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Hyphenated Practitioners

This article has caused some folks to get a bit upset over the years. And with good cause. There are folks out there who think they can straddle the line between paganism and any other religion and justify it as walking their own path. Sorry, but some things don't mix, like water and oil. In the end, you are water, or you are oil. Never both.

The practice of hyphenating your belief system suggests that you have not yet decided who you are. Or that you have not let go of what you once were, and you cling to those things that make you feel safe and secure. Paganism is supposed to make you feel safe and secure. So, maybe paganism is not what you thought it was going to be, or you have yet to embrace it fully. Perhaps a self-examination is necessary. In the end, you are only one thing spiritually, and hopefully, that one thing is yourself. Let the article below help you examine your feelings; maybe it can help. This is a think piece to open some dialogue and get those thoughts going.

As a community, in general, we tend to be very tolerant of much of what goes on around us spiritually. Yes, as in all communities, there are the fundamentalists, and there are the hard-core purists and the very liberal, but for the most part, in paganism and in the craft, you go on your spiritual path; we go ours. Probably because of our diversity as a spiritual community, we seem to be more accepting of a chosen path. While it may not be what we follow, we are not all that concerned about the path someone else chooses. For the most part, it is none of our business. At least as far as what you practice for yourself. But when it starts to invade our community - it is time to consider our choices and see if maybe we should establish some kind of ending point - like paganism ends here.

We have fantasy paganism and have seen the incorporation of so much fiction into spiritual paths. It was noted in a census in England (where the religion box is still on the census forms) that many people answered "Jedi" as their religion. While it may seem to be a joke to many, there are those out there who seriously consider Jedi to be a chosen spiritual path. Just as some seriously consider themselves Klingon. Gee, even Rosetta has a course on learning how to speak Klingon. That's how far things have gone.

That is fantasy. Many of us recognize this. And we tend to draw an invisible line and say, sorry, paganism stopped way back there in reality. And we understand the difference between actual spirituality and religion and the stuff that fantasy is made of. Although it can be argued that the adaptation of some modern religions can be found in the roots of science fiction, for the most part, we know and understand this. Paganism - it stopped at the border of reality. However, there are those who, rightly so, consider those great invisible rulers in the sky to be fiction. I tend to lean on the side of that, but I respect the gods and their right to exist as well.

What about the trend to accept a hyphenated version of pagan or witch. You know them; they get agitated when you ask them about their self-description. They seem to float around two or three different spiritualities or religions and claim to be something - pagan- with pagan ending up in second place.

I want to state something for the record. I believe that paganism and those who follow the craft are making a lifestyle choice, not a religious one. Your mileage may vary (YMMV). Paganism and witchcraft have their own communities and are closely related to the point where we include them in the same breath when discussing these lifestyles. The craft is another lifestyle choice under the pagan umbrella.

Within these communities are people who believe many things. Most have a spirituality that they alone follow. There are similarities in the defining of the individual paths -polytheistic for the most part, respecting nature, and walking a path that is less traveled. But these are the threads that bind us so closely together - our belief in the individual and their choice to choose their own lifestyles and their own spirituality. So, the inclusion of different philosophies and beliefs is a good thing. It allows us to expand beyond the closed borders of many of the old established religions. It will enable us to evolve our spirituality to meet our spiritual needs -something that is unique to our way of life and our spirituality. And that is a key element of our difference from any other spirituality and religion.

There are also religions within the pagan movement that are clearly defined by those who established them, and those who follow choose to follow the religion as it was established. Those religions have proven to be pretty pliable and show the same ability to evolve to meet the needs of the following. So, we end up with variations on a theme. However, the theme is still recognizable as the original, with some changes. These few religions blend well with the pagan and craft communities. Most of the pagan community stands proud of their choices - and they live pretty much in harmony with the values we have in the pagan community.

While many members of our community are being brought up pagan, there are still many, like myself, who have left behind the religion of their childhood and found the Pagan Path. I have spent many years on my path and managed to leave behind the dressings, vocabulary, and dogma associated with my former religion. I have embraced what it is to be pagan and of the craft.

But what about those who cannot leave behind the safety and security of their religion yet want to be included in our community? What about those who explore new religious paths and find that they are more comfortable with, for example, an Eastern philosophy, yet want to be included in our community?

I have no issue with incorporating other philosophies into an individual belief system. Gerald Gardner proved that you can pick up various spiritual beliefs and roll them into a religion - as long as you label it your own. He incorporated the basic beliefs of the craft system already established in England with other various beliefs picked up from his trips around the world. To be honest, many spiritual paths believe in reincarnation, respect for the earth, polytheism, and more. So, nothing new was brought into this religion, just philosophical additions to an already established spirituality that made a transition over to religion. An evolution, a revolution, and a successful one at that.

To be a pagan seeker is not a bad thing. We can and do adopt philosophies or ethics that are of importance to us. These ideals know no spiritual boundaries. We can be and are eclectic in our beliefs. There is good in each philosophy, and we adopt these and incorporate them into our everyday lives.

But why don't we call ourselves pagan and embrace all that it means to be pagan without having to include an attachment or a label on ourselves to anything else? What is the need to be classified as different - while looking to be accepted as the same?

Practicing a hyphenated religion is not going to settle well with someone from the religion you are trying to hyphenate. Try discussing with a Buddhist about your being a pagan Buddhist. See what kind of reaction you get. The Buddhist will say you are either Buddhist or you are not. This also disrespects their religion and their culture. Our path reflects poorly in their eyes. Yes, we should care about how others see us - it is mutual respect we are looking to establish. You can't respect someone or have them respect you when you are trying to change their identity to fit your own personal needs.

The same applies to a hyphenated witch. Witchcraft is not a spiritual path. It is a way of life. Most will tell you it is being in tune with the cycles of the earth, nature, and the moon and living in harmony with nature and the earth. Yes, there are those of us who practice spirituality, and there is even a religion that incorporates the craft with spirituality - Wicca. There are more, but this is the one I am most familiar with.

But what about those who still want to identify with one of the big three religions? Take, for example, Christian Witches. I am going to say it again - witchcraft is not a religion. It is a practice. We have Christians who practice witchcraft. That works for me.

The more orthodox Christian movements do not accept the practice of witchcraft, as they identify it as works of Satan. But practitioners exist just the same. Yes, you can argue the point to doomsday, but they are going to believe what they believe, and witchcraft will never be accepted by them. We move on.

Yes, there are Christian-based workers of magic. We have, as examples, Christian Mysticism and Christians who practice The Old Ways. Even Spiritualists seem to walk that line. But they clearly identify with Christianity, not paganism. There is nothing wrong with that - they identify with their religion, they practice magic, and they have clearly worked out the issues between Christianity and their practices. It is not for me to worry about. It is between them and their god.

But I find it hard to accept the Christian migration into the pagan community as just another entry into our path, as just another addition to our family. We have spent so much time disassociating from Christian dogma and Christian definitions of our gods/goddesses, our practices, and philosophies that we should just forget all we have done and accept it now? Last time I checked, they still define paganism and witchcraft as practices against their core beliefs. They have spent much time disassociating from pagans. And they still do.

Many pagans left Christianity and its stuffy church edifices, closed static systems, plastic clergy, and impersonal rituals for the personal interaction with the gods/goddesses in the open, sweet-smelling forests on a level each of us can relate to. Christianity is a very different spiritual practice. And their dogma does not seem to fit our very lax and independent way of looking at spirituality.

Christian-Wicca is the hardest to justify. Wicca acknowledges a god, a goddess, and usually both. There is clearly a Divine Feminine. Christianity could possibly be stretched to being a god in Wicca. But how does the Rede mesh with the Ten Commandments? Or how do you explain goddesses in a monotheistic religion that acknowledges only the masculine deity? Trinity could be stretched to be Triple Aspects of the god, but applying much of the Wiccan Dogma to Christianity, or vice versa, is a stretch of the imagination that borders on heresy in the Christian way of things.

This resembles the Protestant Reformation that split the Catholic Church. Disagreements in dogma were the primary concerns. But the binding concept was Christianity. Different practices, same god. They are still Christians.

They are finding their own way in spite of the blocks, but it is another offshoot of Christianity, not paganism. They are going to eventually rectify this within their own religion. Paganism really has no entry in the entire matter. It's a Christian thang! They will deal with it eventually.

In my opinion, the answer does not lie in their abandoning the Christian Church. What I usually tell those who come as hyphenated Christian-Pagans is that they have trouble in their own house, and maybe it needs to be cleaned up there. Two thousand years of history will bring along lots of baggage that needs to be sorted and examined, and essential items and trash need to be separated. Seeking shelter in the Pagan community is not going to heal the Christian community.

Being tolerant of other religions is a good thing and should always be encouraged. But when including a particular path in our own community, we should examine what that path is and how it may or may not fit into our community, our belief systems, and our lifestyles. We need to learn to be selective in who or what we choose to associate with as a community.

As a community, we should be aware of how we are perceived outside our own community as well as within. While we embrace all that is pagan or witch, do we also embrace all that is Christian or (insert religion here) into our belief systems? Do we embrace all established religious dogma into our religion? Do we embrace all faiths as an establishment in our community? Then what is it that made us pagan or witch, to begin with, if we cannot clearly define ourselves as different from others.

We should draw a line and say: paganism stops here, witchcraft stops here. Yes, it is okay to say that there is a limit on what we will accept in our community as part of our community. As a community, up to now, we have allowed the inclusion of other paths because of the closeness of their philosophies to the independent pagan philosophies. Christian-pagans can embrace a natural lifestyle and respect for the earth that we hold so dearly. But what about the rest of the dogma that goes with it? Does this mean that everyone who adds our path as a hyphenation is also part of our community?

Christians are free in their religion to accept a reverence for nature as long as nature does not become a substitute for their god. That is their covenant with their god � one god, no other god but him. If a Christian fails this critical piece of dogma, then they are no longer Christian. So, what is wrong with a Christian who respects the earth and helps to keep it as pristine as possible for future generations? Nothing. And they can do it all on their own. I see nothing wrong in helping them find their way.

The reason I have picked the Christian-pagan group is because they are pretty dominant within the pagan community as a hyphenated group. We also have Jew-Wiccans � who seem to make the transition a lot more smoothly simply because Jewish beliefs are a bit more pagan-centric; there isn't a condemnation of all things pagan as there is in Christianity. Proselytizing from the Jewish members is non-existent. We don't see the Jewish/pagan membership out there pushing their personal agendas. Instead, they seem to be blending better, but there still is that hyphen there in some cases. As for the Muslim world, I personally have not been exposed to any movement within the pagan community that attempts to blend these together.

So, back to the point of this essay. Pagans need to clearly define who we are so we are not mistaken for someone else. We do not want to lose our identity and individuality, that special touch that makes us different from everyone else. There is a need to stand proudly in our community as who we are and not try to sneak in the back door as a hyphenated someone else. We need to be clear that if we choose to follow one of the pagan paths, we follow it. Do not try to cover yourself with the cloak of something else.

And do not disrespect other religions. They are who they are; do not try to redefine them based on your own self-illusion. You are either pagan, or you are not.

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Boudica Foster is the pen name for Margaret Foster

All website material that is written, drawn, or photographed is the work and property of Margaret Foster unless otherwise noted.