We assume that asking a question presupposes a sentient listener on the other end. But is the true? Is it really necessary to believe the earth or the universe are sentient in order to address a question to them? Or to receive an “answer”?
Naturalistic Animism: Seeing the Trees for the Ents
It takes an artist’s eyes—or a lover’s—to really see. It takes a willingness to get our hands dirty, to get up close and personal with messy nature, and to use all of our senses. But most of all, it requires a willingness to be open to receiving, as well as perceiving—an openness to being “touched back” when we touch nature.
Video Review of Godless Paganism
A great review of Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-Theistic Pagans by Katey Flowers. Check it out!
Spirituality Without Politics Is Lame
A politics without spirituality is blind, but a spirituality without politics is lame. And that is why I worry about an apolitical spirituality. I worry that individual spiritual practice in isolation from engagement with the world will never lead to real personal development and thus never lead to positive social change. And I worry about an apolitical spirituality which tells us that we need to accept the world as it is because we are powerless to change it. Finally, sitting back and practicing equanimity and a contemplative attitude is a privilege that many people do not have. It is not a option for many people of color. It is not a option for many gay, lesbian, queer or transgendered people have. It is not an option for many poor people or for many women.
Naturalistic Pagan Toolbox: Worship
Three steps toward creating a naturalistic devotional practice toward the earth.
Five Mistakes We Make When Criticizing Other Religions
Religion is far more than a set of propositions to which we intellectually assent or dissent. Religion is inextricably intertwined with our social networks and our cultural context. And religious behavior, including religious speech, is far more than an expression of belief; it is a performance which binds us to our religious communities. When secularists, atheists, and religious naturalists attack a religion on the basis of the demonstrable falsity of the beliefs of its adherents, we reveal our own ignorance of the complexity of this thing we call religion. 
Literal Minded Atheism
Whether the gods are objectively real is the least interesting question you can ask about a person’s religious experience. What is much more interesting is the subjective reality of their experience. What was the experience was like for them? And what does it mean to them in the context of their life? People’s religious experiences aren’t going to help us put a person on Mars or cure cancer, but they can help us understand why we want to put a person on Mars or why should try to cure cancer.
Literal Gods Are for the Literal Minded: Re-Enchanting Polytheism
The disenchantment of the world happened, not when we stopped seeing gods and spirits in nature, but when we stopped seeing our essential connection to nature. Personifying rivers and trees with dryads is not going to accomplish this. Rather, we need to realize our essential oneness, the manifold ways in which we are connected to the rivers and the trees–whether or not we find gods in them.
The Problem and the Promise of Paganism, and Why One Looks a Lot Like the Other
In spite of the tendency of many Pagans to confuse the pre-rational with the trans-rational, in spite of the uncritical attitudes and superstitious ideas that haunt a lot of Paganism, I still call myself a Pagan. I am still a Pagan because I believe that Paganism is a door to the trans-rational. I believe that Paganism has the potential to bring together the wisdom of our animistic forebearers and the discoveries of contemporary science in a way that has the power to reenchant the world.