#Pagan Deism

[brightgnosis]

Pagan Deism: Three Ways from Margarian Bridger, hosted by the The Protean Resources Library of the Proteus Coven

[hero-17]

What's your opinion on religious influences in Dragon Ball?

There is a lot of Judeo-Christian imagery (white dove, Upa scaring Devilman with a cross, Goku as a Moses-type figure, etc.) I don't like it when Seventh-Day Adventist fearmongers like Little Light Studios call Goku a Lucifer-type figure.

Beerus and Heles look like Egyptian gods

Comment on your thoughts in the reply section and like, share, reblog, and boost. U can do this matter your religion.

Dragon Ball is a mix of different religions †☪︎✡☯☸ૐ⛩️🀀𓋹⚛

I'm not gonna talk about Journey to the West since everyone knows that Dragon Ball was influenced by that story.

Ki comes from Eastern religions. A comparison to make is the Jewish concept of ruach tamah, described by rabbis as similar to ki and as the source as Samson's power

Judeo-Christian imagery. Super Saiyan is similar to the glowing state of Stephen (my interpretation, I'm Christian btw). Goku is a "SON UNDER THE SUN". Goku is also a Moses-type figure, like Superman. A white dove also appears aside of Android 16. That's the symbol of the Holy Spirit. Upa also scares Devilman with a cross. Magic users (with the exception of Baba) are all evil. Baphomet-like demons are always the villains. Goku's values are also Judeo-Christian/Islamic. Dragon Ball has a god hierarchy like Marvel, but Zalama who is above all, just like the One Above All in Marvel, has a similarity to Yahweh of Judaism and Christianity or more like Aether of the Hypsistarian cult.

The Kais relate to the Buddhist Heavenly Kings and Hindu deities. Beerus and Heles take inspiration from Egyptian paganism.

State your opinions and thoughts in the reply section.

[grimmstar-grimmoire]

Varieties of Theism

Agnostic Theism Whereas atheism and theism deal with belief, agnosticism deals with knowledge. The Greek roots of the term combine a (without) and gnosis (knowledge). Hence, agnosticism literally means “without knowledge.” In the context where it is normally used, the term means: without knowledge of the existence of gods. Since it is possible for a person to believe in one or more gods without claiming to know for sure that any gods exist, it's possible to be an agnostic theist.

Monotheism The term monotheism comes from the Greek monos, (one) and theos (god). Thus, monotheism is the belief in the existence of a single god. Monotheism is typically contrasted with polytheism (see below), which is a belief in many gods, and with atheism, which is an absence of any belief in any gods.

Polytheism Polytheism is the belief in the existence of multiple gods. The prefix ''poly'' means many, so polytheists believe that there are multiple divine forces in existence. The Greek and Roman pantheons are excellent examples of these, as they consist of many gods that govern different aspects of nature and essences of humanity. Some argue that Christianity is a polytheistic religion because of the worship of the Trinity. However, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all aspects of a single God, making it a monotheistic religion.

Deism Deism is actually a form of monotheism, but it remains distinct enough in character and development to justify discussing separately. In addition to adopting the beliefs of general monotheism, deists also adopt the belief that the single existing god is personal in nature and transcendent from the created universe. However, they reject the belief, common among monotheists in the West, that this god is immanent—presently active in the created universe.

Henotheism and Monolatry Henotheism is based upon the Greek roots heis or henos, (one), and theos (god). But the term is not a synonym for monotheism, despite the fact that it has the same etymological meaning.

Another word expressing the same idea is monolatry, which is based on the Greek roots monos (one), and latreia (service or religious worship). The term appears to have been first used by Julius Wellhausen to described a type of polytheism in which just a single god is worshiped but where other gods are accepted as existing elsewhere. Many tribal religions fall into this category.

Pantheism The word pantheism is built from the Greek roots pan (all) and theos (god); thus, pantheism is either a belief that the universe is God and worthy of worship, or that God is the sum total of all there is and that the combined substances, forces, and natural laws that we see around us are therefore manifestations of God. The early Egyptian and Hindu religions are regarded as pantheistic, and Taoism is also sometimes considered a pantheistic belief system.

Panentheism The word panentheism is Greek for “all-in-God,” pan-en-theos. A panentheistic belief system posits the existence of a god that interpenetrates every part of nature but which is nevertheless fully distinct from nature. This god is, therefore, part of nature, but at the same time still retains an independent identity.

Impersonal Idealism In the philosophy of Impersonal Idealism, universal ideals are identified as god. There are elements of impersonal idealism, for example, in the Christian belief that "God is love," or the humanist view that "God is knowledge."

Autotheism The term ''autotheism'' is composed of two parts: the prefix, ''auto,'' and the root/suffix combination, ''theism.'' ''Auto'' means ''self, one's own, by oneself.'' So, autotheism is the belief that one is a god themself. It has also been described as someone who mistakes one's inner voices as God's voice within them.

Kathenotheism The belief that there are many gods, but only one deity at a time should be worshipped, each being supreme in turn.

Ditheism (or Duotheism) The belief in two equally powerful gods, often, but not always, with complementary properties and in constant opposition, such as God and Goddess in Wicca, or Good and Evil in Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. The early mystical religion Gnosticism is another example of a ditheistic belief of sorts, due to their claim that the thing worshipped as God in this world is actually an evil impostor, but that a true benevolent deity worthy of being called "God" exists beyond this world.

Misotheism The belief that gods exist, but that they are actually evil. The English word was coined by Thomas de Quincey in 1846. Strictly speaking, the term connotes an attitude of hatred towards the god or gods, rather than making a statement about their nature.

Dystheism The belief that gods exist, but that they are not wholly good, or possibly even evil (as opposed to eutheism, the belief that God exists and is wholly good). Trickster gods found in polytheistic belief systems often have a dystheistic nature, and there are various examples of arguable dystheism in the Bible.

Animism Animism is the idea that all things—animate and inanimate—possess a spirit or an essence. First coined in 1871, animism is a key feature in many ancient religions, especially of indigenous tribal cultures. Animism is a foundational element in the development of ancient human spirituality, and it can be identified in different forms throughout major modern world religions.

Totemism Totemism is a system of belief in which man is believed to have kinship with a totem or a mystical relationship is said to exist between a group or an individual and a totem. A totem is an object, such as an animal or plant that serves as the emblem or symbol of a kinship group or a person. The term totemism has been used to characterize a cluster of traits in the religion and in the social organization of many primitive peoples.

[grandmayardsale]

The four of us as religions

[fernthewhimsical]

Witchcraft "Lesson Plan" Part 1

More info on this plan and how to use it here Part 2 Part 3

Below the cut you will find: I History, religions, and magical practices of the different continents II Different paths of witchcraft III Morality and Ethics IV Cosmology and Theology/Faith in Daily Life V Concepts of the Divine

I History, religions and magical practices of:

the pre-history eras

the Middle East

Africa

Europe

Asia

Oceania

the Americas

history of witchcraft/wicca

witchcraft/paganism and Xtianity

II Which witch is which, different paths of witchcraft

Contemporary paganism

Witchcraft

Wicca

Druidry

Asatru/Heathenry

Influences of the East, South, and West on contemporary witchcraft (Buddhism, Shinto, New Age, Aboriginal, Native American)

III Morality and Ethics

Morality and Ethics, what are they, what is the difference?

Does witchcraft need a separate morality or ethics?

Direct vs. indirect consequences of actions

Working with consent

Law of the Returning Tide

Rule of Three

Wiccan Rede

in Perfect Love and Perfect Trust

Karma

Self-defense vs. Baneful magic

a Witch who cannot curse, cannot heal

Personal gain

IV Cosmology and Theology/Faith in Daily Life

Levels of reality

Everything is energy

Creation myths

An Afterlife vs. Reincarnation vs. Nothing

Rituals of Transition (wiccaning, handfasting, handparting, crone ritual, passing over, etc.)

Sacred places within and around the home

Temples, Churches and Circles

Witchcraft and the laws

Witchcraft and the environment

Witchcraft and sexuality

Witchcraft and activism

the God and Goddess: duality in divinity

Honoring the Gods

Initiation vs. dedication

Honoring the Ancestors

Witchcraft texts: the Witch’s Rune, the Witch’s Credo, 13 Goals of the Witch, Rules of the Magus, the Charges, etc.

Ghosts and Spirit Guides

Angels, Demons, Fae, and other mythological spirits.

V Concepts of the Divine

Theism, Gnosticism, Atheism, Agnosticism

Immanence vs. Transcendence (the Divine within or without the self)

Monotheism vs. Polytheism

Omnitheism

Pantheism

Animism

Dualism

Deism

Spiritism

Personal deities (patron and matron deities)

Archetypes of the Goddess

Archetypes of the Gods

Jungian archetypes and deity

Demi Gods, Genus Loci and other spirits

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

America is a Christian nation. So why are you a pagan? It's not very American of you.

yeah i just don't agree with this.

yeah it's true that most americans throughout history were probably christian, at least nominally if not actually, but i think there's a lot more nuance than you're letting on.

one of the earliest controversies in american history was the issue of thomas morton and his merrymount. and obviously, the inhabitants of this land were pagans. the early settlers were obviously aware of this fact and they conceived as the wilderness is devilish and pagan. this land is inherently infused with "paganism." there was the salem witch trials where witchcraft was understood to be a pagan (and therefore satanic) practice. a major driving force in our early history was this conflict between christianity and paganism. paganism was always here lurking beneath the surface of things.

additionally, there are the more obvious and direct examples of the founding father's naturalistic deism which is just a step away from being pagan. america is a "christian country" but there's no mention of christ in the declaration of independence. there is, however, a mention of "Nature's God." american culture was overflowing with pagan symbolism and imagery. in a way, because our founders were nominally christian they didn't take all of the pagan symbolism as serious worship of the gods. this is why we can have statues of pagan gods like minerva and ceres and libertas adorning public buildings. because it's just secular art. not religion. because no one worships these gods seriously, right? go read some revolutionary era poetry and you'll find plenty of references to greek and roman gods. our forefathers spoke of their reverence for the goddess of liberty. there's a fresco in the capital building featuring a pantheon of pagan gods and then george washington himself ascending to godhood. there is the classical architecture, inspired by ancient pagan civilizations. there is the fact that american political ideology and government are inspired by classical civilization.

and there's just how nature-based america has always been. we've always revered nature in a way that previous civilizations hadn't. america is just overflowing with natural wonders so it's not a surprise. maybe it also comes from our interactions with the native americans who we often regarded as noble savages whose lifestyles we admired. so many of our major poets and philosophers placed much emphasis on our relationship to the natural world around us. and obviously we eventually started protecting it, officially making it sacrosanct. and even today we have an explosion of nature based religions and spiritualities. and i'd argue these spiritualities are even common among people who claim to be christian. i would bet a good portion of living christian americans have some heavy pagan tendencies. tendencies that they would have been deemed heretics for had they lived a couple centuries ago. but i'd also say that this is an american tradition that's as american as apple pie. americans have always had complicated relationships with christianity. just talk to some european christians and they'll tell you all about how paganized american christians are. america has a long history of unorthodox christianity and obscure cults with suspiciously pagan influences.

and then there's just the fact that i believe that paganism is the default position of man and that man will always naturally tend toward it and that all things we do and believe in will inherently be influenced by and imbued with varying degrees of paganism. so it's always been here and it will always be here. the gods are real and they live. just because they aren't as consciously or as popularly worshipped as they were in ancient times doesn't change this. we still worship them unconsciously because they are so connected with us.

[minnesotadruids]

Hey, question, I'm a Christian who always felt miserable while worshipping my God the way I was trained to, but still felt connected to Them, over the years I met witches and learned about paganism and a bunch of other things, and I realized that there was something I felt was missing. I want to try practising druidism as part of my spirituality but Idk the first thing about this stuff as I was never encouraged to learn about other faiths and practices. What's a good place to start learning and practising?

There's a lot of leeway and freedom in the direction you might choose to explore, as modern druidry is vast and dynamic. As for literary resources in terms of books that are current, an easy read, and with a fair amount of historical context (both for the ancient druids and the history of the modern revival movement of the last three centuries) I would recommend The Druidry Handbook by Greer.

Greer puts the history of druidry (both ancient and modern) in a context that makes a lot of sense. Some of the things he outlines for the modern druid practitioner can be either used or ignored as you deem fit. He's showing a small glimpse of what is available, and his book largely speaks on behalf of his druid order AODA (Ancient Order of Druids in America).

If you're in a situation where you don't want to be caught reading books about druidry, one helpful reminder is that druidry has drawn in many reverends over the last few centuries. Even back in the 1700s some of those Christian clergy exploring and reviving druidism espoused different theological topics that relate to druidry in different ways. Another option if you need to avoid physical books about druidry would be to do a bit of web research on:

Latitudinarianism

Deism

Pantheism

Panentheism

Soft Polytheism

Ecospirituality

You may have noticed by now that as I am an active member of the Reformed Druidry movement (RDNA) I tend to have my own biases in favor of this order more than others. There are a few dozen different druid orders out there, but you don't have to join an order to practice druidry. The RDNA's resources are always free, mostly in the form of PDF files. Like the rest of the Druidry Revival movement, the RDNA was also founded by non-pagans. In fact the RDNA founder David Fisher also became an Episcopal priest, and the order still draws in a fair amount of Christian druids. Everything in the RDNA can be subject to a purely metaphorical or symbolic interpretation, with everything potentially signifying something unique to the practitioner.

I'd be happy to help with any additional questions!

See also: this list of modern druid orders

[acmoorereadsandwrites]

Creating a Fantasy Religion

First things first:

What do you want your religion to be? Deism? Polytheism or monotheism? Is there a messiah in this world? Or messiahs? Prophets?

What about animism? Or shamanism?

It's better to have multiple faiths running around, but you can have the same faith with multiple sects as well.

Christianity, for example, has who knows how many different sects all over the world, from Roman Catholic to Greek Orthodox to American Evangelical to Japanese Hidden Christians, there are a variety of interpretations of the Bible and the words of Christ.

I'd highly suggest looking into different sects of Buddhism and Judaism to get a feel for how culture and faith can influence each other as a starting place. Islam, Shintoism, Hinduism, and a variety of pagan faiths are also great to look into.

What is religion going to influence?

The short answer is everything. Absolutely everything can be touched by faith.

Many faiths (umbrella term without getting into sects) has different rules regarding food. More traditional Catholics eat fish on Fridays instead of meat. Hindus do not eat beef and Muslims and Jewish people not only do not eat pork, but have some strict rules for the foods they can and cannot eat (halal and kosher, respectively).

What about clothes? Islam has a dress code regarding modesty and facial hair. Judaism has rules regarding certain textiles.

Government? Historically, popes crowned kings. In Japan, it is custom for the new king to spend a night alone in a private ceremony with the sun kami Amaterasu, which no one else may witness (whether or not this is religion is a tricky question, but it did start when Shintoism was more viewed as a faith. Please look up the aftermath of WWII on Shintoism for more information). In Denmark, their flag is so old that it's believed it was given to them by God.

OK, what about holidays?

Here's the fun thing: not all holidays (holy-days) have to come from faith. Japan has a holiday that's Respect for the Aged Day and summer vacation in America is as long as it is because of farming and children needing time to help their parents. But winter vacation is because of Christmas and spring break is due to Easter. If you take Christianity away, these were taken from Norse pagan traditions.

And what about days off? Sunday is the day of rest for Christians and that is reflected in the work week in Christian cultures, same with Fridays in many Muslim countries.

One thing to keep in mind is that faith is just as alive and breathing as language is. It can adapt over time or it can remain the same. We can look at it and say 'well, they didn't have X back then, so we need to consider that we have X now' and other faiths may say 'no. We were given everything we need to know centuries ago.' The Catechism of the Catholic Church is, essentially, a bible for the Catholic Church's stance on a variety of topics and the reasoning behind it.

Once you have your faith established, what are the rituals and traditions? What is prayer like? Is it public or private? Is it at a temple, a shrine, a cathedral? Or is it at home? What happens with babies?

How does this relate to your MC?

One thing to consider is whether or not your characters are believers or not. If they aren't believers, why? Many people turn from faith due to a terrible experience and some people never believe. Some people grow up without faith and turn to it as adults. And there's always going to be different reactions.

For instance, say that you have a small island nation that worships an ocean deity. A great tsunami comes and wipes out half of the population. Some of the culture might turn away from faith entirely, because why would the god they worship kill so many of them and is that a god worth believing in? And others might turn further to faith, potentially leading to extremism or new practices being developed to guarantee that it never happens again. And is it just a force of nature and this god doesn't exist or was this an act of a higher power?

Which leads into the next part: does this higher power actually exist if you are using deism?

And, I think that can be up to individual interpretation. You do not have to confirm or deny whether or not the deities exist even if a lot of fantasy does like to do so. It can be up in the air. But it's important to reflect on whether or not you MC(s) own faith changes throughout the narrative and what that means for them.

For animism and shamanism, specifically:

Do your characters believe that all mountains and forests have a spirit or is this regulated to only the oldest trees and the tallest mountains?

What about weather? Or natural phenomena?

What is the role of the shaman in this society?

As an added note, many animism and shamanistic practices come from Indigenous societies, so please be aware of what might be closed practices when doing research and be prepared to get a sensitivity reader if you borrow too heavily from one group's practices just as you would for characters whose sexuality or race you do not share.

If you want a world without faith at all, you will probably need to contend with how religion effects culture in some manner. Every little thing will need to be examined including, but not limited to:

Social taboos, laws, work weeks, swear words, holidays, and more.

It will take a lot of work to go back and consider why certain things exist and whether or you really want to remove it, because, why would everyone just agree that Monday is the day of rest if there is no spiritual reason? Culture? OK, but where does it come from? Why Monday, specifically? The government decided? OK. But how will holidays work with no spiritualism? Will it only be based on the government? Who legitimizes the government? If there is no divine right of kings and no popes and no shamans, how does it work? Even secular states tend to have religious social and cultural structures.

And I do think a completely areligious fantasy world can be done, but it will take a lot of examination of social structures we take for granted for it to be truly areligious.

This is all to get your mind thinking about how faith, spiritualism, religion, etc. no matter which direction you go, can have deep impacts on the world you make. There are few things that are as universal as a form of spiritualism existing around the world. All known societies have religious beliefs and practices, so your fantasy world will feel more alive if you have religion somewhere, breathing, living, even if your MC does not subscribe to it.

[condensedstarlight]

I am at weird crossroads lately in life and thus my return to tumblr. I'd be lying if I said I came here without reason but a lot of it is quite nebulous to me. Nebulous how? I really don't know what my purpose is here except to pass time. I think that's all of us to some degree. I really want to connect to some like minded folks too but I've changed my processes and path quite a bit since I was here last. I am somewhere between paganism/ Buddhism/ and deism. Really I have no idea what's out there but I am doing my best to live a spiritually fulfilling life.

For me that means doing some practices that makes this time on earth mean something other than waiting to die. Polytheism is a weird idea to me at this juncture. Not so much that I am not a polytheist but really my practice is spread between several pantheons and none of them do I take too seriously. I pull from pureland, theravadan and zen Buddhism (namu amida butsu) and dip my toe into kemeticism. Other than that I've dropped my Magick practice as I found it wasn't something I wanted to pursue. What's more important to me is connections. Not lineages, not power, but the interconnectedness of the human species. I don't really care about "nature" as we are part of this term as a species too (I'll leave that to others to champion). That is not to say it isn't important just that I am more interested in other areas.

Buddhism gives me structure and a world view that focuses on the human being and our place in the world. Kemeticism is a pantheon that's near and dear. Within all the religions I stated earlier I practicing with mantra and chanting .

Pure land: Namu Amida Butsu

Theravada: Green Tara's mantra - Om tare tutare ture svaha

Zen: the heart sutra (along with meditation)

Sorry for the unorganized ramble. I probably will post in diary format now and again.

[wisdomfish]

In the pagan vision of identity, there is union without distinction; in the deist vision of alterity, there is distinction without union. But in the Christian vision of complementarity, there is union and distinction, same and other, many and one. In Christianity, male and female bear the image of God together, with neither male nor female able to fully express it without the other. And the clear distinctions that exist within creation are ultimately reconciled within the life of the Triune God (in whom we find identity and alterity, sameness and otherness, one and three) and in the incarnation (in which heaven meets earth and Word becomes flesh).

Andrew Wilson

[meneallah-lumon]

[auliq]

There is always a contradiction between religion and common sense.

Oscar Auliq-Ice

[pandeism]

Vital topics…. #Wikipedia #VitalArticle #VitalArticles #WikipediaVitalArticles #TheisticPhilosophies #Theism #Deism #ChristianDeism #Pandeism #Fundamentalism #Monotheism #Orthodoxy #Paganism #Panentheism #Polytheism #Syncretism #Pantheism #NontheisticReligions #Level5 #Nested #Religion #Theology #Spirituality #Believe https://www.instagram.com/p/CRfbKZInDHr/?utm_medium=tumblr

[rotationalsymmetry]

A brief history of Unitarian Universalism (casual, with swears, have not fact checked as such but I think it’s correct): In New England back before US independence, there was Calvinism -- you know, that predestination thing, you’re already going to go to heaven or hell, but you should be good anyways so people will think you’re going to heaven, or something like that. Then there wasn’t. Then there was Congregationalism. Which was a lot more chill, but still very “fuck Catholicism”. And around this time, deism was on the rise: the idea that maybe God created the universe, then fucked off, and hasn’t been actively involved with anything since. Then, some people who were actually reading the Bible, because you can’t look down on Catholicism unless you actually read the Bible, were like... wait, maybe Jesus isn’t all that. You know -- the Savior, the Son of God, one third of the Trinity, all that. Maybe he was just, like... a prophet, or some guy who said some interesting things. A teacher. And other congregationalists were like: uh, what, no, Jesus has to be all that. If you don’t think Jesus is all that, how can you even call yourself a Christian? And they decided they couldn’t really be around each other any more. So the first group, which was mostly in Boston, started calling themselves Unitarians (because they rejected the doctrine of the Trinity and instead believed in a one part God), and incidentally at some point also stopped calling themselves Christians because the other guys had a point, and the others called themselves the United Church of Christ (UCC.) Emerson and Thorough -- sorry, Thoreau -- were both Unitarians, as were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and pretty much everyone else from Boston in early US history. (We like to claim Jefferson, because his beliefs were kindasorta similar to Unitarian beliefs at the time, but as I understand it he was never actually part of a Unitarian congregation.) (Btw: if you’re lgbtq+ and Christian, they’re a pretty friendly denomination. If you’re lgbtq+ and Christian and you think the UCC is too liberal (in the religious sense) or you want a majority-lgbtq+ congregation, consider MCC, which is otherwise unconnected to all this. If you’re not Christian and are lgbtq+ -- atheist/agnostic, or maybe something else if you’re down with worshipping with people that aren’t specifically your thing -- Unitarian Universalism tends to be pretty good. As in: we have a bunch of gay/lesbian ministers and other religious leaders, and a few transgender ones. (Knowledge of less mainstream lgbtq+ identities can vary a lot between congregations and generations -- the younger generations tend to be more aware than the gen x’ers.) I’ve been involved with Church of the Larger Fellowship for most of the past year, which did zoom worship before it got cool and serves people around the world, and people like me who live a mile from a UU brick and mortar congregation but still can’t get their disabled ass over there anyways. Anyways, CLF has more POC on the worship team than most UU congregations (the denomination does tend to run pretty white), is very social justice oriented even by UU standards, and is somewhat more cool about general weirdness than most congregations, which again for UU congregations is saying something.) Then, at some point (sadly, I’m significantly more familiar with the history of the first U than the second) there was this other protestant denomination in the South (as in, the US South) where people decided that God was too nice to send people to hell for all eternity, so they started calling themselves the Universalists, as in Universal Salvation. All dogs go to heaven. Well, time passed, each denomination evolved in its own way. (In particular, Unitarianism caught humanism pretty hard -- the joke was the Unitarians believe in one God at most.) In the -- ok, I’ll look this one up -- in 1961, there was a big old merger, creating Unitarian Universalism, and in the process, everyone got together and was all...wait, so what are our official beliefs about God and stuff? Should we even have official beliefs about God? Maybe we can unify around some ideas around how people should treat each other instead. So they did: they drafted a set of Principles (broad-strokes guidelines on how people should act -- peace is good, truth is good, people have value, stuff like that) and a set of Sources (where UU’s get their ideas about God and morality and so on from, starting with direct experience) and left everything else up to the individual. And then a little while later, the tree-huggers got a seventh Principle and a sixth Source added in -- respect for the environment and Earth-centered religions, respectively -- so now the joke is that UU’s believe in one God, more or less. Currently there’s a movement on to add an 8th Principal that explicitly names racial equality and fighting oppression as something we value, since while the current Principles mention justice and equality, they don’t specifically name race, and the people of color who have stuck with the predominantly white denomination figure Unitarian Universalism can and should be doing better on that front. Unitarian Universalism runs religiously liberal (ie, decentralized, individualistic, non-authoritarian, non-dogmatic, inclined to believe science over the Bible) and politically progressive. Unitarian Universalist congregations tend to be very politically active and concerned with social justice, mostly in a well-educated middle class kind of way: committees, Robert’s Rules of Order, donating to non-profits, Get Out the Vote, inviting in speakers and asking “questions” that aren’t really questions, forming partnerships with other congregations and community organizations, etc. Many UU congregations have put a Black Lives Matter sign out (and when necessary keep putting it out when it gets torn down or vandalized), shown up for the protests, opposed the weird immigration BS that’s been going on in the US recently, etc. In addition to more charity style work, like food pantries and homeless shelters.

Point is: yeah it’s got flaws (don’t even get me started on Unitarian Universalism’s flaws) but if you’re a social justice person and want to meet other social justice people who are doing things, Unitarian Universalism can be a good place to look for that. You get more done in groups.

You’re less likely to burn out, too. With marginalization, it’s complicated, right? Again, for LGBTQ+ people, it’s going to be better than most religious organizations. For people a little bit on the autism spectrum, you probably won’t be the only one. (If you’re unmistakeably autistic, people might be weird/ableist; it might depend on the congregation.) If you’re from a working class background or are currently kinda broke, you might run into some frustrations or feel like you don’t fit in; if you’re a poc or if you’re disabled (or your kid is) or you want a lot of personal support, you might struggle more -- this really might vary a lot, but at least the congregations I’m used to tend to assume congregants can mostly stand on their own feet, metaphorically speaking, and have some extra time/money/skills/whatever that can be directed out into the wider world. It can be a good place for pagans and Buddhists and other people who don’t want a church but are having trouble finding a church-like religious community where you can hang out with people on the same spiritual path. (Uh, for a while UU congregations were emphatically not churches and some officially still aren’t; others gave up and were all “eh, it looks like a church, whatever, we’re just a weird church.) Some congregations are more atheist-dominated than others -- many avoid Jesus language most of the time, some avoid God language most of the time (UU’s who believe in God tend to believe in God in a relatively abstract/metaphorical way), some I hear are pagan-heavy, others do use Christian language a lot more. In all honesty you don’t have to go to Sunday worship if you don’t want to, and really a lot of UU’s don’t; if you want to be heavily involved in the congregation but don’t want to go to Sunday worship and don’t want to deal with pressure to, one way out is to teach RE (religious education -- basically “Sunday school”) the RE curricula are amazing, just absolutely astounding, and if you’re teaching it you get a ton of leeway with adjusting anything you don’t like. (Which could happen -- a lot of this stuff was developed before the idea that cultural appropriation is a big problem became mainstream in social justice circles.) What adult worship is like has basically zero correlation (perhaps negative correlation) to what RE is like. (Which sucks for young adults coming of age in a UU congregation, like I said don’t get me started on UU’s flaws.) Finally: for people who care about sex positivity and sex ed, Unitarian Universalists (in partnership with UCC) developed Our Whole Lives, a sex ed curriculum that, well, it’s not abstinence based education. You wouldn’t expect sex ed coming from a religious org to be better than the sex ed in schools, would you? And yet. Comprehensive sex ed that acknowledges gay bi and trans people and that disabled people have sex too and teaches about birth control and masturbation and abuse and consent and boundaries and bullying and internet safety and abortion. It’s good stuff. The course aimed at teens is most popular of course, but there’s actually (age-appropriate) OWL curricula for all stages of life: young kids, adults, older adults, everyone. And it’s versatile enough to be taught in secular contexts (after school programs etc). Given the direction that unfortunately a lot of school districts in the US have been going in in terms of sex ed, it’s a really important program.

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

Given that you want a state religion, how does that work with the first amendment's establishment clause and religious freedom?

i actually don't want a state religion. precisely because it would conflict with the first amendment. i believe that secularism is far more "pagan" than a state religion. ancient greece and rome were very famous for their religious pluralism. julian the apostate, when he became emperor, didn't make "paganism" the state religion. instead, he just reintroduced the pre-christian status quo of religious freedom.

i think you're mistaking my desire for a civil religion with that of a state religion. they are similar but they are distinct imo. for me, a state religion is official and more explicit. a civil religion is unofficial and more implicit. i think a civil religion should be encouraged and cultivated by the state though. what this looks like in america is basically the already existing civil religion, based upon non-denominational "ceremonial deism". since it's not technically favoring any one specific religion it shouldn't violate the first amendment. indeed the courts have already ruled in numerous cases in favor of the government's "ceremonial deism" and it's right to make religious references. it's why we can have "in god we trust" on our money or "under god" in our pledge of allegiance.

[demisexualqueen1326]

Religion talks

Now, this normally sounds like a debate, but, actually, it was just my little cousins wondering about their faith. I am not really religious, but I know about a lot of them so I led a conversation. The oldest of them had already said she is Christian, without believing in Satan, but the two younger girls were asking about other religions. I told them about my sister--who is away at college--being pagan who believe in the Earth as Gods (technically, she's Wiccan, but it's hard to go into so much detail with them when the oldest is 11). I briefly brushed over Buddhism (that is another can of worms), but they already seemed interested in being like my sister. Though I did tell them there's no rush to figure anything out now and to discover at their own pace. It's funny. I was teaching them about religion, even though I'm really a deist (as Voltaire says, we believe that God is like a clockmaker who set the wheels of time into motion and did nothing after). Side note: I actually do agree with a lot of Satanist principles, and, if you actually read the 11 rules of Satanism, you'd probably too. Actual satanists actually don't believe in evil or even worship the Devil. In fact, Satanists are basically atheists with some strong rules. (Obviously, I didn't mention this to the kids who are too young to understand as of yet)