A Floridian's View: Separation of UU & Pagan

A Floridian's View: Separation of UU & Pagan August 28, 2015
Joe Wolfarth at the 2012 General Assembly in Phoenix.
Joe Wolfarth at the 2012 General Assembly in Phoenix.

I live in an area where numerous Pagan groups have been formed, with some lasting longer than others, even for decades, while some have struggled to maintain balance and retain members… My own local CUUPs group lasted from 2006 until 2013, when we were simply unable to keep it together. I have enjoyed participation in numerous Pagan events here in Florida, and while I understand the reason that some local Pagans feel unwilling to join a CUUPs chapter is that they are either already committed to a coven or other specific group (with specific rules of behavior and/or belief that come hand-in-hand with membership) or they are suspect of the fact that “Christians and Muslims and Jews” (“Oh My!” We’re not in Kansas anymore, are we?) are welcomed into the pulpit of my U.U. church – and as “good” (Goddess-fearing?) Pagans they simply cannot stomach the idea of attending a services in a place that might make them go, “Ew! Feels Like a Church (or synagogue, or mosque, or whatever inflection is held in the aura of that Sunday’s guest speaker – we have no regular minister)…”

     My own willingness to accept the doctrines of Unitarianism (in short, the belief that humans seek the Divine in many different ways, and we should respect and love each other as a family of one species) and Universalism (that no human soul is damned – nobody is incurably corrupt or evil, that every one of us has opportunity for “redemption” – however you want it spelled out) undoubtedly makes me as “weird” in the eyes of some Pagans seeking a codified Pagan belief system as it does in the eyes of “fundamentalist” Christians (who occasionally ask me about my U.U. faith and then proceed to roll their eyes when I explain that I do not take the Bible as literal truth written by the hand of an all-encompassing sky-god-king…)

     The CUUPs group to which I belonged had a number of members who were comfortable with Pagan events, beliefs, and people, but were reluctant to consider joining any Pagan group, since they were already members of our church and our CUUPs chapter.

     For me, personally, I have endeavored only to practice “white” magic, which is in keeping with our U.U. principles and traditions, which I cherish and have sworn to live by for the rest of my days. Knowing that others would deride me as a “Fluffy Bunny” Pagan does not in any way move me to violate my own sense of morality.

Joe Wolfarth is a member of the CUUPS Board of Trustees, and of Community UU Church in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.


Browse Our Archives