Showing posts with label Heathen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heathen. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
We are rising!
No-one outside Paganism seems to have noticed that the number of out and proud Pagans has doubled since the last census.
Census 2011
Animism 541
Occult 502
Druid 4,189
Heathen 1,958
Pagan 56,620
Pantheism 2,216
Reconstructionist 251
Shamanism 650
Thelemite 184
Wicca 11,766
Witchcraft 1,276
______________________
Total = 80,153
Not included in the above total: Traditional African Religion 588, Vodun 208, Taoism 4144, Shinto, 1075, New Age 698, Native American Church 127, Chinese Religion 182, Satanists 1,893.
Here's the Office of National Statistics page with the spreadsheets if you want to download a copy and play with the numbers yourself.
Census 2001
Pagan 30,569
Wiccan 7,227
Druid 1,657
Pantheist 1,603
Heathen 278
Asatru 92
Animism 401
Ancestor Worship 101
Celtic Pagan 508
______________________
Total 42,436
Monday, August 10, 2009
The problem of historicity
Regarding the historicity of Pagan traditions. Given that we know next to nothing about what ancient druids (if they were really as described by the Romans) got up to or believed, or what medieval witches (who, even if they existed, were probably not pagans) got up to, or what early medieval heathens got up to (a bit more data, but a lot of it written down by Christians), the people who claim that they're doing something because their ancient forerunners did it, and not because they feel it to be the right way for them to be a Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan in the here and now - that is what is irritating to the academically-minded.
You can be a Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan because you feel you are one because it fits the image you have in your mind of what a Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan is (and I affirm your right to do so).
But what happens when someone else with a completely different idea about what a Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan is, does the same? Then we have confusion...
What is the solution to this dilemma? I'm not sure that I know. I know that we do need to have discussions about our theology, our values, our worldview, our ethics, and what is distinctly Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan about them. We don't want to establish a creed or an orthodoxy, because that could lead to persecution of dissenters. But that does not mean we can dodge the issue and just not talk about it.
As far as historicity is concerned, the rest of us could learn a lot from Heathens and reconstructionists, who have gone to the effort of reading as much of the available source material as possible, and comparing it with experiences and ideas of present-day Heathens, and creating a synthesis of historical and present-day insights. They are lucky because early medieval heathenry lasted a lot longer and was better-documented than other traditions. They also have a well-worked-out and widely publicised set of Heathen virtues. Wicca also has a set of virtues, but this is not so well-known.
Personally, I feel that we are also the heirs of the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and Romanticism, and we cannot just ignore the intervening centuries and pretend they didn't happen. This is one of the reasons why I am interested in Unitarianism.
You can be a Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan because you feel you are one because it fits the image you have in your mind of what a Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan is (and I affirm your right to do so).
But what happens when someone else with a completely different idea about what a Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan is, does the same? Then we have confusion...
What is the solution to this dilemma? I'm not sure that I know. I know that we do need to have discussions about our theology, our values, our worldview, our ethics, and what is distinctly Druid/Witch/Wiccan/Heathen/Pagan about them. We don't want to establish a creed or an orthodoxy, because that could lead to persecution of dissenters. But that does not mean we can dodge the issue and just not talk about it.
As far as historicity is concerned, the rest of us could learn a lot from Heathens and reconstructionists, who have gone to the effort of reading as much of the available source material as possible, and comparing it with experiences and ideas of present-day Heathens, and creating a synthesis of historical and present-day insights. They are lucky because early medieval heathenry lasted a lot longer and was better-documented than other traditions. They also have a well-worked-out and widely publicised set of Heathen virtues. Wicca also has a set of virtues, but this is not so well-known.
Personally, I feel that we are also the heirs of the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and Romanticism, and we cannot just ignore the intervening centuries and pretend they didn't happen. This is one of the reasons why I am interested in Unitarianism.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thor's response
New experiments in fiction has posted a cartoon about a prayer to Thor. This is what happened next.
Your prayer has been placed in a queue and will be dealt with shortly.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
Your prayer is important to Asgard Inc. and will be dealt with as soon as possible.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
You are moving up the queue, also known as Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
All our deities are busy right now, but one will be available shortly to answer your prayer.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
You have asked for a specific deity. Your prayer will now be routed to your chosen deity.
[recorded message]
Hi, this is Thor, I'm out shagging and drinking right now - go fix your own problem, Heathenry is meant to be a religion for the self-reliant.
[listens to answerphone message]
You'll be good? What kind of namby-pamby Christian crap is that? Oh wait, mead? Meeeaaadd? Now you're talking! Oh wait, YOU'RE gonna quaff the mead? No, no, no and no. You give the mead to me, that's how it's supposed to work.
[glug, glug, glug]
Mmmm, mead. Now, what was your request? A car? No! I shall give you a chariot. Drawn by goats. And with knives on the wheels. Yarr!
Your prayer has been placed in a queue and will be dealt with shortly.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
Your prayer is important to Asgard Inc. and will be dealt with as soon as possible.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
You are moving up the queue, also known as Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
All our deities are busy right now, but one will be available shortly to answer your prayer.
[sound of Valkyries singing]
You have asked for a specific deity. Your prayer will now be routed to your chosen deity.
[recorded message]
Hi, this is Thor, I'm out shagging and drinking right now - go fix your own problem, Heathenry is meant to be a religion for the self-reliant.
[listens to answerphone message]
You'll be good? What kind of namby-pamby Christian crap is that? Oh wait, mead? Meeeaaadd? Now you're talking! Oh wait, YOU'RE gonna quaff the mead? No, no, no and no. You give the mead to me, that's how it's supposed to work.
[glug, glug, glug]
Mmmm, mead. Now, what was your request? A car? No! I shall give you a chariot. Drawn by goats. And with knives on the wheels. Yarr!
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