Can We Get It Together?

The coming years are going to be difficult ones for modern Pagans. This is a statement that I have heard echoed from all sections of the modern Pagan community. From Asatru to Reclaiming, from Druid groups to Goddess worshippers, from lineaged Wiccans to eclectic solitaries who just finished reading their first book.

So how do we prepare? Where do we turn when we feel are rights have been trampled on? Who will advocate for us in Washington? Who will be the links in the chain when coalitions are called for? First, I want to give a quick run-down of the pan-Pagan groups are that currently trying to represent and fight for “us”.

AREN, Alternative Religions Education Network

Formerly the “Witches Anti-Defemation League”, AREN is supposed to be a group that raises awareness of issue of concern to the Pagan community, but their “news” section dates back to 1998. Darla Wynne is a member of AREN, yet they mention her struggle only in passing at the bottom of the main page. They now promise to get up to date by releasing an “e-zine” with the first issue coming out in….October of 2004! This group may be helpful in getting you the name of a Pagan-friendly lawyer, but that looks like the extent of their current powers.



The Pagan Unity Campaign

Originally conceived as a group that would evolve into a Political Action Committee that would lobby for Pagan interests, the group (after a lengthy flame-war over their definition of “Pagan”) has devolved into a feel-good group that as a national entity sends out coordinated mailings to representatives letting them know they have Pagan constituents. The once ambitious group now seems like little more than a website. Rarely updates and in no position to provide representation for a wider Pagan interest.



Lady Liberty League

An outgrowth of Circle Sanctuary, the LLL is supposed to provide “Religious freedom support for Wiccans, Pagans, and other Nature religions practitioners worldwide. An international information and networking service”. They do seem to have things together better than the previous two groups. They have a page for people to request support, they participate in the Parliament of the World’s Religions and they seem to have a long history. The downside is that their news doesn’t seem to have been updated in a year and there is no sign that the group has any sort of plans for growth.

From there we get to groups who are there to support modern Pagans and do a bit of interfaith work like COG and Earthspirit, but neither have an explicit mandate to lobby or advocate for the wider community. You also have awareness raising groups like Pagan Pride who garner a lot of press, but stay neutral otherwise.

I didn’t mention the many local groups or groups that seem to be a website and nothing else, or groups that have obviously been abandoned by the creators.

I’d like to say, I’m not foolish enough to call for “Pagan unity”, I have seen the flame wars and rifts caused by attempts to lump our diverse population into bullet-points and mission statements. But what the collective “we” do need is some sort of way to make our voice heard on the few issues we generally do agree on and to find a way to make our desires known on a national level.

If I were to make recommendations…

1. I would say that the success of 527 groups on the web have shown us a way forward to play to our collective strengths. We have a very strong web presence and the micro-donations strategy can encourage giving from our normally reluctant populace.

2. We must reach out to the Heathens. Any group must put aside it’s Wicca-centric model and reach out to our more libertarian-leaning cousins. Yes the reconstructionists tend to be more conservative, but in general it tends to be the best kind of conservativism and there are many issues including civil liberties and conservation that we could form strong coalitions on.

3. We need to learn from Reclaiming and other Pagan groups that have been doing political action. While some Pagans don’t agree with every issue they fight for, they have perfected tactics and methods learned from other activists and brought it into a religious mind-set. This may prove vital if other tactics prove fruitless.

4. We need to ditch the failing groups and start clean. Attempts to revitalize groups that are long dormant won’t get us anywhere. If anything those groups should share their resources with us and move to something new.

5. An web site needs to be dynamic and updated constantly! Blogs! Blogs! Blogs! If a site is going to go more than two days without an update if will become stale. The days of “e-zines” are over, the days of fresh content every day are here. This hypothetical group would need a team of dedicated bloggers from several different faiths and traditions to keep the site interesting with commentary and insights on the latest news stories.



6. Cross the generational gap. Lastly we will need to make sure the site is truly inter-generational. We want teens and elders working together. This site MUST be fresh and a bit “hip” and must appeal to a broad audience to succeed.

Will this happen? Who can say, but maybe it is an idea we need to ponder in the coming years.

Tags: Neopaganism