For all Pagans...Why do you think we are the ones who are happy and tolerant?

Question

Why is it that so many non-tolerant, non-pagan people seem so unhappy ?

Answer 1

because we are not bullied or threatened by our gods in the same ways .not counting sacrifycing

and because our Gods do not profess to be monitoring our private lives all the time

we got a lot more philosophical ,mental spiritual freedom.
and because we love beautifull things ,like nature and all it has to offer instead of having a war with it.

Pagans are the loving ,not the warring people

and Pagans are creative people ,who make things instead of blowing them up.

and the only time we are aggressive is when we or our loved ones are threatened ,

we do not go out of our way to make war or to conquer other people ,which Islamic and Christians cultures do.

we are also more tolerant of mixing races ,and even species
according to all the myths that portray half animal half human beings ,(the total opposit of racism)

and all kinds of sex are possible ,instead of strict social and even legal restrictions
in short we have far less rules about human behavior and far more rules about respecting our Environment (Gaia)and maybe each other.
social behaviour tends to be controlled by the fact that each induvidual is responsible for his own actions instead of relying on higher authorities such as government or and one has to be prepared to face the consequenses of ones actions without the protection of legal systems

in a rural African village i saw teenage boys beat a alleged burgler (who was suposed to have stolen a sheep 1 year previously)to death with sticks.

needless to say everybody ,especially visitors are very polite to everybody else ,greetings can take up to 10 minutes or more where by people enquire after the whole families health before the go on to praising the person ancestors
and there was almost no crime in this Pagan village

in a Mazatecca Mexican Native village(where i lived for 8 months) Everybody was laughing all the time .and when they got hurt they laughed even louder ,a kid that run in to a goal post with blood streaming down his face fell to the ground and sat there laughing his head of
a very strange thing to see

the women lightly beat the babies with branches if they cried ,so this education against negative emotions starts very young.

there must be more reasons why pagans are happier ,but this is all i can think of ofhand.

Answer 2

I like how you conjoin non-tolerant with non-pagan, as if they're almost synonymous. Tolerance has nothing to do with religion, it has to do with personality and the willingness to accept others who are different than you. Plenty of Pagans, I'm sure, are intolerant of people different than them, if not with respect to religion, with respect to race, political beliefs, economic status, etc. I don't know you too well and I'm not going to make an assumption, but it is possible that you, yourself, are less tolerant of other religious groups than you think you are. You're at least making stereotypes. It is most certainly not true that many non-pagans are unhappy. I personally think I'm the happiest person I know, and I'm a Christian. And by thinking that non-paganism makes people unhappy and that your way is the only way to go, well, that's just not tolerance of our beliefs, is it?

Answer 3

I don't see pagans as much more tolerant than anyone else. corvuequis's link to his question and answers proved it. We just try to justify it better. Sure, in some cases, some of us are more tolerant than most. But in other cases, we definitely are not. I have seen plenty of flames from pagans toward other pagans for their conservative political views and for not being eclectic in their practice. I have seen pagans flamed by fellow pagans for not choosing to practice magic and not believing in karma or the Wiccan rede. I have personally had pagans disgustedly pronounce that I am not a pagan because I do not believe in any 3-fold law! I have listened to pure hatred for Christians and ridicule for their beliefs. I have listened to popular pagan music which talks about burning churches and hanging priests (The Birthday dirge by Pasha and the Pagans). I don't feel that most pagans are like this, but we do have our share of hateful zealots just like any other religion and there are happy people in all religions---including those who do not believe in any religion. We aren't any better or worse--we're just on another path.

Answer 4

Elmo, I'm sorry to say, but the question was directed at Pagans. Pagans (or course) know what a Pagan is. A question directed at Pagans is not bound to explain what one is :)

Anywho, I think we are happier in certain aspects because we have more tolerance than most and don't get so angry at people we disagree with. We get more oxygen because we are outside much more often than most people, which does affect our emotions and endorphins. Our religion is very fulfilling, and meditation relaxes and soothes our soul from negativity and anger. And also, we don't have to worry about "the Devil" or going to "Hell". Very good question.

Answer 5

Speaking strictly on the basis of percentages, I'd wager that there are just as many intolerant Pagans as Christians. In the west, the Christian population is simply much larger.

Answer 6

I don't agree that all Pagans are happy and tolerant, but maybe more than in other groups. I think it's because we are in charge of our own destiny. We know that "God" resides within as much as without and recognizing our own divinity and that of our Earthly home and everything in it necessitates tolerance and encourages joy.

Answer 7

The religion itself may be intolerant, but the followers might not be. Paganism may be a tolerant religion, but there are intolerant followers. It happens in every religion.

Answer 8

I have news for you honey we are not all tolerant--just look at my last post on this subject. Most of us are more tolerant because we know what really makes us happy and we don't care what others think

Answer 9

You know, that's funny.
Awhile ago, someone asked the same question about atheists, claiming that THEY are the ones who are happy and tolerant...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlsurVRFMoO4_Mo8fzTDxhnsy6IX?qid=20060824125420AAJQY7j

I think you guys are generalizing. You don't have to be a member of a specific group to be happy and tolerant, or to be miserable and intolerant, for that matter.
I'm a Christian, and I think I'm pretty happy and tolerant......

Answer 10

because Pagans dont condemn people like christians and muslims do. and Eazy E Pagans have rules too, dont comment on something you dont know anything about.