Atheology
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The Pagan World is Different (Adult)
This post is really meant most for those who have come to check out Atheopaganism from the atheist/skeptic community. Thus far, the material on this blog has all been “family-friendly” from the standpoint of mainstream Western society. Even my post on the 10th Principle was more cautionary than encouraging, though at its core is encouragement that people take pleasure in the sensory experiences they encounter in life. This reflects a goal on my part: I want Atheopaganism to be an inviting path for those coming from the skeptic/atheist community as much as it can be for those coming from the Pagan community. While much of the Pagan community is cheerfully open…
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Priest/esshood, Leadership and Atheopaganism
If you come to Atheopaganism from other Pagan paths, you may have noticed something in my writing, at least: there is no mention of priesthood or priestesshood. That’s not an oversight. Rituals very often have leaders. There is usually one person (sometimes two, but rarely more except with very large groups) who shepherds the flow of the ritual through its phases. This is inevitable and proper: leadership is a real function and all human groups have examples of how it is exercised, even in groups with completely flat power structures. Leading a successful ritual—helping to “move the energy” or facilitate the smooth building of emotion and Presence—is a learned skill, and a powerful…
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The Four Sacred Things
This is an excerpt from my essay “How I Became an Atheopagan“, posted to give an easy reference for the core values that inform my version of atheist Paganism. It is these pillars upon which were developed the Atheopagan Principles. We can’t talk about religion–or define a new one–without addressing the issue of what is to be considered sacred: what that means, and how it informs the values by which the practitioner is expected to live. While many traditional religions seek to define the sacred as an inherent quality possessed by certain objects, beings, or activities–and, therefore, not by others–at root “sacredness” is an ascribed quality: an opinion. It is…
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Divinity vs. the Sacred
“Well, you’re a pantheist, then.” I get this now and then, after describing my cosmology and Atheopagan path to other Pagans. And there’s nothing wrong with it. Pantheism is a perfectly fine way of looking at the Cosmos: to see Divinity in everything. Many pantheists don’t believe in deities as individual, communicative entities with agency and personalities, and I don’t, either, so I can understand why some might mistake Atheopaganism with pantheism. But it IS a mistake; I’m really not a pantheist. In some ways, I am the utter antithesis of a pantheist, because I don’t see Divinity in anything. Divinity is described as a quality, something with which a thing or a process or…
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Exploring the Atheopagan Principles: Principle 13—Kindness and Compassion
This is the (expected) final post of a 13-part series on the Atheopagan Principles as I described them in my essay, “How I Became an Atheopagan”. To read the whole series, click on “Atheopagan Principles” in the tag cloud to the right. The thirteenth Atheopagan Principle reads, “I practice kindness and compassion with others and myself, recognizing that they and I will not always meet the standards set by these principles.” In the end, kindness and compassion—rather than anger, judgment and resentment—are the best means to live a happy life. It is far easier to carry around a nuanced understanding of a conflict that acknowledges the humanity of the person who has…
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Exploring the Atheopagan Principles: Principle 12—Integrity
This is the next-to-last of a 13-part series on the Atheopagan Principles as I described them in my essay, “How I Became an Atheopagan”. To read the whole series, click on “Atheopagan Principles” in the tag cloud to the right. The twelfth Atheopagan Principle reads, “I conduct myself with integrity in word and deed.” This one sounds a bit stuffy. It’s an absolute statement and seems to imply that Atheopagans should be Boy and Girl Scouts. But I really don’t mean it that way. Integrity is actually the path of least resistance for a lower-stress, higher-happiness life. Even though at times it forces you to stand up for something unpopular—or to acknowledge some…
