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<\/a>What\u2019s the difference between religion and culture? It\u2019s hard to find an explanation that isn\u2019t loaded with Western, Christian assumptions. But as I generally understand it, culture is an expression of a peoples\u2019 identity: who they are, what they do, what they value. Religion is an expression of their highest values and how they deal with the Big Questions of Life: why are we here? What\u2019s the nature of Life? What happens after death?<\/p>\n
There is significant overlap between religion and culture. I\u2019ve heard it said (though I can\u2019t remember where) that some of the remaining tribal societies have no word for religion, or if they do, it refers to what\u2019s preached to them by Christian and Muslim missionaries. Their own \u201creligious\u201d beliefs and practices are simply part of who they are.<\/p>\n
The inseparability of religion and culture holds true in our wider society as well. When I was growing up in Tennessee in the early 1970s, \u201cChristian\u201d meant \u201clow church Evangelical Protestant,\u201d but it also meant politically conservative, pro-Vietnam war, and anti-rock & roll. Smoking was a personal choice but drinking was a terrible sin.<\/p>\n
Some try to separate culture and religion by insisting that religion deals with supernatural concerns, but that ignores non-theistic religion. Now, if an atheist says he doesn\u2019t have a religion, it\u2019s not my place to correct him. But as a Unitarian Universalist, I know plenty of very religious people who don\u2019t believe in Gods, spirits, or anything else not blessed by science. Nontheistic religion is a real thing. Meanwhile, nontheistic polytheism is an oxymoron<\/a> (I don\u2019t want to reopen that particular shouting match, but take the prefix off and you have \u201cnontheistic theism.\u201d If that\u2019s not an oxymoron I don\u2019t know what is).<\/p>\n We\u2019re building (or rebuilding or restoring or re-establishing \u2013 choose your favorite action verb) polytheist religions on purpose<\/em>. We\u2019re studying the ways of our ancestors. We\u2019re engaging in various devotional practices<\/a> and discussing their relative merits. We\u2019re holding conferences<\/a> to build relationships and share what we\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n We\u2019re building polytheist culture by chance<\/em> \u2013 it\u2019s evolving without intent. Almost all of us come from the mainstream culture, a culture whose values are frequently at odds with polytheist values and that frequently tells us \u201cyou must follow our rules!\u201d Many of us also come out of the wider Pagan culture, a culture that just as frequently insists \u201cyou can\u2019t tell me what to do!\u201d Neither of these approaches are particularly helpful in building a meaningful and powerful polytheist culture.<\/p>\n (As there are many polytheist religions, so will there be many polytheist cultures. The point isn\u2019t that we must have one<\/em> \u2013 we don\u2019t, we won\u2019t, and we can\u2019t. The point is that just as there is considerable overlap of religious beliefs and practices among contemporary polytheists (particularly in North America), so will there be considerable overlap in culture. Diversity is never an excuse for \u201canything goes.\u201d)<\/p>\n I\u2019m not concerned with cultural markers like clothes (I prefer sturdy solid colors, with the traditional white Druid robe<\/a> for rituals), food (roast pig or vegan delight?), or music (so long as it\u2019s not crappy art, like the Pagan music of the 1980s or pretty much anything produced by and for Evangelical Christians). Rather, I\u2019m concerned with what our polytheist culture values and respects and how it expresses that respect.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s respect facts<\/strong>. As the saying goes, you\u2019re entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts. A lot of what gets passed around in Pagan and even polytheist circles is outdated (i.e. \u2013 more recent scholarship has shown it to be in error) or speculative (impossible not<\/em> to do when working with the distant past, but let\u2019s understand the difference<\/a> between what\u2019s likely, what\u2019s possible, and what\u2019s not very likely).<\/p>\n We respect facts when we check sources, think through what we\u2019re saying, and refuse to accept something just because it matches our preconceived notions or tells us something we want to hear. Let\u2019s respect facts enough to put some effort into separating facts from speculation and from outright fantasy.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s respect experience and learning<\/strong>. Appeal to authority is a logical fallacy and \u201cbecause I said so\u201d (or \u201cbecause some published author said so\u201d) is never sufficient grounds to accept a religious proposition. At the same time, someone who has been a priest for twenty years probably knows a thing or two about leading ritual. Someone who has published books on Celtic culture probably knows more about what the ancient Druids did than you do. Someone who grew up speaking Welsh<\/a> probably knows more about old Welsh stories than someone who speaks and reads only English.<\/p>\n We have no credentialing bodies (do we need them? I don\u2019t think so<\/a> \u2013 certainly not yet), but it\u2019s not hard to figure out who the experts and elders are. Assume they know what they\u2019re talking about until you see they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n We respect experience and learning when we humbly decline to assume we know it all, and when we understand that someone challenging your ideas isn\u2019t attacking you. Listen with the intent to learn, not with the intent to rebut. If you think someone is wrong, present your case logically and politely. You may not change any minds, but at least you\u2019ll build a reputation as a reasonable person.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s respect religious experiences<\/strong>. One of the reasons the polytheist religions are growing is because they\u2019re experiential religions. We take the wisdom of our experts and elders seriously, but if we are inclined and if the Gods and spirits agree (and they usually do, sooner or later) we can have our own religious experiences. For me, this is the \u201cproof\u201d of polytheism \u2013 in the moment the Gods are so real I laugh at the skeptics, even if 30 minutes later I\u2019ll admit other interpretations might be valid.<\/p>\n We respect religious experiences when we build and maintain a living religion that is rooted in the past without being stuck in the past.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>We need not accept everyone\u2019s interpretation of their religious experiences. Some people don\u2019t have the religious foundation and self-knowledge to accurately separate messages from the Gods from their own thoughts and desires (but that skill can be learned<\/a>). If someone makes an experience-based claim that\u2019s at odds with known facts, we are free to ignore it, or at least to decline to accept it.<\/p>\n