Explaining Your Path to Others |
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| Table of Contents Introduction Page Many of the books that appear in the box below may be intended for Christians, but not all of them are, and the same ideas about communication should be pretty much universal to all groups of humans.
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In one of the online clubs I run, we were
discussing anti-Pagan discrimination. This was my reply to one of my club's members: "I think people are getting more accepting. One of the other counselors at work asked me about my religion at work the other day. He'd never even heard of Wicca, so I explained it in relation to Catholicism, which he was familiar with. I told him how it was a Pagan religion, based on pre-Christian beliefs. I told him how a bunch of Celtic Gods and Goddesses, like St. Brigit, were incorporated into the Catholic church. He then asked me about how we worship, and about our holidays. He was rather surprised how much Yule and Ostara are like Christmas and Easter. He asked me about Thanksgiving, so I told him about Mabon. When he asked about Halloween, I told him about Samhain and how it's the Celtic new year. When the conversation was over, he was accepting of me and my path, agreeing that I shouldn't have to hide my beliefs or be persecuted for them. I've found that what works well for me is letting people get to know me first, then answering their questions in terms of how what we believe and do is similar to what they believe and do, instead of focusing on the differences." Sometimes, you have to take "baby steps" when people question you or voice objections to your beliefs. This is especially true with people who either know nothing about Paganism or want to argue with you or convert you to their religion. Generally, there isn't much you can do to reason with a fundamentalist who wants to convert you to their religion, no matter what that religion is. However, many people will ask questions because they really are curious. Not everyone is looking for information to use against you. Sometimes they are just interested because they like or care about you. One word of caution though, trust your instincts when it comes to deciding how much and what kind of information to reveal. You know your situation and comfort level better than anyone else. As a person on a magickal path, your intuition becomes stronger as time goes on. I've found that intuition, or guidance from the Goddess, isn't something to be ignored. If you get the feeling that you shouldn't talk about something, then by all means, don't talk about it. But in most cases, if you're out of the broom closet, it's a good idea to talk to people about things that aren't tradition secrets. If you have taken an oath not to reveal certain information from your tradition, you are bound to honor your oath. That promise is more important that someone else's curiosity. The more that non-Pagans know about us and our similarities to them, the more comfortable they'll be with us. The more comfortable they are, the more likely they will be to accept us. Think of what it is like to discuss things with children when they have questions. You tailor your response to their level of curiosity and ability to understand the answers. For instance, if a three-year-old asks you where babies come from and you say "from inside Mommy's tummy", they may be happy with that answer. If they ask you how it got there and you say "Daddy put it there" that will be enough of an explanation. That will change drastically in another six years or so, but is an appropriate response at that level. That doesn't mean that we should treat mundanes like they were children, but that we should try to figure out what level of understanding their questions are coming from in order to form the right kind of answers. For example, if someone has never heard of Wicca or Druidry or whatever path you follow, a simple explanation of the basics should be plenty of information for that first conversation. That isn't the time to come out swinging with an "I am a witch and the Goddess rules!" diatribe. That will most likely just scare off someone who might have been an accepting friend under less agressive circumstances. On the other hand, this article by Oberon Zell from the Church of All Worlds site about explaining the Other People to roving Jehovah's Witnesses shows an interesting way to deal with those people that are hell-bent on converting everyone to their faith. |
