Pagan Activism

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Texas Pagan Info.

There are now several different Pagan organizations devoted to working to preserve our Constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion and other rights that we are supposed to have without regard to religion.
W.A.R.D., or Witches Against Religious Discrimination, is a group that works with legal issues. PUC PAC, or the Pagan Unity Campaign Political Action Committee, is a misnomer. The group did not achieve their goal of becoming a registered PAC and began self-destructing when their 2002 leadership decided to define what Paganism is. At that point, many other Pagan groups felt insulted and betrayed and withdrew their support of the organization.
There are many other organizations working toward education of the general society and for unity among Pagans, which I will be happy to list if organizers contact me with information about their missions.
Three things that are very important in the realm of Pagan rights are education, communication, and exercising the right to vote.
Even though many Pagans still abhor the idea of political involvement, letting legislators legally whittle away our rights is much more unacceptable.
Pagans support different political parties. That isn't a problem. At least those people are researching the issues and letting their voices be heard.
Other people won't vote, mistakenly thinking that their votes don't matter. Some believe they're too busy to learn about the issues, the party platforms, or the individual candidates. I think that is both sad and dangerous.
View the U.S. Constitution

Anti-Pagan Discrimination

Unfortunately, Pagans are still often victims of religious discrimination. Sometimes that discrimination is in the workplace, school, or in the courtroom, especially in child custody cases.
People fear what they don't understand, but they don't have the right to use their fears to justify  discrimination.
Sometimes these situations are easily resolved, but not always. That is when contacting groups such as W.A.R.D. (mentioned above) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) may become necessary.

Pagan Public Relations

Pagans can do quite a bit to influence the general public's view of Paganism by getting out and showing the rest of society that we are normal people who are concerned about the world and the people around us.
Pagans can volunteer in community projects as organized Pagan groups.
Some Pagan groups are now holding celebrations which are open to the public in order to show people what Pagans really do instead of sacrificing animals and flying around on brooms.
There is also a Pagan public relations website called 21st Century Witches. The purpose of this site is to show the world that Pagans are really normal people by showing pictures of real-life Pagans. Many of the pictures are of Pagans who are working or spending time with their families.
The site is constantly evolving, so it is never too late to have your picture added to the site.

Networking

The Pagan community is coming together and this site is helping it to do so. The Pagan Relief Network (PRN) is part of the World Wide Pagan Network (WWPN).
There is an online club dedicated to worldwide Pagan unity and networking. Several members are also involved with PUC PAC and WWPN. Unlike my club that is restricted to Pagans in Texas who are over 18, this club, United Pagans, is open to members of any age, from anywhere in the world, and does have several international members.
There is also a Yahoo mailing list type of group dedicated to building an international network of Pagans using open communication. The group, International Network of United Pagans (INofUP) is affiliated with the United Pagans club mentioned above, but membership in the club isn't required for membership in the group, and vice-versa.

Pagan Politics

Many fundamentalist Christians will argue that America was intended by our founding fathers as a Christian nation, without regard to the wording of the U.S. Constitution (see link above) which says the opposite. You can find an essay about the Christian Nation Myth here as well as quotes by our founding fathers on the "Freedom Quotes" page.

Political Parties

The important thing about politics for Pagans is that we pay attention and vote for the candidates who support our rights and views. Nobody should tell another person who to vote for. You must explore the issues, the candidates' stances on those issues, and your own heart and mind. A lot of Pagans support third parties such as the Libertarians and the Greens, but do not have to do so simply because they are Pagan.

Here is list of the more well-known political parties in the United States. I am not endorsing any political party. This list is presented so that you may research the information that each party provides about itself and form your own conclusions. This list is organized from right-wing to left-wing.

The Constitution Party (former U.S. Taxpayers Party)

The Republican Party

The Reform Party

The Democratic Party

The Green Party

The Libertarian Party

The Socialist Party

The Communist Party