Mark Green's Atheopaganism Blog

A week or so ago, when I published “Is Atheopaganism Political?“, I expected some pushback. I suspected that there might be some who have embraced—even subconsciously—the dualistic idea that religion/spirituality lives in a separate realm of human experience from that of pragmatic matters such as public policy. So I thought there might be some commentary along the lines of “well, that’s okay for you, but I don’t concern myself with such things.” Or some such.

I doubted you, friends, and I should not have.

There was no such response. Feedback was nothing but positive. And this tells me that the Atheopagan group and the readers of the blog get it: that our pursuit of joy is part and parcel of this Earth, this soil. That what is real, what is factual is the only metier within which to live a true Atheopagan life. And that we have a responsibility to it.

Ours is, not to put too fine a point on it, a no-bullshit religion.

Race doesn’t exist, biologically. It is a cultural myth, and the idea that “white” people are superior to others and deserving of privilege is bullshit. It’s a lie and a moral travesty. Atheopaganism, a path of evidence-based and critical thinking, recognizes it as such.

Women are not inherently inferior to men. That’s bullshit.

Gay and genderdiverse people are not morally inferior to heterosexual and cisgendered people. The idea is bullshit.

And finally, it is bullshit to suggest that the disadvantaged, the downtrodden, the poor are inferior to the well-off. That those who benefit from the inequities of our societies have arrived in that position through merit.

Bullshit.

The bigotries and prejudices and injustices of our societies are right before us. I am under no illusions: most of us who connect in Atheopagan spaces via the Internet probably enjoy privilege relative to the disadvantaged and oppressed, though we may indeed ourselves be oppressed by some of our society’s bullshit.

It is incumbent upon us to confront the bullshit, to name it, to face it down. To speak and act for justice. To wield our skill and power to drive the bullshit out.

This—as much as the reverence, as much as the practice, as much as the awe and joy and profundity and principles—is our path. This is the way of Atheopaganism: not just for our own happiness, but for the greater happiness of all. For the betterment of life—all Life—on Earth.