ups<\/a> of this panel, I have some thoughts.<\/p>\nFirstly, there is some great discussion occurring, mainly in regard to the larger ideas of what our communities are, stand for, and how they work (or don\u2019t work) together. There are also a lot of people telling each other what counts and who counts as what. That I don\u2019t like so much, and seems to be a big part of what people don\u2019t like. Go figure.<\/p>\n
Secondly, I want to say that I find PSVL utterly and completely reasonable. Now I\u2019ve not read every post e\u2019s written. But I think eis* ideas about polytheism and wanting to be accepted as one and as part of the wider Pagan umbrella perfectly reasonable. I think e\u2019s doing good work to advance polytheism and Paganism.<\/p>\n
My experience with Wiccanate privilege has been Wicca\u2019s ubiquity. Fifteen years ago as I was seeking out feminist spiritualities I found an overwhelming amount of goddess centered, New Age writings and basic Wicca texts. There wasn\u2019t much else in book stores or online, and I just didn\u2019t know the right questions to ask. There\u2019s a reason that when some one says they are a Pagan most people assume they\u2019re Wiccan \u2013 it\u2019s just been the most visible aspect of modern American Paganism thus far. There is a degree of Wiccanate privilege in this, but I think it\u2019s less about privilege per se, than it is about people being willing to learn about different beliefs. It seems like the time is ripe for more flavors of religious expression to make themselves known.<\/p>\n
I think the benefit of gatherings like PCon is that we get to see the wide variety of practices and traditions that exist under the Large Umbrella and that we can have these conversations together. The people who fall outside of Wicca and Wiccan-influenced traditions who are able to attend are expressing with their very presence that they want to be included, and those who host hospitality suites, workshops, or rituals are creating an opening to greater understanding.<\/p>\n
The privilege I see is less of a Wiccanate privilege and one of theological discourse. In PSVL\u2019s write up he describes being asked what polytheist means: \u201cmany gods\u201d is his (correct) response. But then moderator Jeffrey Albaugh says that\u2019s not enough of a descriptor. Now PSVL is perfectly able to describe himself and his practice in theological detail. He knows the difference between monist and monotheist, etc. But most people don\u2019t and can\u2019t.<\/em> Why this hair splitting? And how can we expect 95% of Pagans to do this, when even graduate-level educated Pagans can\u2019t agree on terms?<\/p>\nI think the terms themselves are fairly straight forward. What\u2019s complicated is applying them to our lived experiences. I may be philosophically one thing, but have little actual experience of it. I may try to fit my experience into a philosophical term, or try to shove neat and tidy terms on to my not so neat and tidy experiences. (By the way, I\u2019ve done all of those things.)<\/p>\n
While it can be very helpful for an individual or a community to work out their theologies, most of the Pagans I have met are not interested in theological intricacies. This is not because they aren\u2019t smart enough: I\u2019ve found most Pagans to be incredibly well-read. But most Pagans \u2013 most people \u2013 don\u2019t have a strong grasp of theology, because it doesn\u2019t have immediate bearing on their practice.<\/em> As a person trained in theology, I love debating the nitty-gritty details. I think it\u2019s interesting, but I recognize that these debates are exclusionary. Theology is a specialized language.<\/p>\nAnd hell. If we get down to it, not only does there seem to be great misunderstandings about theological terms, I\u2019m not sure we\u2019re all on the same page about privilege. I want to be excited about the masses embracing theology. But like the discourse that occurs around privilege, I\u2019m seeing the theological debates become clubs (and occasionally inaccurate clubs) used to bludgeon one another. I\u2019m guessing most people just want to get on with their practice.<\/p>\n
*Not typos! PSVL prefers Old Spivak pronouns.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wading into the Wiccanate privilege debate, the privilege I see is one of theological discourse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1300,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,40,42,46,60,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-pagan","category-paganism","category-practice","category-theory","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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