Community
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Godless Paganism declared “The Pagan Book of the Year!”
I was so proud to be a part of the creation of John Halstead’s Godless Paganism, and wanted to let all you Atheopagans know that Megan Manson of the Pagan Tama blog on Patheos has rated it the top Pagan book of the year! If you still don’t have a copy, you can pick it up at http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-halstead/godless-paganism-voices-of-non-theistic-pagans/paperback/product-22646041.html. Or save money and paper and buy the e-book at http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-halstead/godless-paganism-voices-of-non-theistic-pagans/ebook/product-22635653.html Lulu has a 20% off sale going through the end of the year, so get yours now!
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Atheopaganism at Pantheacon 2017
John Halstead and I have two events on this year’s Pantheacon schedule—plus a social gathering! This conference/convention, held in February each year, is the largest gathering of Pagans in North America and an important driver of cultural development in the Pagan community: four days of workshops, panel discussions, rituals and performances. It is held at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, California; in 2017 the dates will be from Feb. 17 through 20. It’s also lots of fun! Much socializing and many parties. It’s an opportunity for people who don’t get to see one another often to catch up and work together, as I am looking forward to doing with John.…
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MOON MEET 2017: An Atheopagan Gathering
Moon Meet will be a congregation of Atheopagans, non-theist Pagans and others interested in our paths, held from Friday, August 4 through Sunday, August 6, on private land on a redwood-covered mountain near Healdsburg, in the beautiful wine country of Sonoma County, California. Moon Meet—named because we will hold it during the weekend of the full moon—is a group camping gathering; options to rent camping gear will be available for those coming from distance and unable to bring their gear along. If there are disabled attendees who are unable to camp, we will work out hotel accommodations and transportation with them so they are able to participate. We will share meals…
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A Pagan Opportunity to Reflect
Recently, John Beckett wrote on “A Pagan Crisis of Faith“. Beckett’s central premise in this piece is that from time to time, and especially when confronted with extreme circumstances, some theistic Pagans will come to a point where they question their beliefs in gods. However, he argues, what they should really be doing is doubling down on their credulity, seeing such major life events as reflecting the actions of gods or “fae” or what have you in the way of invisible, magical entities. Unsurprisingly, I have a different take. I think that when crises arise in life, it is an opportunity for us to shed comforting illusions: to realize that there…
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Looking Forward
So, Gavin Frost died. And several writers I respect have weighed in on his shameful legacy. I can’t say any better what they have, and my rule-of-blog is not to repeat what’s already out there. What I can say, though, is that the death of this awful human is an opportunity to speak about what it is that makes Atheopaganism different. Or potentially so. Atheopaganism is a forward-looking religion. We don’t claim to derive from a lineage or tradition, and as such, we are neither beholden to nor reverent towards so-called elders. Did those who helped to create Paganism help to pave the way for where we are here? Yes. Did those who helped to…
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INPUT PLEASE! Planning for Moon Meet, an Atheopagan Gathering in Summer 2017
We’ve been building a community, we Atheopagans, both in our own spaces here and on Facebook and in larger contexts such as on the Humanistic Paganism site. Traffic on this site continues to climb, and the FB group is now growing towards 700 members. Pretty sweet for a subculture of a subculture! All that said, there are limits to how much you can build a community without ever coming face to face…especially when your touchstone experience is ritual. So at the suggestion of some of the members of the group, I have begun to explore what it would look like to hold a “real life” gathering for Atheopagans next summer.…
