and why adults refashion their own lost childhoods to create religious traditions for their families, Kermani also attends to the often-uncomfortable ways real children experience these ritual practices and ethical guidelines. In so doing, she highlights a central dilemma in contemporary American cultural and religious life. This sensitively written book offers a powerful model for researching childrens religious worlds, the ways these worlds are constructed by adults and inhabited, resisted, and reshaped by children." ~Sarah M. Pike,author of Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves

"This study of the contemporary Pagan construction of childhood by Kermani (Youngstown State Univ.) is an important addition to academic collections, primarily because it covers an area of inquiry not addressed in the literature until now. Representing about 3 percent of the US population, Pagans are under-studied. This ethnography, drawing on both extensive fieldwork and survey research, provides good thick description and analysis." ~G.J. Reece, Choice

"Kermani has provided a valuable window not only onto a & new religious movement but onto the very problem of & religion in America." ~Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review Database

"In this excellent book, Kermani explores contemporary Paganism by considering how children and childhood are taken up as conceptual categories within thiseclectic new religious field. Kermani does an extraordinary job balancing the portrayals of her subjects as both modern, average people, and as imaginative and sometimes fantastic individuals defined by their self-assumed alterity. Kermani brilliantly weaves the first-person narratives of her subjects into her rich academic analysis." ~Nova Religio

"The author is at her strongest when discussing how four different foundation myths of religion result in different and sometimes conflicting views of how children should be integrated into the religion. She gives a very thorough description of the strengths and weaknesses of parents attempts to integrate their children in their world, while at the same time providing them with avenues to question that participation and choose another path.Pagan Family Valuescontributes to the growing literature on childhood within new religions that formed and grew in the 1960s and 1970s. As the first book-length exploration of childhood within Paganism, it makes an important contribution to the field." ~Sociology of Religion

Paganism also emphasizes personal responsibility and empowerment. Pagans believe in the power and agency of the individual to shape their own lives and destiny. They emphasize the importance of personal growth, self-improvement, and self-exploration. This value is often reflected in the practice of witchcraft or other spiritual rituals aimed at personal transformation. Furthermore, paganism places great value on community and collaboration. Pagans often gather in groups or covens to celebrate festivals, perform rituals, and support each other in their spiritual journeys. These communities provide a sense of belonging and foster a spirit of unity and cooperation among members. Lastly, paganism encourages a holistic approach to health and well-being. Pagans strive for balance and harmony in all aspects of their lives – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. They may engage in practices such as meditation, yoga, or herbal medicine to maintain wellness and connection with their inner selves. In conclusion, pagan values revolve around the reverence for nature, diversity, personal responsibility, community engagement, and holistic well-being. These values shape the beliefs and actions of pagans and guide them in living a life that is aligned with their spiritual and ethical principles..

Reviews for "Paganism and Personal Growth: Using Spiritual Pathways for Mental and Emotional Well-being"

- John - 1 star

I found the book "Pagan values" to be extremely disappointing. It felt more like a promotion of pagan beliefs rather than an exploration of the values system. The author seemed biased and did not provide a balanced perspective, thus making the entire book feel incomplete. I was hoping for a more objective analysis, but instead, it was just a one-sided argument.

- Sarah - 2 stars

While I appreciate the effort put into "Pagan values," I can't help but feel like it missed the mark. The book lacked depth and failed to address the complexities of pagan values. It seemed to oversimplify an entire belief system, leaving many questions unanswered. Additionally, it lacked substantial evidence or references to support its claims, which made it hard for me to fully trust the information presented.

- Mark - 1 star

"Pagan values" was a total letdown for me. It felt more like a personal manifesto than an exploration of pagan values. The author's biased opinions were prevalent throughout the book, and it seemed like there was an agenda behind it. I expected a more scholarly and balanced approach to this topic, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

- Emily - 2 stars

I was excited to dive into "Pagan values" as someone curious about different belief systems, but this book fell short of my expectations. The author's writing style was confusing and lacked coherence, making it difficult to follow their arguments. Additionally, the book failed to provide a clear structure or direction, leaving me feeling lost and unsatisfied with the overall reading experience.

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