Meta- and Micro-Paganisn

[talon]

No one can speak for all Pagans (that's with a capital "P" as a proper name, not a lower case "p" as a noun), but many of us can speak for our specific traditions, denominations, or religions that shelter under the broader term of "Pagan", in much the same way that no one can speak for all Christians (that's a capital "C" as a proper name, not a lower case "c" as a noun), but many of them can speak for their specific traditions, denominations, or religions that shelter under the broader term of "Christian". Like the Christians, those of us who choose to be voices for our religion can also address the larger concerns that affect all of us sheltering under the broader term - to go meta while still being micro.

As such, I've long spoken - quietly and privately - on both the meta and the micro from a Numenist point of view. Let me take a moment here to be meta. Pagan is a word that conjures up a lot of misunderstanding - much of that modern misunderstanding is deliberately created by those who are not Pagan and fear it because they don't understand it. In this, it doesn't matter if I'm speaking as a Numenist, or Starhawk as Reclaiming, or Bonewits as Druid, or Selene as Wiccan, or Phyllis Curot as Witch, or so many others who speak both on a meta level and a micro level. We each come from a different tradition, religion, or denomination of "Pagan" and when misunderstanding and misinformation is spread about our meta-beliefs, we each unite to speak up and offer more accurate information.

While I will be mostly speaking as a Numenist, I will also be speaking on meta-Pagan issues.

Since I'm on a meta-roll, let me offer to you what I consider meta issues that concern and affect all Pagans: media misinformation, political issues, philosophy, ethics, legal issues, organizations, networking, history, academia, ministerial and clergy issues, mythology, symbolism, folklore, and current events. These issues and areas impact all of us, so of course I'll be talking about them.

There are many political issues that concern Pagans and in which they are passionately interested. They include but are not limited to: abortion, animal rights, human rights, discrimination, censorship, child advocacy, civil rights, cloning, correction & rehabilitation, disabilities, firearms, food safety, literacy, media ethics & accountability, health care, housing, eminent domain, fair wage, pollution, population, elder care, sustainable agriculture, sustainable development, science & technology, gengineering, space policy, waste management, poverty, pornography, poverty, prostitution, euthanasia, death penalty, land stewardship, NATO, campaign finance, education, drug policies, taxes, welfare, socially responsible investing, electronic commerce, trade, violence, and social benefits.

On a less meta note, I'll also be talking about comparative religion. The best way to understand a religion is to know how it connects to other religions and where it diverges. As a communal animal, humans move around a lot, interact with one another a lot, and share what they find in one place with those they encounter in another place. All religions therefore share traits - some more than others, and it's possible for us to understand how others adhere to their religions as opposed to ours. We may even find interesting and intriguing new approaches for our own beliefs as we learn about other religions. So far, I haven't encountered a single human religion that doesn't overlap with other human religions.

I'd pop up to meta here to say that religion, whether one adheres to one or rebels against them all or dismisses them all, is a uniquely human trait, one that distinguishes us from penguins, tigers, and iguanas. Of course, not speaking Penguin, Tiger, or Iguana, I could be mistaken; but until I learn about or see these (or other) critters display obvious religious-oriented activities, I will continue to believe that religion is a uniquely human trait.

Paganism (that's with a capital "P") is a mutable, fluid, and ambiguous religion relying more on relationship than on scripture or revelation. This isn't to say some Pagan religions don't have scriptures or prophets, only that it is not common for various Pagan religions to be so formal. This tendency for Pagan religions to be relational is why it is so difficult to have one person come forward and say "I speak for all Pagans" - they lack a relationship with all Pagans. There are some who are well known, and sometimes, these Big Name Pagans sound as if they speak for all of us. Sometimes, they do highlight issues that concern a large number of us; and sometimes they bring issues to our awareness we might otherwise have not seen. We owe a lot to these Big Name Pagans for publicizing Paganism and the issues that affect a great many of us either on a personal level (divorcing couples where one spouse uses religion to wrest custody of children from the other or employees discriminated against for their religion or religious oppression in the military or the needs of incarcerated Pagans) or on a societal level (media referring to Pagans as "Self-professed" or "so-called" Pagans when they don't use those terms for adherents of other religions or a former President of the US who said Paganism wasn't a religion).

Speaking up about meta- Pagan issues is important. I will do so from time to time, mostly to chime in and offer my support, because others are being meta-Pagan nearly full time. I am Numenist full-time and meta at need.

That brings us to my specific branch of Paganism. I am a Numenist. I have been a Numenist Celebrant for over 40 years. I have served as Priest, Minister, and now am considered an Elder in Numenism. This is meaningless to you if you don't know what Numenism is. Therefore the next step is to define Numenism.

Numenism is a created religion. It is new. In the macrocosmic sense, it is still an infant. There is no central tracking system, no demerits for someone claiming to be a Numenist that doesn't formally enroll in it, no dues, and therefore no way to tell how many Numenists there actually are. Anyone can learn what Numenism is and then call themselves a Numenist. There are just a few basics to learn about Numenism. Adherents learn those basics, then build upon them in any fashion they please. Numenism has been called an "open source religion" and that's pretty accurate.

To understand Numenism, you first have to understand why it was created. Numenism was created by a small group of former US soldiers at the end of World War II and their family and friends in an attempt to understand the Atom Bomb and the devastation of war. They originally sought within Christianity, forming a study group, but after intense study, came to the conclusion that Christianity couldn't cope with life after the Atom Bomb and as it would develop in future years. They felt the world would become more secular and lose its mooring. America, they decided, needed a religion that was intrinsically American and spoke to the spiritual needs of Americans - needs that would be increasingly technological. They speculated about the souls of robots and intelligent bombs and a net of interactive and instantaneous communication. A couple of the former soldiers had Japanese brides, and they brought their Shinto and Buddhist beliefs to the group, which sent the group off on the path that created Numenism. Thus, Numenism arose from a tripod base of Shinto, Christianity, and Buddhism with the desire to become a uniquely American religion.

You might notice the lack of American Indian religions - that's because at the founding of Numenism, none of the people involved were connected to any American Indian tribes and they knew nothing of those religions. There are at least 2 American Indians (one Kiowa Apache and one Cherokee) who have become Numenists and incorporated some of their traditional beliefs into their practice of Numenism. Some of the cultural practices they brought have found a place within the wider Numenist religious culture.

And that's the thing - Numenism is a culture every bit as much as it is a religion. It is a lifestyle and a mindset and a collection of community-oriented behaviors as much as it is a set of spiritual beliefs. The spiritual beliefs are simple but not simplistic. We believe there is a creative, generative force that allowed/assisted in the formation of life as we know it. We could have called it "God" but there is already a deity named "God" with a huge history that would have altered the shape of Numenism. Since the whole point of creating Numenism was to develop a spiritual practice and religion that was uniquely American, we felt we couldn't take a name that was already in use by some other existing religion. That is how we came to call our vision of divinity, of the creative, generative force "Dea Nutrix", the Good Nourisher. We could as easily have called it "Pat" or "Jean" or some other name, but this one is the one that took root among us.

We've developed our own vocabulary, borrowing words from other languages because English lacked a word for the concepts we were trying to express - talanoa (gossip that informs and binds a community together) and sitike (a formal relationship between people where when one needs help, the other must help them - not necessarily in the way the needy expects but in a way that does provide help) and nadi (total absorption into a vision, play, game, or concept such that one responds as if it were real) and adawa (one's inner Soul Language) and andabate (one who lacks perception of patterns) and yoh (a deliberate recreation of patterns or emotions in order to re-experience the event or re-create the mood) - and many more. These words shape our relationship with our beliefs and with one another. One thing we believe is that words do have power. We see examples of this over and over again. We've chosen to use words to give shape to Numenism.

Numenism is a religion of relationship between divinity, community, and family.

It is structured in levels and layers and patterns. When I speak of Pagan matters, it is on these things I will most often speak, with the occasional essential foray into meta territory.