Atheopagan
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Come and Meet Us!
Suntree Retreat 2024 is coming up, and you’re invited! This biannual in-person gathering of Atheopagans will take place Aug. 30-Sept. 2, at the La Foret Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It’s a long weekend of workshops, rituals, celebration, socializing, parties and fun! The last Suntree Retreat, in 2022, was really a high point in my life: a time when, surrounded by like-minded folks, I could really be and express my deepest self. So many meaningful moments! For more details on what Suntree Retreat feels like, listen to the latest episode of our podcast, The Wonder: Science-Based Paganism, where we interview folks who came last time. Click here for the…
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MY TAKE: the State of the Atheopagan Community 2024
It’s that time of year again, and I thought I’d share my opinions about how our community is coming along. To be clear: this is just my take, and not “official” in any way. But I like to reflect at the beginning of the year on what’s happening and what I expect to happen in the coming year. Comments welcome, as always! Our community, between Facebook and Discord members, podcast listeners and YouTube subscribers, is now well over 5,000 members, even if we assume heavy overlap between those channels. Going into 2024, we have the largest and strongest Atheopagan Society Council to date. Currently numbering twelve, the Council contains a…
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Diversity and Community
In Atheopaganism, we believe in the elevation and development of each individual to be fully themselves. We celebrate the luminous spark of unique humanity in every member of our community. In order to do that, we have to be open to tremendous diversity in how Atheopaganism is expressed on a person by person basis. Your rituals, Focus, and the way you celebrate the wheel of the year will not look like mine, and that’s great! They should be as you find them meaningful, as you find them moving and transformative. This is markedly different than most other religious paths, which expect general conformity in practices, self-identification, often even dress and…
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The Atheopagan Libation–A Ritual We Can Share Globally
Recently, as we interviewed her for THE WONDER podcast, guest Susan Paterson of the Atheopagan Society Council suggested that it would be cool if there were a particular ritual that was shared by Atheopagan practitioners all over the world. I love this idea, so here is a suggestion that Atheopagans across the globe can adopt if they so choose. Thirteen being a special number for us, I suggest Atheopagans do this ritual at Thirteen o’clock (1 pm) on the 13th of each month, wherever you are–or whenever you gather with other Atheopagans. If you are at work (as I will be if it’s a weekday), take a few minutes to…
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New Title, Better Boundaries
If you’re familiar with this site, you may have noticed that the title has changed. Now, it is “Mark Green’s Atheopaganism Blog”. That’s to make it clear that the thoughts, opinions, ideas, and resources presented here are mine. Not necessarily those of the nonprofit Atheopagan Society, which is administered by a Council on which I have one of thirteen seats. We are evolving and growing as a community, and it is deeply important to me that Atheopaganism not be “mine”. So this is a step to ensure that the community and its collective activities are directed by itself, not by me, and that includes speech. Nothing will change here, content-wise.…
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On Community
Hey, folks. In case you just joined us: We are working to build something here: a community. A community. People of common heart and shared values. Even though we–Atheopagans–are spread far apart. Even though it usually takes the Internet for us to be together. In many ways, it’s an alien thing to me. I didn’t grow up in a community and I’m feeling my way forward now to figure out what it is about. I don’t have a feel for it, much as I wish I did. So: what is a community? I think it’s a place where you know to your bones that you belong. Where the people care…
