How Neopaganism Has Made Me A Better Christian

In the Quoir/Patheos book, Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree I discuss the influence Neo paganismhas had on my Christian faith.

Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree book — Image by Heather Hamilton. Used with permission.

Here’s a secret not many know: A quarter century ago, this Baptist pastor could have been put on trial as a witch. Of course, they’d never have convicted me, because I wasn’t a witch. But many things about my personal spiritual practices looked like I was one. They say, “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.” In this case, they’d be wrong. But, if they judged by appearances only, they would have put me on Monty Python’s scales to see if I was a witch.

Not Potential Converts, But Friends

Why might people have thought I was a witch? Because, for a period of time in my mid-twenties, my best friends were Wiccans and Asatruans. This might seem strange for someone who was pastoring a Baptist church. I had done lots of “research” on Neopaganism (not a singular religion, but a family of religions). This “research” meant reading tons of books by Christian authors whose goal was to warn people away from the New Age Movement and occult practices. But eventually, I realized I had limited my view by restricting my reading to Christian sources. To fully understand, I needed to read primary source material written by practitioners. Just as importantly, I needed to learn to see people from other faiths not as potential converts but as friends.

Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree

In the Patheos/Quoir Publishing book Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree, fourteen authors combine our voices to discuss what it means to find value in relationships with people from other religions. My chapter is titled “Neopaganism and Taoism,” reflecting the two influences that have added to my spirituality and made me a better Christian.

In my chapter I wrote, “I drove forty-five minutes from the town where I served as a lead pastor, looked over my shoulder to make sure nobody saw me and opened the door of a bookstore called The World Tree.” There, I found a community of people among whom I could be myself. While my parishioners expected me to live within a certain framework of their own expectations, these Pagans accepted me as I was. The World Tree was not just a bookstore—it was a gathering place for a community that offered me a sense of refuge. If the church was my own tree, Neopaganism became another tree that offered me shelter and a place of rest. The collection of people I met during that phase of my life became true and dear friends.

Spirituality Like an Ice Cream Social

In a podcast interview for Ideas Digest, host Konrad asked me what I would like to say to my former church members about making friends from other religions, and even borrowing some practices from them. I told him that one of the things we liked to do in our Southern Baptist churches was enjoy ice cream socials together. We’d get together with our ice cream makers, churn our own homemade ice cream, and share recipes with folks. We’d taste each other’s ice cream and load it down with lots of toppings. And you know what? Nobody judged each other for the ice cream and toppings we put in our bowls. One person’s bowl might be different than mine, but it didn’t matter. Why? Because it was never about ice cream anyway—it was about the love that we shared as we feasted together.

Our relationships with people of other faiths should be like that. Rather than approaching people of different religions with an attitude that says, “Your bowl is full of the wrong stuff,” it would be so much better if we could say, “Here’s some of mine—can I try some of yours?” Spirituality like an ice cream social would mean enjoying the tastes and sharing the recipes we’ve discovered with one another. It would remind us that it isn’t about precepts and practices, but the propagation of love that God wants us to share.

Now Available on Amazon

Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree is now available on Amazon. In its pages, you’ll find voices from people of many faiths, all agreeing about the value of relationships with people from other religions. In this book, members of Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Baha’i, Jewish, and other traditions value each other’s perspective and suggest ways to reach beyond the silo of your own religion. I hope you’ll pick up a copy for yourself, and one for your differently-believing neighbor. Maybe it can be a gift that turns neighbors into friends.