Why is Paganism Attractive?

[Turgonian]

What do you see as the attractive sides of Paganism?

Please advertise without bashing any opponents, will you? :smile:

[Jnthn]

Pagan chicks are hawt.

:eek:

J

[MooseOnTheLoose]

My other half is a pagan chick and a Wiccan. The sense of being tied to nature and the old earth religions is quite tangible, New Age Music is very soothing and the whole 'Blessed Be' stuff seems quite benign on the surface. Then we have crystal healing, colour therapy, tarot, Native American healing, shamanism, aura photographs and all the other weird and wonderful stuff.

Dig deeper, though, and things start getting really strange...

[Elegy]

I have several friends who are Wiccans, so I’m mostly speaking based on my observations of them…

A) Paganism gives you the freedom to personalize. Basically, every pagan does his or her own thing. You can feel like you're part of something good without having to follow a long list of thou-shalts and thou-shalt-nots.

B) As I'm sure you know, paganism is (usually) polytheistic, but it’s really pretty much nature-based, so pagans are essentially worshiping something they can see and feel. It's probably easier to be devoted to something that’s physically right before you. And with all the environmentalist drama going on nowadays, pagans probably feel like they’re headed in the right direction.

C) Frankly (on the surface, at least) paganism is just plain cool. Magick, auras…I don’t know what it is, but even to me, it’s somewhat attractive. Maybe it’s just because I have an active imagination, and I don’t enjoy feeling restricted to the physical world. With paganism, there are no limits. Basically, you can turn your imagination into reality. You can guide your own destiny (rather than submitting your future into God’s hands..)

D) Not sure if this is true for all of them, but most of the pagans I know are disillusioned with mainstream religions, probably because they’re tired of people constantly trying to convert them or telling them what they should believe. The pagans I know don’t believe in proselytizing at all. They just say, “Don’t try to convert me, and I won’t try to convert you.” So basically it’s a no-pressure religion with regards to evangelism.

[Mountain Man]

What do you see as the attractive sides of Paganism?
The pursuit of pleasure certainly has its attractions.

[Turgonian]

I'm primarily inquiring about people who aren't really into that side of Paganism, but more the rituals, the incantations and things like that. Shay teh 1337 gave a suitable answer (thank you!).

[Durthorin]

I thought as an actual Pagn I'd tell you what I found attractive about my faith.

I came home. I was a Christian for 8 years, taught Sunday School, did missions.. prayed to God to guide me and turned my sins over to Jesus. But I always felt the round peg in the square hole with my faith. As if I had to turn off or turn away to -make- myself see things the way Christianity taught.

When I found Paganism, I found that when I discussed theology with my first witch that what she believed made more sense to me. It fit both in my mind and in my spirit. An when I finally stopped fighting that calling, I found a peace in my heart and life that I had missed. It was no ritual, no circle but an earnest plea to my Gods that they answered. Thats been over 20 years ago. An I am still walking a Pagan path.

Blessed Be, Dur

[Turgonian]

What do you think were the reasons for that peace? What do you find in Paganism that you did not find in Christianity?

[FrozenStorms]

One would have to define "Pagan." I assume that you in actuality mean Neo-paganism to start. Many of the Neo-/Pagan religions in general typically have a Goddess(es) as the primary figure, thusly sometimes it is used as a way to deviate from our patrilineal society. Most all major religions have a "male" as the absolute figure head, e.g. Christianity, Buddhism, etc.

From what I understand of Christianity, God is an omniscient and omnipotent being, yet He is not omnipresent. Again from my limited understanding, if you look at Wicca, their deity(ies) or whatnot are omnipresent, thusly they use spells to channel the energy of their deities, rather than praying to Him for help/guidance. Asking someone of a favor is quite different than doing something with one's own power, and the former can often times create a feeling of weakness and helplessness, whereas the latter can create a feeling of control and empowerment.

Christianity also holds many morals and restrictions upon behavior. Again, I am not Christian nor Wiccan, so correct me if I'm wrong. If one sins as a Christian without seeking forgiveness from God/Jesus/etc. or acknowledging that they sinned etc., they are literally damned to an eternity in Hell. Need I explain why this is unappealing to many? In Wicca, one is free to do as one pleases as long as others are not harmed in the process (I think?). This invariably holds no restrictions or stigma against one's sexuality etc.

Certainly the beliefs of individual Christians (or anyone, for that matter) vary greatly, but I have seen more than enough prejudice, discrimination, etc. against things from imbibing alcohol, to sexual practices, to gender, to tattoos. Much of this applies to other religions, of course.

To best answer your question, one must also ask, "Why follow any religion whatsoever?" This indeed can only be answered on a very personal level. If it's borne from a fear of death, then mayhap a faith in which the soul is immortal and one is reborn continuously would be appropriate, such as Buddhism, Druidism, Scientology, etc. Christianity, from what I know, does not contain this aspect. One simply is given one chance to live on this plane of existence (or whatever you may wish to call it). If one follows a religion to obtain a life-purpose, then yes, Neo-paganism, from what I've come to know, is disadvantageous when juxtaposed with Christianity.

Looking at Druidism, I find that it has a rather acceptable explanation of the myriad events and happenings that occur. With Christianity, I never found a very good answer as to why evil/unfortunate happenings etc. exist, and with Buddhism, it is all simply born from desire. With Druidism, at least in some practices/sects/groves, it is said that one's spirit/soul is in a continuous rebirth cycle between this world and the Otherworld, until one has experienced all there is to experience, and one subsequently moves on to a form of heaven. This, in some small way, in my opinion, justifies all actions ever endeavored or endured. This also gives a good sense of freedom and choice, and a belief that, even if your life is horrible now, it will be better at some point (of course, it can also be said that it will be worse at some point).

That's just my two cents...

[Durthorin]

What do you think were the reasons for that peace? What do you find in Paganism that you did not find in Christianity?

I was at war with my own heart. There is a Cherokee phrase that means to be of two hearts. It means a man split by two things that he feels for equally. When I found that peace, I found a single path that gave me guidance to problems that I had at the time. There was no contradiction, no feeling of having to choose between my faith and those I cared for.

What do I find? What do I keep finding, its a path, a journey. It requires work and effort. I sometimes think Christians have it far easier than they know. You have the Bible.. we have to each Pagan write our own based on our interaction with the Gods, we have to find and test each spiritual tool. So while I have found my peace, I have also found a journey of learning that has engaged my spirit and my mind. There is also a "rightness" to a gestalt of spirit and world, man and nature, humanity and the gods that makes sense to me.

[almightydollar]

Human beings have a very deep-seated need for ritual, things that we tend to file under "spirituality". Paganism is varied enough it would presumably allow the interested individual to keep an outlet for this, as well as to personalize both what they believe and how deeply involved they are with it. They would get to keep believing in a deity, or deities, but it would be one/s that they themselves could chose and thus be possibly more comfortable with.

Paganism would work best, I think, for someone who absolutely needs to believe in something, but is completely turned off at the thought of having to shut themselves up in a box to partake of it.

Non-theist in theist-only section

[thunderchild]

To take it from the point of view as to why Paganism *instead* of Christianity...

The tenet that there is only one faith in the world was the biggest down point. That the Dalai Lama and people of that ilk, who follow their faith in a way that does not lessen the world, are "wrong"... to me that caused discord within.

Paganism is not the only faith to believe this of course, and there are many more reasons, but that one was the first "something is wrong" factor when I first started looking at my religion, at 12.

Personalisation is also a plus, although IMO too many people take the few laws as meaning there are no laws - to me, do as ye will an it harm none is more restricting than 10 commandments for it relies on my own moral code. Quite a few fellow pagans, have for instance, considered that I have become vegetarian as a part of my own interpretation of the Rede as being strange... but then we're all individuals : )

Very quick in a nutshell response I know...

[shunyadragon]

I'm primarily inquiring about people who aren't really into that side of Paganism, but more the rituals, the incantations and things like that. Shay teh 1337 gave a suitable answer (thank you!).

I am a theist and a Baha'i, and have known varieties of believers, including my sister, who embrace some version of paganism. Because of the diversity of their beliefs, the many stereotypes brought out by previous posts do not work. First, claims of polytheism are vague and variable. Some believe in one, some many, some personal or natural vague deities and some none preferring just Nature as the source. Second, pleasure seeking is rarely a primary motive, despite Mountain Man's assertion.

The paganists I know are mainly attracted to the fundamental natural foundation of pagan beliefs, and understandably want to dump the baggage of established beliefs such as Chrisianity, Islam and Judaism. Freedom from the narrow necessity of belief or following ritual is apparently very appealing. The desire to resolve the apparent separation from the natural world in the establishment religions is also an appealing factor.

My view of paganism is no reflection on whether it is right or wrong, in part because it is so diverse. I do believe most paganism for the most part a very artificial construct of primative religions and does not really reflect the ancient beliefs where people lived with and in relative harmony with nature. Some beliefs are also rather foolish and reflect 'New Age' idealistic fads more than the reality of what I call primal beliefs.

The Gilgamesh Epic is very revealing and shows insight into the relationship of civilized humanity and primal humanity Enkidu. Civilized humanity tries to seduce, conquer and destroy primal humanity, primal humanity perishes (Enkido dies saving Gilgamesh), and than Civilized humanity mourns the loose and tries to bring the primal human back (Gilgamesh mourns the lose of Enkido and goes on a quest for immortality to bring him back. Paganism, and the 'New Age' fads involved with things like African, Celtic and Native American beliefs are an illusive and naive effort to bring back that with is gone and cannot be restored.

[Ahimelech]

It appeals to the flesh.

[tmancour]

The pursuit of pleasure certainly has its attractions.

Um . . . wish it were that simple, dude. Unlike some OTHER religions I know, Paganism requires a tremendous amount of study, hard work, and spiritual discipline. It ain't all drunken orgies. As a matter of fact, it's rarely drunken orgies. Maybe we need more drunken orgies?

Back to the books.

Arion the Blue
High Druid of Durham

[tmancour]

Paganism is "attractive" because there are elements within that reach out and grab its adherents with echos of their own true selves. The same reason anyone indulges in religion.

Specific Pagans will tell you different things, of course (we rarely agree on anything) but the important thing to recognize is that Paganism isn't bound by "belief", per se, but by practice; it is a craft that must be learned, in small, slow, agonizingly tiny bites. It is an intensely psychological religion for some, a release from the horror of the modern world for others, a sincere and devout worship of the life-force for still others. And despite some scornful talk about it being "fake" and "new age", one must understand that the purpose behind most Pagan practice is not an attempt to pretend to be primative tribesmen, but to acknowlege and understand the accumulated Wisdom our ancestors developed for 100,000 years of tribal existance. The techniques we use for that purpose are manifold, and include all sorts of stuff you might consider New Age-y.

We can live with that. We know it looks corny sometimes, but if you get hung up on the corny, you miss the really important stuff behind it. Kinda like going to communion in a Christian church and complaining about the wine selection.

Besides, pointy hats are tres cool. Don't dream it, be it.

Arion

[Tara_Hallie]

I have several friends who are Wiccans, so I’m mostly speaking based on my observations of them…

A) Paganism gives you the freedom to personalize. Basically, every pagan does his or her own thing. You can feel like you're part of something good without having to follow a long list of thou-shalts and thou-shalt-nots.

B) As I'm sure you know, paganism is (usually) polytheistic, but it’s really pretty much nature-based, so pagans are essentially worshiping something they can see and feel. It's probably easier to be devoted to something that’s physically right before you. And with all the environmentalist drama going on nowadays, pagans probably feel like they’re headed in the right direction.

C) Frankly (on the surface, at least) paganism is just plain cool. Magick, auras…I don’t know what it is, but even to me, it’s somewhat attractive. Maybe it’s just because I have an active imagination, and I don’t enjoy feeling restricted to the physical world. With paganism, there are no limits. Basically, you can turn your imagination into reality. You can guide your own destiny (rather than submitting your future into God’s hands..)

D) Not sure if this is true for all of them, but most of the pagans I know are disillusioned with mainstream religions, probably because they’re tired of people constantly trying to convert them or telling them what they should believe. The pagans I know don’t believe in proselytizing at all. They just say, “Don’t try to convert me, and I won’t try to convert you.” So basically it’s a no-pressure religion with regards to evangelism.

Overall, I think you've done a good job breaking it down here. Nice to see! :smile:

[Tara_Hallie]

The pursuit of pleasure certainly has its attractions.

Is the search for God through Christianity not also driven by the pursuit of eternal pleasure?

[Lepidopteryx]

[QUOTE=FrozenStorms;2269384]
From what I understand of Christianity, God is an omniscient and omnipotent being, yet He is not omnipresent. Again from my limited understanding, if you look at Wicca, their deity(ies) or whatnot are omnipresent, thusly they use spells to channel the energy of their deities, rather than praying to Him for help/guidance. Asking someone of a favor is quite different than doing something with one's own power, and the former can often times create a feeling of weakness and helplessness, whereas the latter can create a feeling of control and empowerment.

It's not quite that simple. The Divine is not there to be manipulated for selfish purposes. The function of magick is not to give the Witch control of Divine energies, but to help him/her more closely attune him/herself to those energies so that s/he lives harmoniously within the Web.

Christianity also holds many morals and restrictions upon behavior. Again, I am not Christian nor Wiccan, so correct me if I'm wrong. If one sins as a Christian without seeking forgiveness from God/Jesus/etc. or acknowledging that they sinned etc., they are literally damned to an eternity in Hell. Need I explain why this is unappealing to many? In Wicca, one is free to do as one pleases as long as others are not harmed in the process (I think?). This invariably holds no restrictions or stigma against one's sexuality etc.


An ye harm none, do as ye will means much more than Do what you want, just don't hurt anybody. Will refers to deep intent, not merely whim. In other words, the WHY of your actions counts as much as the WHAT. We also believe that when you harm another, you harm yourself three times worse. So the Rede is an admonition to refrain from acting maliciously, not only to avoid harm to others, but also to avoid harm to your own soul.
If you harm someone, you cannot gain forgiveness from any of the gods or goddesses. You must seek forgiveness from the one you harmed, and s/he is not obligated to forgive you. In that case, you will simply have to repay the Karmic debt you have created with your negative action.
The Rede is NOT a free ride to do as you please with no consequences.
While Pagans do not stigmatize sexual relationships among consenting adults, we do not condone forced or non-consensual sex. Most of us hold to the conventional view that when one marries, one forfeits the right to consent to sex with partners other than one's spouse unless the spouse is ok with it.

[liquidkaleidosc]

Naked girls

dancing around campfires

singing about the sacred feminine, the sacred masculine, and fairies.

Ok, I know I'm being a bit flippant, but when I was a teenager and went to the library to read about it, I found a book which featured quite a lot of that...

[liquidkaleidosc]

Seriously, love and reverance towards nature, and apparant solution to the supposed problem of multiple religions, all of which seem true, avoidance of competing dogmas and endless debate...

[Seri]

My two cents:

The most important aspect of Wicca for me is that it is a faith of learning. While Christianity and other religions have important bits of it, Wicca revolves around being a lifestyle of learning. Christopher Penczak, an author, wrote that Wicca is a "science, art, and religion." This means that it is rooted in observation, refined as the individual practitioner requires, and is spiritually fulfilling, in short. I have learned incredible perspective since embracing Wicca fully, which has given me the ability to analyze mundane occurrences more accurately and understand consequences much more fully. For example, the "energy crisis" in America makes a lot more sense when you are able to draw together the notion that the USD's value dropped at the same time that other parts of the world (namely China and India) started using more oil in efforts to increase their standard of living and, as such, the problem is multi-faceted and requires more than any single solution to remedy.

Wicca has also inspired in me a sense of personal responsibility for my actions. I am accountable for all of my own misfortunes and windfalls. Ultimately, the things I dislike in others are parts of me, as well, and I can change myself to reflect that feeling, molding myself into a better person. In that regard, it has helped me get over a gaming addiction. In turn, my life has turned around for the better.

Lastly, Wicca offered the best explanation for my experiences of the last 14 years insofar as "standard" religions were concerned. This was important to me on a deeply spiritual level. It's difficult to fully explain this without getting into particulars for which there is limited linguistic support. I have the feeling that most people will understand what I mean there. Maybe.

Anywho, those are my reasons. I've seen similar ones for Christianity, which is no real surprise to me. I tended to find Christianity to be unfulfilling for me. So it goes, I guess.

[faithofjob777]

This is an old thread, but I like it as an eye-opener as to why people get attracted to paganism.

Jaime

[KelDragon]

I'm a newbie to TheologyWeb, and it's ironic that this is one of the first threads I came upon when I was intending to post something just like this. I come from, perhaps, a slightly different perspective. I am a devoted Christian. However, I also enjoy studying world religions, myth, and religious histoyry. Wicca is one of the religions i have studied most extensively, so I see myself in a decently good position to converse with Wiccans. (Other neo-pagans are a different matter; being blind, material on some of the lesser known faiths like druidism is hard to come by.) As a Christian, I find Wicca appealing, and I myself am slightly unsure why. My reasons are somewhat different than those brought up here, and I can't put a finger on why that is. Mostly, what appeals to me about Pagan religions (especially Wicca) is the rhythm they have. This rhythm is reflected in ritual--a ritual much more elaborate, at least for the "layperson" than that of Christianity sometimes--as well as the seasonal festivals. (The pursuit of pleasure a la drunken orgies is not what I mean by "seasonal festivals", either.) This ritual and rhythm--especially since many derive it from previous or foreign cultures--also seems to forge an intimate connection to the past, which is something I treasure.

Now on the other hand, this was my mindset approximately a year ago. I am a young person not out of high school, and i recognize my own immaturity on a lot of fronts. I have grown in my Christian faith immeasurably in the year-and-a-half since I was dealing with a serious attraction to paganism. Christianity provides, though in a different way, all of the things Wicca does. My "ritual" to God can be as personalized and elaborate as I want it to be; scripture and Jesus clearly teach that it is the inner attitude that shapes one, and it works that way with prayer. Christianity does not separate itself from nature, or ideally it shouldn't; God declared the creation "very good", and it is said that "the heavens declare the glory of God". I understand and empathize with the Wiccan connection to nature; i feel something similar, as i believe nature can lead the Christian into deep, meditative worship in light of its Creator.. Admittedly, this reverence for nature cannot be total, as the Christians believe that at least in part, creation has been "tainted" (not the best word, but it's the one i'm coming up with) by man's sin. While Christianity does not have "seasonal festivals", this is perhaps more a result of modernity than anything else--medieval and early Christianity did separate festivals throughout the year, connected to the Christian liturgical calendar. And the connection to the past? Christianity perhaps provides that in greatest abundance; with its two thousand years of religious and mystical writings and the endlessly multifaceted Bible itself. It is the same with study and a religion of learning. For a long time, I followed the at times shallow 9especially for youth!) CHristianity propogated by some evangelical churches. As I matured, I learned that Christianity is a religion of contemplation and study as much as anything else; scripture is our central avenue of study, but we take the morals that scripture introduces into us and live them in the real world. Christianity should be as much about spreading "the Kingdom" as studying.

I implore you not to see the preceding as an attempt to procelitize anyone. I just wanted to explain why I found paganism appealing as a Christian, and how I managed to find the very elements that attracted me within Christianity itself. Hopefully, this can assist everyone (pagans especially) in understanding why a Christian would find paganism attractive, but be able to come to grips with it within their own paradigm. Also--I am one-eigth Irish and love all things Celtic; the study of Celtic chrisitanity and mythology and the listening of Celtic music is a serious passion. That's totally appropriate for this discussion ... somehow.

KelDragon

[technomage]

Greetings, KelDragon, and welcome! I thank you for sharing your perspective with us.

[Durthorin]

Greetings also Keldragon, a well written and eloquent statement of your faith an its interaction with Paganism.

Blessed Be, Dur

[Lepidopteryx]

KelDragon,
Are you sure you're just a high school student? Your writing gives the impression of more maturity than the average high school student displays (at least the ones I went to high school with).

You did a great job of describing what, in my opinion, is the purpose of ANY religious belief system, which is to recognize that the individual is simultaneously autonomous AND a part of something bigger than him/herself. Different paths are simply different ways of expressing and living within that autonomy/connection structure. Which path appeals most ot any given person depends greatly on individual personality. That's why there is no one-size-fits-all faith.