Seeking Unity, Fearing Orthodoxy

Seeking Unity, Fearing Orthodoxy July 28, 2016

02 067 National Museum of IrelandIt’s often said that if nobody’s criticizing you, you’re not doing anything that matters. I’ve tried to take that approach with this blog. I say what I need to say and if people don’t like it, that’s their problem. I try to clear up misunderstandings and correct misstatements, even when that means I have to admit I did a lousy job of writing and need to start over. But if people simply have a different perspective or different priorities, there’s no need to argue with them. It just raises my blood pressure and wastes time I could spend on something productive.

But when criticism starts to take a consistent pattern, it’s time to pay attention. And when that criticism shifts 180 degrees, there’s something deeper going on. This time it’s not just me. I’m writing this from my own viewpoint, but I’m seeing the same thing on other Pagan and especially polytheist blogs.

Criticism From Diametrically Opposing Viewpoints

In the great polytheist – atheist dustup, I was often criticized for drawing boundaries too tightly. “You can’t define polytheism” “if atheists’ gods are real to them that’s all that matters” and my favorite “boundaries just divide us.” That running argument has died down since the first of this year, and the criticisms stopped at the same time.

Here lately I’m hearing the opposite – complaints that I’m drawing boundaries too loosely. “There is no polytheism, just many polytheist religions” “here’s a polytheist tradition that’s different from what you’re describing so you’re all wrong” and “you can only speak about your religion” (which is inevitably defined so tightly as to be a religion of one).

While I don’t get tied up with complaints, I don’t blow them off either. One of my original purposes for this blog was to solicit feedback for my religious ideas – to test them and to strengthen the ones that are true and helpful and to change the ones that are false and harmful. If someone thinks I’m wrong, I owe it to myself to consider what they have to say, particularly when they articulate their complaints in a rational manner.

But my foundational ideas about polytheism haven’t changed much in the past year. And while my writing emphasis is varied, what I’ve said about polytheism hasn’t changed much either. If I’m getting complaints from diametrically opposed positions, then this problem likely isn’t coming from me.

After further reflection, I think it’s coming from a core dilemma of contemporary liberal religion, a broad category that includes much of Paganism, Unitarian Universalism, and the spiritual but not religious community – in other words, much of the regular audience of Under the Ancient Oaks. That dilemma is the desire for unity combined with the fear of orthodoxy.

Seeking Unity

sunburst wall hangingMy UU church likes to sing a hymn titled “We Would Be One.” It has nice progressive humanist lyrics set to the tune Finlandia, expressing the heart-felt desire to overcome our nationalistic differences and live in peace. It’s a beautiful hymn and a noble goal. When we look at the religiously inspired violence and the many racial and ethnic conflicts in our world, people of good will look for ways to bring us together. We like John Lennon’s line – “Imagine all the people Living life in peace.”

I think most of the people arguing for the widest possible definition of polytheism mean well. They point to the inherent mystery around the Gods and don’t see the value in arguing over something that is ultimately unprovable. For some of them, religious differences are insignificant compared to recruiting political allies.

But all unity has a price – just ask the Log Cabin Republicans. Right before that pretty line in John Lennon’s “Imagine” is the line that says “And no religion too.” Developing the best possible understanding of the Gods, Their nature, and how to relate to Them may not be very important to some, but it’s important to me and to many other polytheists. Whitewashing our differences is not a price we’re willing to pay in the name of unity.

Fearing Orthodoxy

And then there are those who are happy to articulate and celebrate our differences… at least until someone starts studying these many traditions and pointing out commonalities. Or until someone begins speaking of movements and other collectives. Then the call for unity at any price becomes a demand for many independent religions of one (one practitioner, that is). Pointing out commonalities becomes “erasure” (erasure is a problem in religion and especially in polytheist religions, but this isn’t it), and speaking of collectives becomes “telling people what they have to believe.”

Many of us came into Paganism and polytheism from religions that insisted we had to believe a whole list of theological propositions and moral codes whether they made any sense to us or not. I grew up hearing “accept Jesus as your savior or burn in hell” (I still occasionally hear it – it just doesn’t mean anything to me anymore). We don’t want this kind of authoritarianism in our new religion, and with good reason.

But it’s a long way from “here are some things many polytheists have in common” to “you must do these things or you’re out of the movement” (remember – movements don’t have boundaries). And even if I or some other polytheist was silly enough to insist this or that practice was mandatory, we have no authority to enforce our proclamations. Even the real Pope can’t enforce his proclamations any more (which is a good thing, although I wish the bishops would listen more to this particular Pope).

If we’re going to form orders and temples and such, there will have to be some uniformity within groups. Beliefs and practices that some groups and individuals find helpful will likely make their way into other groups and individuals. Over time this may be come orthopraxy, but it is highly unlikely to ever become orthodoxy in any meaningful sense. And even this minimal commonality simply doesn’t apply to unaffiliated individuals. The fear of orthodoxy understandable but it is unfounded.

Practice vs. Identity

There’s another issue here. It doesn’t affect every person who’s made these comments, particularly on this blog. But I see it a lot in the wider religious world. That’s the issue of practice vs. identity.

Some people’s primary concern is with their religious practice. Daily spiritual practice is a priority in their lives. They participate in private devotion and group worship. The tenets of their religion are always in their thoughts and they make decisions with them in mind. They actively look for ways to make their religious values manifest in the world, and they’re not afraid to do some hard, dirty, mundane work to accomplish it. They’re firm in their beliefs, but they’re humble enough to understand they don’t know it all, and they’re constantly seeking to learn and grow.

11 321 Russell SquareOther people’s primary concern is with their religious identity. What’s most important is that they are a Pagan, or a Witch, or a polytheist (or a Christian or a Buddhist or anything else). They may do some sort of spiritual practice occasionally or not at all. They may participate in worship occasionally or not at all. For the most part these aren’t bad people, or even lazy people. But they cannot tolerate any challenge to their beliefs and practices. Challenges are not seen as opportunities to test and refine their religion, but as personal attacks against their identity.

Everyone deserves to have their religion respected, to the degree that their religion is worthy of respect (I have no respect for Daesh or the Westboro Baptist Church). But ordinary respect and courtesy aside, what’s more important: having others affirm your religious identity, or participating in the public square of religions, refining and strengthening your beliefs, and growing deeper in your practice?

A Better Way

Rather than seeking unity at any price, let’s form our groups, traditions, and religions around true commonality. For example, if some people believe the Gods demand animal sacrifice while others believe such sacrifices are unnecessary and unwelcome, they probably shouldn’t try to form one tradition. They can still work together to promote polytheism as a movement and as a worldview, but they should be organized as two groups, not one.

But not all differences are schism-worthy. Some people are sure the Gods are all omnipotent and others are sure They’re not. That makes for an interesting debate over tea or whiskey, but I don’t see it becoming a sticking point for membership in a polytheist group… assuming there were lots of polytheist groups to consider joining… which there aren’t. Yet.

And rather than worrying that someone is trying to tell you what you have to believe, let’s use challenging essays as a prompt to examine our beliefs and practices. Maybe you’ll say “you know, there’s something to this essay – I need to give it some serious contemplation.” Or maybe you’ll say “this doesn’t match my beliefs and practices, so this doesn’t apply to me.”

I want my polytheism to be as authentic and robust as possible. If you think I’m wrong about something, say so. I’ll give it some thought and if your argument is convincing I’ll change what I think. But if you’re seeking unity at any price, if you’re afraid of an orthodoxy that no one is trying to establish, or if your primary concern is affirming your religious identity, may I humbly suggest you spend your time practicing your own religion instead of complaining about mine.

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