When somebody wrongly accuses her of eating babies, Erin Watson, founder of the newly established Pagan Student Guild, said she replies, “I like them with soy sauce.”
She said she prefers to treat instances of harassment about her religion with a sense of humor.
“That’s really the best response you have to people that do things like that,” she said. “You may as well make a joke out of it and be at least halfway entertained. That’s the most you’re going to get out of it.”
The term “Pagan” was formerly mistaken as meaning non-religious, hedonistic or amoral, a legacy that began with the propaganda spread by the medieval Church, said Amber K, executive director of the Ardantane Pagan Learning Center in Jemez Springs. The beliefs that fall under the umbrella of Paganism are about reverence for the divine manifested in nature and honoring all living things by maintaining balanced harmony with the world, she said.
“Most of us are tree-hugging, dirt-loving, animal-respecting people who are out to make the world a better place for all living things, and it shows in our lifestyles,” K said.
Watson said that even though the PSG is growing in a liberal college in a liberal city, comments accusing Pagans of being devil worshippers and cannibals are evidence of the public’s persisting ignorance about the religion. For instance, comments from 40 Days for Life, a radical Christian fundamentalist group that was on campus last week, are the kinds of things that prompt many Pagans to keep their identities secret.
“They were very vocal about some of the things that Pagans do, and they ended up saying that abortion was a version of Pagan sacrifice,” Watson said. “So when there are people spreading stuff like that around, you don’t want to admit that you’re Pagan.”
This makes it difficult for members of the community to find each other, a struggle that motivated Watson to start PSG, she said.
Its mission is threefold, focusing on study, practice and community building. Its first public outreach will be at the Albuquerque Pagan Pride Day this Sunday at Bataan Park.
Some of the religions that will be represented include Wicca, Druidism and Asatru. Almost any polytheistic tradition is considered Paganism, Watson said.
Michelle Cassella-Saro, the event coordinator said anyone interested in learning more has to ask questions; event organizers will not try to convert anyone.
Pagans who don’t wish to publicly associate themselves with the religion are discouraged from going, Cassella-Saro said, because several media outlets are expected to be covering the event.
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The event will feature fire dancers, singers, vendors, workshops, harp players and an altar-building contest.
While accurate statistics for the area would be difficult to find, Watson said she can almost guarantee that everyone who felt drawn to the religion grew up in a Christian background. People rarely leave the Pagan faith, she said, because historically it has been highly tolerant of diversity.
“Pagans were the first to accept gays in the United States,”
Watson said. “There’s a tradition of embracing polyamory, BDSM, every kind of sexuality … We’ve got a broad spectrum of politics.
… I don’t think anyone ever really feels the need to leave, I mean, why go somewhere that won’t accept you?”
Because of this openness, members of the religion come from a variety of “normal” professions, Watson said, among them doctors, lawyers, teachers and accountants. She said Paganism is given a negative skew because the country was established by conservative Christians that chose to live life according to a strict moral code. Pagans have their own sets of ethics, deities and rituals as part of their worship just like every religion; their liberal approach is merely different, not wrong, Watson said.
“Yes, we run around naked in the woods,” she said. “We get drunk on our holidays — don’t you? Yes, we have sex and we love our sex. If you go to any Pagan event you’re swimming in innuendos, but that doesn’t mean we’re horrible people.”
Albuquerque Pagan Pride Day
Bataan Park on Carlisle Boulevard and Lomas Boulevard
Oct. 2 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Harvest ritual at 1 p.m.
Donate non-perishable food item(s) for entry to event to benefit First Unitarian Church Food Bank
Paganpridedaynm.com
