For the Pagans among us

Margot Adler

"Lessons from the Pagan and Earth Religions in a World of Religious Violence."

In contemporary Pagan and earth-based religions, the "sacred" is seen as all around us. It is not above us or out of reach; it is not something only accessed by death. It resides in the world, in the living and the doing of life, in the body, and in the earth. Contemporary Pagans believe there is an ecstatic connection among all beings that can be felt in our daily lives and accessed more deeply through joyous ritual, song, and dance. Our modern world is plagued by false dichotomies: splits of mind and body, technology and nature, men and women, dark and light, play and seriousness, joy and reverence. Yet there are at least a million contemporary Pagans worldwide who are taking a different path. Many are women who have discovered the ancient goddesses and have revived an ancient spirituality - looking back to a time, whether fact or metaphor, where women were valued as equal partners and where human beings were seen as an important part, but only a part, of the cosmic dance. There are more contemporary Pagans in the U.S. today than Quakers or U.S. based Bahais. There are as many in the U.S. as there are Unitarian Universalists. In a world increasingly defined by religious wars, the earth religions do not proselytize; they are not based on scriptures or the words of prophets but rather on seasonal ceremonies: on what people "do", not what they "believe." These traditions have gifts to give us. They allow us to change our perceptions of "reality" and give us a pathway to navigate through these dark times."


Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
Old Town Hall, 20 Main Street, Andover, MA