Religion – NaturalPagans

No Longer Believing Is A Trip

March 3, 2024 Rua Lupa atheism, Atheopaganism, Beliefs, Canadian Mutt, Christianity, Cultures, Facebook, Human Rights, humanity, identity, naturalism, neopagan, Nonreligious, pagan, Paganism, Political Barking, Religion, Religious Naturalism, Rua's Rambles, Seasons & Stardust, spirituality, Tradition, traditions, Worldview

This image, meme, came across my Facebook feed and unexpectedly became a prompt, having coaxed memories I nearly forgotten.

My Religion is Rooted, Literally.

November 8, 2017 John Halstead body, Earth, earth-centered, matter, Natural Pagans, Nature, relationship, Religion, The Allergic Pagan

My religion is rooted. In fact, it is a religion of roots…and of tubers and worms and actinobacteria. I am a dirt worshiping Pagan. My gospel is the gospel of compost.

Escaping the Otherworld: The Reenchantment of Paganism

October 2, 2017 John Halstead capitalism, disenchantment, enchantment, escapism, Natural Pagans, Paganism, reenchantment, Religion, Science, The Allergic Pagan, Transcendentalism

The real danger to Paganism is not so much that our religion will be outlawed, but that there will be no reason to outlaw it. The danger is not that guardians of the overculture will go to war with Pagans in a second “Burning Times”, but that they will have no reason to go to war with Paganism, because any difference between the two will have become merely superficial. The danger is not that we will forced to consume some counterfeit experience for the genuine re-enchantment, but that we will no longer be able to tell the difference.

Five Mistakes We Make When Criticizing Other Religions

June 24, 2017 John Halstead atheism, belief, Community, contradictions, creeds, culture, dogma, expression, HP, John Halstead, Latest Posts, naturalistic pagan, performance, Religion, Religious Naturalism, secularism

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.

Divining the Masculine

June 14, 2017 Editor B Bart Everson, Gender, Neo-Pagan, Religion, Words & Numbers, Writing

This essay on religion, science, gender and the Earth is one of the most difficult things I’ve written. Part One ~ Part Two The composition process felt like torture. I fully expected it would require serious revision, but it was accepted and published as-is in the collection Finding the Masculine in Goddess’ Spiral: Men in Ritual, Community, and …

Continue reading “Divining the Masculine”

Is Seeking A “Deep Religious Experience” Hedonistic?

June 3, 2017 Rua Lupa Canadian Mutt, Ceremony, Community, Cultures, Customs, Religion, Religious Naturalism, ritual, Rua's Rambles, Seasons & Stardust

My honest personal view on this is that I find that the search for transcendence or ecstasy in order to have a “deep religious experience” is frankly hedonistic – Let me explain why.

The Paradox of Tolerance Led To Fascism In America

February 23, 2017 Rua Lupa Canada, Canadian Mutt, Christianity, Fascism, Free Speech, Hate Speech, Holocaust, Islam, Jews, Political Barking, Politics, Racism, Religion, Religious Naturalism, Rua's Rambles, Seasons & Stardust, USA

This is an attempt to gather and make accessible the information on how we have arrived at Fascism in America