Solstice Series: Pagan Community

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!

Intentional religious community is a North American tradition older than the US Constitution. Would you ever consider participating in building a permanent Pagan village from the ground up?

Wes Isley responds:

Good question but I’m afraid the very thought of a “pagan village” frightens me. I don’t have any experience with this type of thing, but I have known people who have tried to establish similar intentional communities, with varying degrees of success. All have eventually disbanded, so I guess the idea sounds like a lot of work for little in return (but then, I like my independence too much to uproot). But that leads me to the scary part. Pagans are so independent and accustomed to doing their own thing, how could you ever get everyone to agree on how such a religious community would operate? And it sounds too cultish. I think it’s healthy to be out in the world, exposed to all types of people and beliefs; it keeps us from believing our own hype.

Shan Morgain:

I am puzzled that intentional religious community is described as a North American tradition. Certainly there were many intentional religious communities set up in North America by Europeans and by Native Americans, centuries ago. But what of the first communities in Europe that generated the emigrants who took to America to found those communities? An obvious example is the Friends (Quakers, Shakers etc). What of the mediaeval Beguines? the radicals of eastern Europe like Huss and the Moravians who predated Luther? What of the many many enclaves of Celtic traditions? What of the Alexandrias whole cities founded by Alexander? What about beyond Europe – Sufis? Hindus? Buddhists? Taoists? and many others who founded intentional religious communities. Some died out but some have changed the world.

For the second part of the question yes I dreamed for many years of founding a Pagan village. The fates blocked me largely through illness. But now I think that is better. A village would be a hotbed of power struggle like the London elite of Paganism and no doubt much the same elsewhere. The Celts had it right. We need a lot of space if we are not to fight and climb on each others’ backs. We need small groups, to go their own way. We also need strong communications so those groups can link to each other. Before the internet I think a Pagan village was a valid dream. Now the landscape is different. I dream in wide flung webs loosely enfolding freedom loving Clans.

House Morgain is the first permanent Pagan temple and retreat house UK. That is what I am building by renovating an old Tudor manor house to provide comfortable rooms and spaces for Pagans to share.

Kathy Nance responds:

Intentional community is something that sounds very appealing to me, especially if I’ve just heard Gaia Consort’s “Move to the Country.” But that’s just a song.

It’s hard enough to hold a group together just to plan a workshop or mount a festival. It’s hard work to raise a garden just to supplement the groceries, let alone depend on it for a year’s worth of meals. And the financing . . .

Oh, it can be done. Missouri is actually one of the more popular states for intentional communities. The on-line directory of the Fellowship for Intentional Community shows 51 either established or forming. Home schooling laws and rural building codes are among the most liberal in the country. Taxes are relatively low. The climate is temperate enough to grow many different foods and a good variety of cash crops. Two, East Wind Community (formed 1973), and Sandhill Farm (formed 1974), have survived from the last great period of interest in intentional communities. Or communes, as they were more commonly called then.

And why? They have viable businesses to bring income to the community, and an emphasis on healthy group process. They also have developed good screening processes to see whether prospective members might fit in well with those who already live there. They have learned to weed out the slackers and the emotionally unready.

I heard a member of Sandhill Farm speak locally a couple years ago. He said that when they look for members, they don’t look for skills. You can teach someone to grow food or lay concrete blocks, he said. But if a person doesn’t have a good work ethic or healthy communication skills, that person is not a good candidate for Sandhill or any intentional community.

By those standards, I know Pagans who would be good candidates for building a village or urban co-housing community. I’d also consider inviting people who aren’t Pagan but have compatible spiritual beliefs or practices. Because in the end, what counts to me is a good work ethic and emotional maturity. Without those, no community is going to be worth singing about.

Next question:

We’ve talked a lot about the devotional path here at Patheos but there are many Pagans who feel strongly that other relationships with the Gods are more appropriate. If all paths are valid, is there such a thing as a wrong relationship with the Gods?

If you’d like to weigh in just e-mail me your short response (250-500 words) before Dec 15th. It’s sfoster at patheos.com.