Why isn't Paganism generally taken seriously?

[StarryNightshade]

As someone who has been a denizen of the internet for quite a while, any time Paganism is mentioned, there just seems to be this collective eye-roll from the public and a dismissal of it as a legitimate religious path. Not dismissing it in that they think it's "evil", but that Paganism isn't "authentic", "genuine", or "legitimate". Heck, even in real life many people are not shy of dismissing Paganism. I was speaking with a friend of mine at a cultural festival the other day, and when I mentioned Paganism, he treated it as if it wasn't a real religious path or even a real thing.

Why do you think that is? Why is Paganism (in general) not taken very seriously? What could people do to make it less of a joke in the eyes of many people?

 

[Estro Felino]

In Christendom Paganism is considered something outdated. But it is just a prejudice, of course. The term Paganism was created to mock Paganism. In the V century pagan was synonym of rude, boor, because the pagus was the countryside village where the traditional polytheistic religions were secretly professed.
In 380, with the Theodosius' Edicts, the traditional religion was declared illegal. that's how the term pagan was created.

The true Christian knows that Christianity didn't reject the positive values of Paganism. Of course Christianity denies Roman and Greek gods' existence.
But it doesn't deny the great wisdom of pagan philosophy and theology.

 

[LuisDantas]

Various fairly unrelated factors acting together.

1. There is an odd cultural undercurrent that discreetly encourages people to be "spiritual" without going so far as to seeking a "religion". It may have elements of attempting to present people as religious freethinkers. I'm not quite sure. By that perspective it is possible that being a pagan looks a bit like avoiding one label to seek a "worse" one.

2. People simply tend to seek large groups. It may be difficult to understand why one would avoid larger religions to seek "outdated" ones. It may be a particularly strong consideration for people who need, by duty or personal nature, to classify others in a very few cathegories the better to know how to deal with them.

3. I figure for many people belief proper is simply not as important as the social and political networks that it often brings with it.

 

[Sees]

Just a few reasons that will vary by person and degree:

-Many see religion as beliefs and pagan traditions are generally not big on orthodoxy

-Some see it as too dreamy or idealistic because of the freedom/openness

-Some associate it with goth teens, nerds, etc.

-Some see it as a type of rejection of modernism

-Lots of Christian negative bias towards pagan traditions still floating around that sticks to any culture it has influenced

-Pagan traditions have small numbers in many places and different is scary, bad, evil, etc.

-Some see the traditions as primitive superstition since they go back into prehistorical times and reflect the people, culture, etc. Hence tribalistic, primitive, non-universal, etc. all scary and taboo

 

[Straw Dog]

Why do you think that is? Why is Paganism (in general) not taken very seriously? What could people do to make it less of a joke in the eyes of many people?

Perhaps religious prejudice has something to do with it. Other reasons may include the consumerist mentality that follows certain pagan circles. It becomes more about individual image and customization, which is more of a modern invention, rather than respect for kinship and tradition. Some pagan circles are also members of the fluffy-bunny brigade and only promote sunshine and butterflies rather than also accepting the darker side of life. These reasons may create an appearance of naive idealism.

 

[Quintessence]

Why isn't Paganism treated as the world religion it actually is? Because of a very successful propaganda campaign undertaken by the religions that currently dominate the Western world against polytheistic religions. In the past, this manifested as anything from brutal slaughter to slandering the gods. It continues today as teaching about Paganism as mythology, rather than as religion, if it is taught about at all. Our cultural associations with that word "mythology" lead us to treat anything taught as mythology with a lack of seriousness or as a dated in-the-past thing that is not currently relevant or valid. The Bible isn't mythology (even though it is), that outdated Pagan stuff is mythology. It's a bunch of rubbish, but it is what people are taught and people don't question it unless confronted with something to the contrary (which, us Pagans being a solid religious minority, doesn't happen often in someone's life and we can easily be brushed off as some bizarre aberration instead of taken seriously).

What can we do to be taken seriously? Things we're already doing now. Engaging the world religious community. Building up infrastructure. Being active philanthropists. Engaging in informational education. Growing in numbers and just being more visible in general instead of hiding in our broom closets. Also, beating people over the head with brooms if they think that all theism entails is classical monotheism and if they think mythology is supposed to be taken literally.

 

[Estro Felino]

What can we do to be taken seriously? Things we're already doing now. Engaging the world religious community. Building up infrastructure. Being active philanthropists. Engaging in informational education. Growing in numbers and just being more visible in general instead of hiding in our broom closets. Also, beating people over the head with brooms if they think that all theism entails is classical monotheism and if they think mythology is supposed to be taken literally.

You know what the problem is? It's that Christians are afraid when they see symbols like the five-pointed star, and they rightfully think that Paganism is related to Satanism.
It is also true that the traditional places where the great pagan religions of the ancient age originated (Greece and Italy) do take Paganism seriously.
In fact in Greece people perform ancient Greek tragedies periodically, and the Greek tragedy is the emblem of the values, and the religiosity of Greek Paganism

 

[illykitty]

From my experience, misinformation and assumptions. Also, there seems to be some people that somehow think Paganism is less real than other forms of theism. More outlandish (ironically). There's also the good old fear of the unknown.

The funniest thing someone said to my husband after I expressed some interest in it: "She should be more down to earth." I kid you not. -_-'

 

[Brinne]

Many people from my experience see paganism as kind of something that is associated with LARPing and D&D, basically it's just fairy tail stuff in their eyes and it can't possibly be real. That's what I think at least, tell someone you worship Thor and they'll probably think you're doing so because of fantasy books/games or the Avengers.

Just misinformation really. As is it grows and people become more informed about it I'm sure we'll see less of this from the general population.

 

[Vinayaka]

I agree with many of the previous posters, but would also like to point out that it isn't everyone. As a Hindu, I'd listen up to a Pagan if engaged in a conversation, but some other faiths ... meh. So just who and what an individual takes seriously doesn't jive with the 'normal more common view' whatever the heck that is.

 

[Shuttlecraft]

..some people that somehow think Paganism is less real than other forms of theism..

Problem is, Paganism doesn't have a solid flesh-and-blood "front man" in the way Christianity has JC, Islam has Mohammed, Buddhism has Buddha, etc.
So the general public tend to look to the Wicker Man films and get a stereotype image of Pagans as being basically nice people living in harmony with nature but at the same time being so scared of having bad harvests that they're willing to do human sacrifices to their "god" whoever he/she is.

PS- Mind you, Edward Woodward fully deserved toasting for his bad acting, and in the remake Nic Cage deserved it too for squashing a bee on the pub bar..

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Problem is, Paganism doesn't have a solid flesh-and-blood "front man" in the way Christianity has JC, Islam has Mohammed, Buddhism has Buddha, etc.
So the general public tend to look to the Wicker Man films and get a stereotype image of Pagans as being basically nice people living in harmony with nature but at the same time being so scared of having bad harvests that they're willing to do human sacrifices to their "god" whoever he/she is.

PS- Mind you, Edward Woodward fully deserved toasting for his bad acting, and in the remake Nic Cage deserved it too for squashing a bee on the pub bar..

Well, since "Paganism" isn't just one religion, but a generic cover for literally hundreds of distinct belief systems, many of them with no common origin, it would be really difficult to have a "front man" (or woman), whether flesh and blood or mythical.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I blame centuries of propaganda by certain culturally dominant religions that have made indigenous paths seem like a joke or something for the uneducated. They have done a real number on the psyche of humanity. With all that's been done, it's amazing that there are revival movements at all!

 

[LuisDantas]

I blame centuries of propaganda by certain culturally dominant religions that have made indigenous paths seem like a joke or something for the uneducated. They have done a real number on the psyche of humanity. With all that's been done, it's amazing that there are revival movements at all!

I fully agree. And it is ultimately weird that it is so. It is not like Paganism is significantly more exotic than the so-called major religions, not at all really.

 

[Poeticus]

Why do you think that is? Why is Paganism (in general) not taken very seriously? What could people do to make it less of a joke in the eyes of many people?

"For this is the height of their theology, to hiss at demons and to make the sign of the cross upon their foreheads." - Julian "the Apostate", in Letters

 

[Shuttlecraft]

In defence of Pagans and atheists, I bet they'd never let their kids die for want of blood transfusions like so-called "christian" Jehovah's Witnesses do..

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I fully agree. And it is ultimately weird that it is so. It is not like Paganism is significantly more exotic than the so-called major religions, not at all really.

The old religions never really died. They were just subsumed into Christianity and Islam. To me, this is evidence of how natural the old ways are to us and how foreign the Abrahamic religions are since the peoples of the world never completely abandoned their native practices. To me, the revivalists are just being more honest about what they're doing while most people fool themselves.

 

[Shuttlecraft]

Incidentally, what's the Pagan take on Jesus?
Do they like him or not?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Incidentally, what's the Pagan take on Jesus?
Do they like him or not?

For most of us, he has no place in our paths. Some syncretic types may hold onto him, but they're in the minority.

 

[Shuttlecraft]

(re Jesus) For most of us, he has no place in our paths. Some syncretic types may hold onto him, but they're in the minority.

Thanks, I had to look up "syncretic", it appears some pagans do like him..
Incidentally you mentioned your "paths", does that mean nobody can simply decide to be a Pagan in the blink of an eye, but must spend months or years on a "path" to it?
And as a matter of interest, has any Pagan reached the end of the path yet?