Why call it Religion?

The last few days, I have been made aware that many people are resistant to using the term "Pagan" as well as the word "religion."

Some of the Reasons:  The word Pagan is the Romans' term for "people of the country". It stuffs us all beneath one label. Many people who practice Earth-Based spirituality or magickal traditions have their own terms for themselves, such as Witches, Druids, Heathens, Wiccans, Helenists, or a dozen more words that describe individual paths. Some people associate modern neo-Paganism with the hippie movement, or with an eclectic mixture of traditional praxes. Others want to maintain their own ethnic or cultural identification. Some non-theistic individuals do not want to put themselves in a category with people who worship deities. And some folks just plain crave autonomy.

My wise son Bran pointed out that it lumps everyone under one label -- same as the "Other Religions" now classified by the Pentagon. 

However, Pagan is the easiest, most succinct term to describe the many ways of expressing earth-based or magical traditions. We have a joke that "indigenous British Isles earth-based polytheistic folkloric traditions" does not fit on one's Dog Tags.  Rev. Oberon Zell, (then calling himself Otter) first used the term Pagan to describe himself in the early 1960s. 

Some of the people I've spoken with online have rejected the word "Religion" because it implies a set of beliefs, dogma, and practices that they associate with mainstream Abrahamic religions, with their very set rules, and their limited freedoms. Many folks prefer the words "practice" or "spirituality" or "tradition" or some other term that connotes individual connection to deity, and /or nature, and /or a universal energy.  

However, our US Constitution protects the practice of Religion in a manner not ascribed to spirituality or faith. Congress shall make ... no establishment of Religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof. This is an important concept because it means that other people -- your parents, your boss at work, a congressional representative, a military leader -- cannot force you to practice any faith or spirituality, or take away your right to practice your OWN religion. So if we want these protections, then we need to use the word "Religion", even if our beliefs and praxes do not fall into lockstep with the mainstream concept of religion. 

Religion means a "set of sincerely-held beliefs" which is also important. No other person can determine what mindset you take when it comes to your faith, spirituality, connection to the universe, relationship with the divine, and so forth. 

Some folks are still resisting the labeling, and that is all right. You do you.

My concern is safety in numbers -- as Ben Franklin said, "We must all hang together or we will surely hang separately." There are a lot of people trying to impose their idea of faith, spirituality, deity, and religion on US, and they're not gently suggesting using a term for solidarity with others. Instead they are forcing their religion onto us and forbidding us to practice our sincerely held beliefs. 

So that's why I'm gonna continue using the term Pagan and the word Religion. 

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