Today, May 2nd, is\u00a0Pagan Coming Out Day<\/a>. An even initiated \u201cto achieve greater acceptance and equity for Pagans at home, at work, and in every\u00a0community.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Check out\u00a0IPCOD\u2019s\u00a0Guide to Coming Out <\/a>authored by Drake Spaeth, PsyD. You may also wish to read endorsements from Pagans like T. Thorn Coyle<\/a>, Phaedra Bonewits<\/a>, Arthur Hinds<\/a>, and many more at the IPCOD site<\/a> and IPCOD\u2019s official Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eqfJ5Tv-x0o<\/p>\n \u201cRecently I have re come out of the closet. I\u2019ve been rebranding my core business and in the process of doing that, I\u2019ve realized that I\u2019d hidden part of myself away to fit in, and it didn\u2019t make me feel good, because not only was it denying a past choice I\u2019d made, but because it wasn\u2019t realistic. If you search for me on Google, you\u2019ll find evidence that I\u2019m an occultist fairly quickly.<\/em><\/p>\n Re-coming out the closet has been good for me. I feel like I\u2019m in touch with a part of myself that I\u2019d buried away and allowed to be buried. I\u2019m not listening to fears or worries because I realize that if people choose to not do business with me because of my choices its actually better for me.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m out of the closet because I\u2019m proud to be an occultist. I\u2019m proud to be myself. There\u2019s no shame in my choices and the intolerance of others is not something I will support by choosing to hide myself for their benefit. If I make that choice I am denying an essential part of who I am and denying my community as well.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Taylor Ellwood, Magical Experiments<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n IPCOD founder Cara Schulz, who came out as a Pagan in a police station, has this to say about the importance of Pagans coming out of the \u201cbroom closet\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019ve talked to people about this project, the number one question asked is why\u00a0should Pagans come out? Should is not a word we use when talking about the decision to come out or not. Coming out to someone is a decision only you can make and it\u2019s a decision best made when you\u2019re mentally and emotionally ready to do so. Pagan Coming Out Day is not about shaming other Pagans and polytheists into coming out when they\u2019re not ready.<\/em><\/p>\n Rather than talk about \u2018should\u2019 \u2013 let\u2019s look at the benefits, personally and for our religious community as a whole, to coming out. Some of these benefits include the reduction of anxiety in your life caused by living a double life, developing closer, more genuine relationships with friends and family, and developing a positive self-image. It\u2019s stressful to hide a core piece of who you are from those around you. Another benefit is one that the LGBT community has experienced \u2013 a reduction in prejudice. In a\u00a0study<\/a> for\u00a0Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, researchers found that,\u00a0\u201cheterosexuals tend to hold favorable attitudes if they know two or more gay people, if those people are close friends or immediate family members, and if there has been open discussion about the friend or relative\u2019s sexual orientation.\u201d This is why the LGBT community strongly encourages its members to\u00a0\u201cCome out, come out, whereever you are\u201d<\/a> \u2013 because it works for them in their struggle for equity. This is also why LGBT Pagans are often the most vocal in our community about the need for Pagans to come out. Being open and honest about our spirituality encourages a climate of greater tolerance and acceptance of Paganism as more people realize they know a friend and loved ones who are Pagan. But there are risks, too, and each person will have to access the risks and benefits unique to their own situation.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Some have expressed skepticism at the need for a Pagan \u201ccoming out\u201d day. The problem, I think, comes from what we mean when we say \u201cout\u201d (or \u201cin\u201d for that matter). I\u2019ll be frank and open about the fact that I advocate for Pagans coming out of the \u201cbroom closet\u201d, and have publicly advocated this position when I give talks at events. However, being \u201cout\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean plastering your car with bumper stickers, interjecting your faith into every conversation, or ostentatiously wearing a pound of Pagan \u201cbling\u201d.\u00a0It certainly doesn\u2019t mean placing yourself or your children in immediate danger if those are your circumstances.<\/strong> It means not living a double life, it means being out to your family, even if it\u2019s uncomfortable, and it means being willing to request and expect equal treatment in the workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cPagans should be mindful of the experience of the BGLT community. Specifically, that there\u2019s nothing like knowing someone who is BGLT, particularly a relative, to humanize BGLTs. This is as important for us as for them: without being humanized we\u2019re abstractions in someone else\u2019s hostile theological theories. The more of us that are out, the more humanized we become.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Dave Burwasser, Board Member Emeritus CUUPS\u00a0 and IPCOD Board member<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Pagans being \u201cout\u201d about who we are to those who love us, to those we interact with on a daily basis, changes the world. Even the conservative Christian polling organization\u00a0The Barna Group<\/a> acknowledges\u00a0this in their research<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout 5% of America\u2019s adult population associates with faiths other than Christianity (e.g., Judaism, Buddhism<\/a>, Islam, etc.). Within this group, about half (47%) were registered as Democrats, 30% were independent, and one-quarter (23%) were Republicans. The ballots of this group were most often cast for Barack Obama (62%) rather than John McCain (36%). The support provided to the Democratic candidate is identical to the backing this group provided to John Kerry four years ago (61%) \u2026Among voters who had a favorable view of Wicca, Sen. Obama was the favored candidate 64% to 35%.<\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It is important to look at the language in that last line. It isn\u2019t about Wiccans specifically, but people who had a \u201cfavorable view\u201d of Wicca. To further extrapolate, the family, friends, and co-workers of the\u00a0estimated 1 million modern Pagans in America<\/a> tended to favor\u00a0the candidate favored by the majority of modern Pagans.<\/a> But this isn\u2019t just about voting and politics, it is about eradicating stereotypes and altering perceptions. It\u2019s about changing the strange biases and assumptions that even \u201ctolerant\u201d people have about modern Pagan faiths. It\u2019s about not being thrown under the bus because \u201cthere isn\u2019t a Pagan in our office\/school\/organization\u201d. Again, coming out won\u2019t be a\u00a0panacea for every Pagan, but if all who are willing and able took one day to say \u201cI\u2019m a Pagan\u201d, to humanize our often misunderstood religions, it could change more than any of us realize.<\/p>\n