Solstice Series: Holy Envy

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in December we will be asking people questions about Paganism and Pagan religions and culture. Want to weigh in? Find the next question at the bottom of this post!

A Mormon friend introduced me to the concept of “holy envy”: admiring a religion, or an aspect of a religion, without desire for conversion. Do you ever find yourself in holy envy over something from a non-Pagan religious tradition?

Cora Post responds:

I have holy envy of the Mormons:  Family Home Meetings, Patriarchal Blessings, Temple Endowments, the sense of community and unity.
I am one of those Pagans that like organized religion. I miss being part of a congregation that meets every week for worship. I miss being among people that share roughly the same religious views as myself. I wish Pagans could get more organized and create a closer in-person community that offered some of the same avenues of support and fellowship as the LDS.

P. Sufenas Virius Lupus responds:

One of the most wonderful things about being a polytheist is that I don’t have to simply stick with any feelings I have of “holy envy”–I can do something about them, because conversion is not necessary, and integration of appealing things from other sources is entirely possible. People in other religions may not want to think that, nor allow that others can do it, but if one is not operating under their authority or beneath the auspices of their organizations, they really have no say in the matter. Whom the gods call, they call, and we can either respond or not. Perhaps the gods, spirits, saints, or other possible ways of thinking of divine beings within other religions might want a person’s attention, and may connect with them through a particular practice. As long as one approaches that practice from where one is, and does so respectfully and claims no “authority” or lineage which one does not possess in said tradition, there is no problem, as far as I can see it.

As for individual experiences of “holy envy,” certainly I’ve had many of them, and I’ve been able to take them from a useless feeling of envy or admiration, or even of infatuation and limerence, into a more mature form of active and engaged practice. Many Shinto techniques and theological concepts are highly appealing to me; and given that Shinto is animistic and polytheistic and expects that most of its practitioners probably practice other religions in the modern day, there is no problem bringing syncretism in, or taking Shinto concepts into one’s own polytheistic syncretism. A lot of Hinduism is appealing, and the deities within it are especially so; while it is great to take part in pujas and other ceremonies in an “official” manner when possible, when it is not, those deities can be honored all the same, and I have done so with several of them over my years in modern Paganism.

It is my experience that it is fully possible to admire, envy, and even actively pursue techniques and concepts from within other religions as a Pagan without any difficulties, or in having to undergo a “the grass is always greener” feeling of uneasiness that would necessitate, in some people’s minds, conversion. There are many ways to approach every religion in an authentic and genuine manner without the necessity for conversion.

Kathy Nance responds:

I envy the social acceptance that Christianity and more “mainstream” religious traditions have. Christians don’t have to explain the basic tenets of their religion. When I attended the orientation meeting for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Civil Religion blog, everyone else could give a one-word description and get knowing nods. “Catholic. Episcopalian. Pentecostal. Jewish. Hindu. Ethical Humanist.” When I said, “Pagan,” I could feel the energy of the room chill and contract. No one knew quite what I meant by that, and I was too nervous at the energy shift to explain on the spot. So my first blog post was an explanation. I still don’t have a good elevator speech, and wish I didn’t need one. The same is true outside the religion writer’s sphere. Most Americans know Christianity’s basic plot. They understand that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, and Easter is the crucifixion and resurrection. I have yet to meet a Christian who worries that if her boss finds out she worships Jesus, she’ll be fired. A Jewish friend swaps out working Christian holidays for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah—no hassle. I have yet to hear of a Pagan getting a similar, hassle-free deal. Nor have I ever seen Pagan groups listed in the “Worship Services for Our Guests” handouts prepared by hotels. And think of all the religious surveys purporting to tell us what different faiths think of the day’s social and political issues. Pagans are never listed, even though there are as many (or more!) of us as there are Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and nonbelievers. Nor did I see “Pagan” listed as a faith option on my emergency room intake form when I needed stitches recently. Three stitches on the bridge of my nose were unlikely to require the services of a chaplain; but it would have been nice to be able to check “Pagan” instead of “Other.” Although “Other” is pretty much how Pagans are viewed. The eternal Other, the “Them” to the majority, monotheistic “Us.”

As for me? I often find myself experiencing a smidge of holy envy. Admittedly, I am a bit spoiled by my own tradition which is a strong, loving and organized community, so many of the issues Pagans have regarding community don’t concern meas much in my own day to day life. Sometimes I miss sermons. Sometimes I listen to Southern gospel music. Sometimes I miss revelatory texts. Sometimes I miss the language of my former faith. I admire the grand ritual of Mass, the Mormon emphasis on family, the immersive culture that is Judaism, the simplicity of Buddhism and the strength of the Muslim women I have met.

No, I’m not considering conversion but I am mulling over what divine meaning these things I admire have. I am seeking, and sometimes creating, their equivalents in my private practice. I find myself drawn to those, who like Julian, write strong moral essays that are sermon-like. Kenny Klein, Arthur Hinds, Kellianna, and others are satisfying my craving for gospel-style Pagan music. Z. Budapest, the Eddas, Enheduanna and others fill my need for revelatory texts. I see my co-religionists crafting a language as rich, deep and meaningful as anything in any other religious tradition. I see withion Paganism the best of all faiths blossoming within our own inclusive values and becoming something quite extraordinary. When I experience holy envy, it tends to make more grounded in and more responsive to the beauty of my own faith.

Next question:

If you could pick three concepts or ideas that should form the core of Pagan religious education, what would they be?

If you’d like to weigh in just e-mail me your short response (250-500 words) before Dec 27th. It’s sfoster at patheos.com.