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Our Story Thus Far
In 1987, a friend invited me to an autumnal equinox circle with his Pagan coven. I had been an atheist all my life: a rational, naturalistic believer in science and reason. But I went. I still don’t entirely know why. It was…odd. There was drumming. The standing-in-a-circle-holding-hands was a bit uncomfortable. There was talking to Invisible Presences, though that seemed much more like symbolic action than people actually believing they existed. But on the other hand…it was the autumnal equinox. That’s a real thing, a real event in the natural world. When was the last time I had noticed that? How connected was I to the reality of what was…
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SF Bay Atheopagans: Join Us on Dec. 9!
Atheopagans and friends are welcomed to join us for a potluck early winter gathering and nontheist Yule ritual on Sunday, Dec. 9, at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Connie Barbour room (1606 Bonita Ave, at the corner of Cedar St. in Berkeley—map link here). The gathering will convene at 2 pm, with the ritual at 3:30. Please bring a dish and something to drink to share. We would appreciate it if you bring non-disposable eating ware, as well, so we have very little waste from the event. Please no red wine, thanks—the venue is concerned about stains. This event is our second effort to engage more local Atheopagans and…
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Inclusiveness Starts with Your Ideas
One of the ways Atheopaganism differs from many other Pagan paths is that we don’t have to go through endless parsings of “what gods are” or “what gods want”, nor seeking to overcome biases baked into traditions that arise from times and cultures where bigotries of various kinds were the norm (be they ancient Greece or Britain of the 1950s). I’m seeing much soul-searching in the Pagan community about this sort of thing recently: concern about the heteronormativity and gender essentialism of mainstream flavors of Wicca, for example. When you assert the existence of a (fully able-bodied, typically white, slender, young, heterosexual, cisgender and conventionally attractive) Goddess and a (similar) God as…
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Reflections on the FFRF Conference 2018
So…the Freedom From Religion Foundation conference was…interesting. It’s a great organization. Lobbying and legal work to prevent religious incursion into governmental and public spaces. Very important stuff. I got the sense that most of the attendees felt a deep relief at being in a place where they could admit their atheism. And that seemed to be the end-all-and be-all of the conference’s message: we’re atheists, and that’s good. Presenters were stellar (Salman Rushdie!) And their points about the deep wrong of theocracy and enforced religiosity–even to the tragic murders and forcible exilings of nonreligious people in the Islamic world–were powerful. That said, it seemed so passive: people sitting in chairs,…
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Atheopaganism is Not Just a Religious/Spiritual Path. It’s a Movement.
Imagine… A world where critical thinking and reason and Occam’s Razor are the predominant means people use for determining what to believe. Where education is celebrated and made a major public priority, and expertise is once again respected. A world where the Earth and Sun, and beauty and truth and love are considered Sacred. Where people conduct themselves according to principles of kindness and compassion. Where we ritualize our life transitions, and calmly and factually embrace both sex and death as natural parts of a human life. Where consent culture is a norm rather than an aspiration. Where each of us is empowered to take on whatever religious roles we…
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If You’re a US Citizen, PLEASE VOTE!
Jon over at Humanistic Paganism has a great post up, reminding us of the critical importance of voting—and voting Democratic—in Tuesday’s U.S. elections. The domination of the nation’s current politics by the party of Trump simply must end, and the first step must happen now. I have just returned from the Freedom From Religion Foundation‘s annual conference in San Francisco. Among the presenters were atheists from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh who told harrowing stories about what happens when religion is allowed to drive politics. Trump and his evangelical supporters want similar draconian “morality” inflicted on our nation, but we have a tool that those presenters do not: elections with an…
