Prompts Flashcards
To herald in the new year
I would like to take a minute to appreciate the development of one of the single most important social issues in our country over the past century - equality. In the past century, we have progressed exponentially in terms on equal treatment - ranging from allowing women the vote in 1918, to legalising same-sex marriage.
Whilst the progress is,
as I’m sure you’d all agree, achingly slow- the fact remains that it is occuring, and I’m determined that we will be the generation to catalyse the growth of equality and eradicate any source of unjust discrimination.
So, what does this have to do with Paganism?
Well, I don’t receive many orating opportunities and so whilst issues such as the gender-pay gap and LGBTQ+ rights remain close to my heart, I would like to use this opporunity to discuss an issue which I feel it is unlikely has been supplied to you before- and that is the idea that the exclusion of pagansim from the “main religions” is a form of inequality
To begin,
I would like to state that there is no definitive list of “main religions” - but I think you would agree that there is a widely accepted list taught at both primary and secondary schools alike, comprising of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism and Christianity.
Primarily,
it is essential for me to summarise what Neo-Paganism is - it is in essence a religion containing many branches (most recognisably contemporary branches such as Wicca, however some have a more ancient, folkloric basis) that draws influence from the ancient relgion of paganism - a Graeco-Roman religion typically identified as polytheistic.
Historically,
the term was used as pejorative and derrogatory term for any who pratcised polytheism- and can, in some cases, be translated to mean “heathen”.
Now,
I feel that the most effective way to prove that Paganism should indeed be accepted as a member of this list, is to compare them. Whilst there is no definitive list of the essential components necessary in order for a religion to be considered so, through extensive comparative research I have managed to surmise the crucial elements in to a list of 6. read them from the board
Whilst completing this research,
I came across a few counter-arguments which made suggestions as to neo-paganism should not be considered a main religion. The first of which is that there is no universally accepted spiritual writing for neo-pagans. Which, whilst unsurprising due to the fluctuating alterations the religion has experienced since it conception, is true.
Additionally,
the point is made that the simple range of beliefs seemingly all deriving from the “pagan” views are too diverse to be considered denominations of the same religon (for example the difference in practise between pantheism and animism, or eclecticism compared to polytheistic reconstructionism)
A final point levelled at
neo-pagans is once again concerning their uniformity, execept it concerns the idea that there is no universal name for a practising pagan - one could refer to themselves as a druid, witch or animist - and still fall into the neo-pagan bracket
However, it is my personal opinion
that these arguments have very little creditable merit. Firstly, I fail to comprehend why it is necessary for a scripture to be revered in order to become a main religion. Neo-pagans, generally speaking, are skepticsl of the very idea of a scripture, as it implies that absolute truth can be found in a form as tangible as writing.
In light of this,
neo-pagans find merit in inspired writings from across all religions, especially those of mytholgoical of folkloric basis. Therefore, in my opinion, just because neo-pagans do not have an exclusive holy scripture of their own, it does not negate the fact that they study and revere others in order to find their own personal form of inspiration
Furthermore,
in order to refute the other two points levelled at neo-pagans, I must return to the comparation between main religons. Through more research it is clear to me that uniformity is in fact a rarity when viewing religions with a broad scope. comparisons to other religions
To conclude,
it is perspicuous to me, and I hope now, to you, that neo-paganism should undoubtedly be considered a main religion. Not only does it comply with the widely denoted components of a main religion - it also prevails over counter-arguments levelled against through comparation between other religions
And thus,
to return to my original point - why should a collective group of (?) followers of a religion be so over-looked in a time, when, finally, everyone is having the opportunity to be seen and heard? Why should a religion founded on a base so far back (?) in history be dismissed as trivial due to the misconceptions and false connotations surrounding its title? It shouldn’t, is the answer.
