I saw a bumper sticker once?

Question

when picking my kids up at school, it was in the back window of a mini van, that said "Pagen Mom and proud of it" I am not in no way putting pagens down, I dont understand them enough to make that judgement, nor the right to. but I am curiose, The first thing I thought of when I saw it was this mother forcing her children into doing some sort of rituals. I am sorry I may be wrong. the next thing I thought was . thats kind of weird to be prodcasting that, is she trying to make a point or what? will some of you Pagens please explain things to me? I am not sure where its comming from, but whenever I hear Pagan, my heart stops Cold and I am gripped with fear and disgust, but can in no way find why I feel that way. I have many friends who are into witch craft etc, I just ignore it, I ask no questions they dont give details. I only know them online. But I would like to know more about what you do and believe, and see if I can figure out where my feelings for it come from. Please dont take

offence, I really cant help what I feel, and I dont like myself for it, its like my body is doing the judging and my mind is fighting it.

Yoda green: are you trying to throw something in my face that doesnt go there? I do nor force my children to go to church, and when they do, I never go with them, they go with friends. on there own, because they want to.

Nick, I am trying to learn about somebody elses beliefs and I am being Honest, why are you attacking me?

ok, I am getting confused, yesterday you were all telling me I wsnt a Christian because I dont agree with the Bible, today I am being attacked and being called a Christian because I want to understand somebodys elses beliefs, you are really weird people.

If somebody came up and said the same thing to me, but asking to understand my belief, I would not be insulted, I would be happy that person was trying to understand, instead of taking the feelings they have and listening to them, and using them to put down my faith. that would be insulting. I am in no way trying to put down there belief and if you would read the whole thing you would now that.

Answer 1

If you think about it, christianity stole most of the pagan holidays. If she has her child doing rituals, it wouldn't be much different than christmas or easter.

Answer 2

"Pagan Mom and proud of it"
I kind of want one of those.

There's a couple things you need to consider, here...

First, "Pagan" is an umbrella term that covers a large and varied set of religious paths. In most cases, the "rituals" that you worry about are no different for that family than going to church -- in most cases, "pagan rituals" have to do with holy times during the year (and in the case of some religions, even specific times during the month). They are religious celebrations.

Second, a bumper sticker really isn't a great tool for creating ideas about the people in the vehicle. Although you did not intend to judge this woman, you did - based on whatever it was that you've learned that makes your heart "stop cold" when you hear "Pagan". My car has no such 'identifier' - but that doesn't change who I am. And with the number of used vehicles on the road, it's almost impossible to know a bumper sticker was put there by the current owner.

You mention that you have friends on line who are "into witch craft etc" but you just ignore it... maybe the first step would be to go ahead and ask those friends some questions and see if the fears you can't explain really have any basis in fact.

My family is Asatru - one of the many, many religions that falls under the "Pagan" umbrella. Our faith is in the relationship between ourselves and our Gods. We stress strength of will, honesty, and personal responsibility. Our children do participate, but that is (and always has been) their decision. If they want to go to church with their grandmother, that's fine too (as long as they don't come home telling us that we're "wrong" - because if that happens, there will be problems).

It's all about choice - at least in our house. It's about finding the "truth" that resonates in one's own heart. That's not a decision anyone can make for anyone else.

Answer 3

I used to be Christian and I used to also become terrified when I heard the word Pagan. It is only because I didn't know what a Pagan really was, and I unfortunately thought they were evil devil worshipers. The reason I thought that is because the Christian Church had conditioned me to think that. It is actually very untrue, and most Pagans I know are some of the nicest, gentlest and most tolerant people I have ever met.

Pagans are people who usually worship more than one God or Goddess, have a reverence for nature and who are not of the Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). Most Pagans do not even believe in the devil and usually have some sort of moral code that forbids harming anyone or anything.

I really admire you for being brave enough to ask this question with such honestly. I know some people are giving you a hard time about it, but I appreciate you being so forthright. I always like to say "the proof is in the pudding", which means that no matter what you've been told about a person, you're not going to know the truth about them until you give them a chance. There are plenty of Pagans who visit this site, so you may want to read their posts when they come up and decide what you think about them for yourself.

By the way, I am Pagan and I do not force my religion on my children in any way. In fact, most Pagans raise their children in an atmosphere of religious tolerance and encourage them to explore all faiths so that they may choose what feels right to them.

Answer 4

Hi.

Sounds to me like what you saw was an overbearing person forcing their lifestyle on their children. Things like this happen, regardless of a person's faith. I feel that it is more a control issue than a faith issue.

Though many people come to paganism because they felt "forced" into a particular path in their youth, becoming pagan doesn't mean that they've learned how to not do the same things to their children. It's a different skill set (parenting as opposed to practicing a faith).

As for the sticker, well.... that's just self expression, which as Americans we are allowed to do. I don't take offense when I see a Bush/Cheney '04 sticker, even though I despise what they've done to our country and the Constitution. My feelings on a subject should never determine whether someone else has the right to express it. I feel that many pagans putting stickers informing others of their path is similar to people putting a fish their cars; it's self expression and little more.

I'm sorry (saddened, not apologetic) that the word Pagan causes such a reaction in you. I'm sure that you will find a way to overcome the fear it inspires, as "Where love lives, there is no room for fear."

Brightest Blessings,
Be well in all things.

Answer 5

I'm not going to read the rest of the responses, cause some of the answers are just going to piss me off.

In all seriousness, it's probably time for you to seriously sit down with your pagan friends and ask them these questions in person. Obviously you judged the person to be worthy of friendship, because they are your friends. they are parents, friends, professionals, so you know they aren't bad people.

Ask them to explain things.

Know that a responsible pagan doesn't force their child into their beliefs, just as you don't force yours on your kids. Tha means no rituals, no sabbats, no etc, etc, etc.

I just noted you said you only know them online. Maybe now is the time to find a new age store and go in and ask these questions. If they're rude, go to another place - pagans can be just as rude as anyone else. You will, at some point, find someone who is willing to discuss this will you, answer your questions, help you lay silent your fear.

Hell, you could even call me and ask me. It's just hard to do a give and take question session here on YA!

Answer 6

Great question.

I know exactly how you feel. I used to feel the same way when I would see Pagan signs on cars.

What I didn't understand is that my behavior towards my kids was exactly the same.

I would take my kids to church every sunday, at church they would learn religious rituals. They would watch mom and dad drink the blood of Jesus and eat his body during communion services. We would sing and pray, some people would raise their hands, others would kneel. Basically I was teaching my kids religious rituals, that, to a non Christian would seem weird and strange and would make them feel very uncomfortable.

I am no longer a Christian, and don't feel that way towards pagans any longer. So, for me, the feeling of disgust and fear, came from my Christian upbringing and belief system.

Once I realized that my beliefs were based on faith, and not tangible reality, I had to take a look at other religious beliefs and realized that they weren't really too much different from what I had been doing and practicing.

Your feelings are coming from your belief system, that basically states, you are in danger of eternal torture if you expose yourself to other religious practices.

Answer 7

True Paganism is an earth-based religion, focusing on the Goddess as the primary diety (the giver of life), and the God, her consort. Traditionally, rituals are held at night - comes from all the persecution and the need for privacy, and also the Goddess is represented by the moon. These sort of rituals are no "weirder" than the rituals performed in the Christian churches (personally, "eating" and "dinking" the blood and body of Christ has always kind of freaked me out). We do not believe in Heaven or Hell - we believe in Reincarnation. The Christian symbol of the "devil" comes from our horned God - who represents our wilder side (love of fun and sex, etc.) We are not Satanic worshippers, mostly because to us, there is no Satan. We do not sacrifice anything (other than a little sleep so we can do rituals at night). Our religion is based on the fact that the women are the life-givers, and everything is a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It's not at all like the stories you heard growing up, I think. This is just scratching the surface, but I hope it gives you an idea. You're also welcome to email me if you'd wish to gain any more knowledge. Blessed Be! :)

Answer 8

Ok so I have not even read the responses that were given. from some of the stuff i have seen it seems like they must have been harsh. But I will try to explain a little about it to you. First I comemmorate you for even asking. Most people refuse to learn anything about any other religion. This is usually out of ignorance. Ok so Pagans should be proud to be pagans just as christians should be proud to be christians. whats the difference between that bumper sticker in her window and a cross sticker in yours? or some other christian concept? there really is none. The fear and disgust you have is due to years of brainwashing from churches, TV, movies, etc. They all portray pagans as Satan worshippers and magic and spells that cause harm to others and so on. Remember first that Pagan is an umbrella term for many religions. Therefore it encompasses a large array of belief structures.
To answer your thought of them forcing their kids into rituals. Most the pagans I know would never do this. It is most pagan belief that one must choose to be a pagan. it is something that you dont just get forced into. Now as offensive as it might be and I apologize for it ahead of time. Christian religions tend to push their kids into going to church every sunday. out of fear for the most part. This has been my experience at least.
Pagans are not satan worshippers or evil at all. well at least most arent. Actually Satanists fall into the category of christians because Satan does not exist in the non-abrahamic religions. Most pagan religions are nature based religions that honor the Gods of older times. Some are norse, some celtic, etc. The biggest thing of most pagan religions tends to be love, kindness, and acceptance of others. Some pagans do practice witchcraft but it is not a neccessity. I, for one, do not practice magic at all. I dont really believe in it personally. I practice what I call Magick (which I got from a book on wicca but I cannot remember which one). Magick is the rituals performed to commune with the Gods that they believe in. This is really no different than communion at church, or hymnals.

I hope this helped you at all. if you have any more questions feel free to email me

Answer 9

Sounds like you've got some serious aversions to things which you don't understand, but pigeonhole nonetheless. It's good you're willing to understand, so I suggest you do a little research and gain the wisdom and understanding that they're not much different than you are.

Understand that a lot of people (not I because I understand the causes and conditions of some things) feel the same way with the Ichthys displayed on their cars or the "man silhouette + female silhouette = marriage and have the same aversions to that. Personally I have a bumpersticker that says "My other vehicle is the Mahayana", and one that says, "Never meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good w/ ketchup", and I have a LGBT rainbow pride sticker. Get my point? Words are only that and are only worth the level of "disturbed" you allow yourself to become over it.

_()_

Answer 10

I am glad that your mind is fighting it. Part of the reason that you have the fear of Pagans is probably your early education.

"Pagans fed Cristians to the lions in Rome" (true, but Christians were not the only ones)
"Pagans perform Human Sacrifice" (possibly true in the past, archeological evidence may support this -- but experts are divided on the subject. NOT practiced by any Pagan religion that I know of in the modern-day)
"Pagans worship the Devil" (if you have Wiccan friends, you should know the truth about that ALREADY)

These early prejudices are often hard to overcome. The best way to do so is educating yourself.

I would not podcast family rituals, but that is personal preferance. PUBLIC rituals (for example something at a local Pagan Pride Day) are a different matter entirely.

Answer 11

Why would you worry about the children? Hopefully, like good people, the parents are raising them with good values like Christian parents might, or Atheist parents, or Hindu parents etc.

As for rituals, you take your kids to church, don't you?

At any rate, MOST pagan paths teach that paganism is a choice, or a personal calling. A child may have pagan parents, but it is when the child comes of age that they will decide their own religious path (or none at all). I have close pagan friends who have one child that grew up to become pagan and one that grew up to become Catholic. No friction.

As for what pagans do or believe, ASK your pagan friends. and check out links like this one:
http://www.witchvox.com

Your feelings come mostly from ignorance and fear of what you do not understand. THAT IS NATURAL AND OKAY!!!!! But, being an intelligent and rational person, now it is time to educate yourself so you can make a better value judgement based on knowledge and experience rather than simply fear and misunderstanding.

I applaud you for your openness and self-awareness.