Poll: How 'popular' is paganism in your country?

[PandoraHealer]

I'm just curious- I see people from all over the world here but mostly from the US- Paganism here is on the verge of being widely accepted but not quite.
Whats your country like? Are all the Pagans safely hiding behind closed doors or screaming it from the roof tops?

thanks
BB-PH

[imapepper]

Paganism is accepted here and part of the cultural psyche because of the ancient cultures of Mexico. Believe it or not Santanism is pretty popular here.

[Snapdragon]

It would help if you indicated what you mean by 'paganism'; do you mean the public self-labeling of oneself as "pagan"...or something else?

[Tullip Troll]

supposedly paganism is the fastest growing religion in Canada, not that it's huge just the fastest growing

[LostSheep]

I don't know how you could really say how "popular" it is, I think because of the nature of it, it's not an organised church which can quote sizes of congregations. I suppose the only thing you could do to estimate how many there might be is to try and find out how many are members of groups like the Pagan federation or whatever, but there's a lot of people who don't asociate with any kind of group. So i don't know how you could really estimate how many people might be involved, and then, there's different degrees of involvement. Some do the full hands-on rituals and magick , some maybe buy books about it and kind of feel vaguely sympathetic to it. And it's so wide ranging that it can cover aspects of a whole lot of other religions too.

As far as acceptance goes, i think there's rarely any trouble about that in the UK, you hardly ever hear about anyone being persecuted for wearing a pentacle, say, and there's hardly ever any friction with the established church.

[David19]

I don't know how you could really say how "popular" it is, I think because of the nature of it, it's not an organised church which can quote sizes of congregations. I suppose the only thing you could do to estimate how many there might be is to try and find out how many are members of groups like the Pagan federation or whatever, but there's a lot of people who don't asociate with any kind of group. So i don't know how you could really estimate how many people might be involved, and then, there's different degrees of involvement. Some do the full hands-on rituals and magick , some maybe buy books about it and kind of feel vaguely sympathetic to it. And it's so wide ranging that it can cover aspects of a whole lot of other religions too.

As far as acceptance goes, i think there's rarely any trouble about that in the UK, you hardly ever hear about anyone being persecuted for wearing a pentacle, say, and there's hardly ever any friction with the established church.

I agree with what LostSheep said, it's pretty much accepted over here (the UK), some people might think it's more "New Age" or a "bunch of hippies", but that's the only stereotype you get.

[David19]

Paganism is accepted here and part of the cultural psyche because of the ancient cultures of Mexico. Believe it or not Santanism is pretty popular here.

Interesting. I'd love to learn more about how Satanism (and Satan) are viewed in Mexico.

[Silverfangs]

Here in Portugal there is each passing day a more acceptance of pagans. It is now usual to see or hear about someone who has pagan beliefs, with any kind of hostile reaction. Of course it will depend on the person... but fortunatelly it is a very liberal country.

[imapepper]

Interesting. I'd love to learn more about how Satanism (and Satan) are viewed in Mexico.

It's odd, it's not really seen positively, yet it's pretty popular. I never had Satanic neighbors till I moved here, nor did I know of any Satanists in person. They had an altar with what looked like demons or horned gods and asked the owner of our apartments if they could paint their apartment black (they were a young couple in their twenties). They were really nice people, but I'm pretty sure once the owner found out they were Satanists, she asked them to leave because she commented to me later that other neighbors complained of hearing strange music coming from their apartment. That just gives you an idea, people here fear Satan big time, but it's pretty popular, or should I say, more common than in the states. I'm still learning about that one.

[ap Dafydd]

The UK is fortunately a very secular group of countries so that what religion you are doesn't really matter to people unless you shove it in someone else's face.

I've never faced any hostility because of my path

gwyn eich byd

Ffred

[Garden of Eden]

There have already been 'UK' responses in this thread, and even though that should technically cover N.Ireland as well... I don't really feel that they have the same attitude here as mainland UK. N.Ireland is very heavily influenced by Ireland (with about 49% of the population considering themselves Irish rather than British-- myself included). And people are definitely *not* secular in outlook here... it's about 50/50 Catholic/Protestant and both sides have a very strong presence in the country.

Basically, unless you take the time to learn, you could live your whole life here and never hear the word 'pagan' (except that my grandmother once called a family who didn't go to mass "dirty pagans"!). There certainly aren't any pagans 'in the public eye' over here (at least, not openly, there could well be people who *are* pagan but don't shout about it).

So acceptance here is not fab, is what I'm basically saying. Lol.

[Meadhbh]

Its not to bad. There aren't a lot of pagans in Hawaii and those who are here tend to keep a low profile. The churches tend to be of a conservative slant but so long as you don't go shouting it from the roof tops people don't really bother you all that much.

[Toby Stimpson]

I kind of find this flawed to some extent...because it's all based on personal perceptions and experiences. I mean I might go for ever without feeling or hearing anti pagan sentiments...and in the same country someone might go every day with hearing something. Its not really based upon any statistics.

Canada I would say is very accepting, however I don't know all of Canada... back home in the country (about 2.5 hours north of Toronto) where my parents live... theres a very strong rural Christian feel. Is Paganism accepted up there? Depends on your perceptions and experiences.

I don't think anyone can truly say that a country is accepting or not because a country is broken down into small communities... each one different.

[Adrianus]

Well, I think I feel a bit differently than our fellow member, Galadraal.


We all live our lives based on the personal perceptions and experiences we have of the world around us. To do otherwise is to deny our innate capacity to evaluate reality.


I'm from Toronto, and I always felt Toronto to be a very liberal, good, and accepting environment. I felt free and unconcerned for my personal safety. Although a certain sector of society is Christian, I never perceived that to be any threat. In fact, Christianity was a non-issue. The fact that my personal religious beliefs were different from that of the general population was never of any concern.


Now living in Florida, I can now see and feel a dramatic difference. In private conversation with people in this Palm Beach neighborhood, social contacts, and with business associates, the clear majority act as if they are insulted at any idea that is not accepted as a right-wing conservative "Christian family value." I believe his conservative attitude pervades society and breeds a high level of intolerance. I never cease to be amazed by such blatant narrow-mindedness.


You can bet this form of religious suffocation is in every old community here. It's only a question of degree.


As a Pagan, I do not feel as safe living here as in Toronto. I would be a fool if I did. I believe that in the US South, Pagans, Muslims, Jews, gays, lesbians, and all other minorities need to be very careful.


However, that's just my opinion.

[Diotima]

In principle, Finland is a secular country where matters of religion are considered as private affairs. Religion is apolitical, and most people are not very religious. However, over 80% of people are members of evangelical lutheran church (because they baptize babies), and also other religious majorities are Christian denominations. There are few muslims (though due to immigration, islam is growing), and few other religions visibly present.
So, if you do scratch the surface, Finland is religiously a rather uniform country- you either are a church-goer or you are not interested of religion. Not many people even think that there are other options: ethnic Finns who are religious but Pagans is a concept difficult to understand. Because the only people who talk about Pagans are the few conservative Christians we have, paganism is seen as suspicious and inferior to Christianity, and words like "witch" are not positive descriptions of a person.

In our culture, religion is not visible in everyday life (except in weddings, funerals etc.), and therefore it almost never comes up. In official records, I am a nonreligious person. Even though I don't hide the fact that I'm a pagan, it just does not come up. The only time I have discussed matters of faith and have told that I am a Pagan, I was met with total ignorance. "Is there such a thing as a pagan religion?" "There are many Pagan paths. I follow one of them." "So you don't believe in God at all?" "I am not an atheist, but I do not believe in the God the same way you do." and so on.

[Wicce]

I live in Michigan outside of Ann Arbor which is a college town holding the University of Michigan. Because of that it's quite liberal and I would say being nonmainstream (of any path, including Christianity) is actually the mainstream for anyone age 13-30, with of course a generous amount of older people also holding these beliefs. This is similar of many college towns around the US and I really enjoy it as it gives me the opportunity to live in a country area and still benefit from an accepting attitude.

I'm not sure about the rest of Michigan; metropolitan Detroit is such a large, sprawling area that you could probably find any number of people who share pagan views. in the upper peninsula people are more private and religion of any kind is often not discussed, it is largely a "you live your way, I live my way" kind of area.

[Libris]

I think because the US is so diverse that it really depends on the state... even the area of the state you're in. For instance, in metro Northern Indiana there were a fair number of pagans, pagan groups and a fairly high level of religious tolerance. However, in rural Indiana where I've moved, you better keep your religious beliefs to yourself if they're not in step with the status quo...

On a side note, Indiana recently started offering free plates with "In God We Trust" on them as an alternative to the ordinary ones that are available. Just about every car in my neighboorhood has one.

Libris=Pagan in a Box

[Toby Stimpson]

How do you feel differently though??

I think we both agree. You see you brought up two places... but surely you cannot say you know those places fully... and those are two places in two different countries confined to a certain geographic area.

It is completely up to our own experiences and perceptions of whats around us as well as the limitations of our own ability to travel that makes this poll flawed. We cannot know the full extent of how tolerant a country is becasue we are limited to a certain area. You go 2 and a half hours outside of Toronto and you'll find a different culture and different environment. You go into New Orleans and you'll find a different culture than say rural Mississipi.

Well, I think I feel a bit differently than our fellow member, Galadraal.


We all live our lives based on the personal perceptions and experiences we have of the world around us. To do otherwise is to deny our innate capacity to evaluate reality.


I'm from Toronto, and I always felt Toronto to be a very liberal, good, and accepting environment. I felt free and unconcerned for my personal safety. Although a certain sector of society is Christian, I never perceived that to be any threat. In fact, Christianity was a non-issue. The fact that my personal religious beliefs were different from that of the general population was never of any concern.


Now living in Florida, I can now see and feel a dramatic difference. In private conversation with people in this Palm Beach neighborhood, social contacts, and with business associates, the clear majority act as if they are insulted at any idea that is not accepted as a right-wing conservative "Christian family value." I believe his conservative attitude pervades society and breeds a high level of intolerance. I never cease to be amazed by such blatant narrow-mindedness.


You can bet this form of religious suffocation is in every old community here. It's only a question of degree.


As a Pagan, I do not feel as safe living here as in Toronto. I would be a fool if I did. I believe that in the US South, Pagans, Muslims, Jews, gays, lesbians, and all other minorities need to be very careful.


However, that's just my opinion.

[Raven Mystic]

"Flawed"? Oh, twaddle. This is a Pagan community of people expressing their beliefs and feelings about our perceptions of the world around us. Of course, this question would be handled in a different manner in a university or even a college classroom, depending upon the college. But this is a Pagan discussion forum, not a scientific study. What we feel about the country or area where we live is at the very centre of this discussion.

I wish to thank Pandora Healer for this poll and thread. It is most interesting and worthwhile.

I'm English. In my case, I would say the general environment in London is one of indifference to Paganism. There is never a thought of danger in daily life. Paganism seems to be growing rapidly. Of course, many Pagans and Trad Witches keep a low profile, but that does seem to be a rather British thing to do.

Now I find myself living in Florida, in the United States. The general environment here is very different. While we all should be careful about personal safety, it is more of a concern in the USA because of several problems in that country. This is especially true for all minorities including Pagans in Florida.

This is in essence an overly religious, fundamentalist state. Minorities are targeted and must always be very mindful of everything around them. Just steering " clear of the churches" is not enough. This is "don't open your mouth" country. Adrianus was too polite. The people here are crazy and dangerous. They are very conservative, very naïve, very intolerant, fanatically religious, and hateful of outsiders. The good ole' folks here are easily given to political and religious extremism. That spells potential danger to minorities.

I do know a Wiccan nearby. I have spoken with this woman on several occasions. She and her husband have been Wiccan for many years and they head a coven. She is rather unconcerned about her family's safety. However, I guess it is a matter of what one is use to. When one is reared in a violent and small-minded society, one accepts violence and blatant prejudice as normal.

[David19]

"Flawed"? Oh, twaddle. This is a Pagan community of people expressing their beliefs and feelings about our perceptions of the world around us. Of course, this question would be handled in a different manner in a university or even a college classroom, depending upon the college. But this is a Pagan discussion forum, not a scientific study. What we feel about the country or area where we live is at the very centre of this discussion.

I wish to thank Pandora Healer for this poll and thread. It is most interesting and worthwhile.

I'm English. In my case, I would say the general environment in London is one of indifference to Paganism. There is never a thought of danger in daily life. Paganism seems to be growing rapidly. Of course, many Pagans and Trad Witches keep a low profile, but that does seem to be a rather British thing to do.

Being from London too, I'd agree with you here.


Now I find myself living in Florida, in the United States. The general environment here is very different. While we all should be careful about personal safety, it is more of a concern in the USA because of several problems in that country. This is especially true for all minorities including Pagans in Florida.

This is in essence an overly religious, fundamentalist state. Minorities are targeted and must always be very mindful of everything around them. Just steering " clear of the churches" is not enough. This is "don't open your mouth" country. Adrianus was too polite. The people here are crazy and dangerous. They are very conservative, very naïve, very intolerant, fanatically religious, and hateful of outsiders. The good ole' folks here are easily given to political and religious extremism. That spells potential danger to minorities.

I do know a Wiccan nearby. I have spoken with this woman on several occasions. She and her husband have been Wiccan for many years and they head a coven. She is rather unconcerned about her family's safety. However, I guess it is a matter of what one is use to. When one is reared in a violent and small-minded society, one accepts violence and blatant prejudice as normal.

And yet Bush seems to think the only extremists are in the Middle East, go figure....

[Adrianus]

Worth repeating:

America is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

[Aoibheal]

Depending on where in the US you are it might be more acceptable, but I don't think we are tolerated very well atleast not where I am from.

[Aina]

I live in Southern Indiana in a very very very conservitive town. We have a Unitarian Univerilist church but, I see very little of anyone going to it.
My cousin who lives in Yorkshire, England is pagan, and he says that he just keeps it to himself. If someone wants to know, they'll ask. That's his motto for just about everything, that prat. Anyways, from being from an English-American (dad is british, mom is american) backround, it's just my nature to do things both ways I guess. Amercians are...well, they are alot of this, but being open about religon is frowned upon here, and in Britian...it's more...open...more easy.
Basically, if anyone else besides my parents, fiance and best friend found out I was a Christian witch, they'd probably try to hurt me. No exaggeration there.

[Kodi]

not very.
were i live it's not accepted very much.
anyone that is pagan, keeps thier mouth shut.
but we do have a small pagan community,
and we have a couple pagan supply shops.

[BFD_Zayl]

just stay away from churches and don't make it a huge deal, and you should be fine. thats what I do now.

[Sacredsin]

In Southern Indiana (next to Louisville, Kentucky) where I live, I see both tolerance and intolerance. In general, its frowned upon if you're openly not Christian. People tend to think you're a freak or crazy if you're not Christian here, or at least thats what I've seen so far. In Louisville there is a Wiccan shop that I visit frequently, and I've never been bothered by anyone while there, or coming to or from the shop. On the other hand, on the Indiana side of the river, there is a lot more emphasis on being Christian.

[Doodlebug]

It's okay but steer clear of churches and rabid Fundamentalists.

[carinatedien]

As you can see i'm in Thailand. I think it's a little complicate in Thailand.

People will tell "you're so dummy" when you tell them that you're study about paganism or prectising magic. But it's very easy to inviting them for read fortune by tarot card or rune stones which they love it (not all of them but most of the women do) and kind of "Telling fortune shop" are very popular in thailand .

So it's depents on what to say. They not gonna push you away,probably, look at you with the little funny eyes and then ask you to predicting their fortune. ^^a

Thailand land of smile 8O LoL:santasmil

[Rosana]

Poland is a very Catholic country, but I haven't heard about any hostile actions (apart from social ostracism) taken against those who publicly identify themselves as pagans. We have a pretty strong reconstructionist community (Slavic paganism) , which, unfortunately, is pretty well known in my country as racist, Christian-bashing and extremely nationalistic. I think that recons are tauntamount with paganism for 98% of Poles.
However, there are some druids from OBOD, a couple of traditional Wiccans educated by English covens, and many ecclectics. Most pagan folks in Poland are pretty young, from teenagers to people in their 30s, and they live in major Polish cities, like Warsaw or Cracow. Polish pagan community is divided, quarelled and absolutely unable to educate people about paganism in general, so I don't assume that this path will play any major part in the upcoming years.

[Solya]

Paganism is very accepted in most parts of the Netherlands. I judge the popularity of paganism through basing myself on the high number of members many Dutch pagan forums have... 500 or even 700 members is not an uncommon number here, and I imagine there are many more pagans to be found outside of these forums.

Generally, though, people here don't really know what to do with you when you tell them you're a pagan. I live in the south, which is pretty much Roman Catholic all over, and here I still have to exercise a bit of caution in who I tell about my religion. Thankfully it is not a subject which is discussed daily over here and people aren't usually curious enough to ask me about it directly. I would gladly talk with them about it if they did, but also know that some people here in the south can still get pretty fundamentalistic about it.

[Anwell]

I don't know how it is for entire Belgium, but I better stay clear from the churches. I wear a pentacle because I like for what it stands, but then some people won't sit next to me on the bus/subway even though it's crowded. (their loss, not mine :D) People in my neighbourhood know that I offer readings (tarot) and once some person told me that it was 'the Devil's art'. But they were devout (is it spelled right?) Catholic. But in Antwerp (not to far from me) I think it's accepted, they don't look wierd at you or say things, they just don't mind :)

[Tanya]

I haven't experienced any wierdness... that I did 10-15 years ago...

mostly its a non-issue here.

Among the poeple in my office cube, 2 out of 3 in are non-christian.... I'm the only non-Yaweh girl though... my cubemates are agnostic anglican, and the other is a Sunni Moslem (I think he's Sunni anyway)

we get along fine.. and pretty much leave our 'God" shit at the door.

Australians are pretty tolerant.. we are all united by cricket and skin cancer.

[Whitewolf]

I live in the United States. It depends where you live in the states, how popular it is. Where I live it not that popular. I'm a secretive person so I really don't announce that I'm a pagan.

[WildThing]

I'm in America too, I happen to be in a very country state though and I happened to pick a very christian secluded area of all places, heh. But I so far have had no bad experiences despite this. However, in my area there aren't really any big..or at least advertized, pagan events, shops, or organizations. So those of us who're here (and I'm sure I'm not the only one), aren't really aware of eachother.

There's plenty of pagans in my state, just not locally.

The irony of this amuses me.

Anyway, I'm very thrilled that America is becoming more accepting of paganism and its many branches of varied faiths. It's one of those factoids which helps me remember how much I've loved this country.

[Mogget]

It's very accepted in Melbourne - you'd get far less notice for being Pagan than you would for being militant Christian. And frankly as we have a fair proportion of full tilt Muslims they kinda draw the attention more in full head to toe coverings etc. However my experience has been that Aussies are not very religious (or not very open about it) and regardless of you actual faith unless you hanging out with other mebers of it people are liley to get a bit squirmy and embarassed if you admit to having a religious belief, or to actively practising religion. It's not that they object it's just not something we talk about much in public.

I don't participate in Christamas at all (in ANY way shape or form) and when opting out of the office Chris Kringle I admitted that I was not hristian (didn't say I was pagan) and the overwhlming response was - "Neither am I, but I still do Christmas!"

[patch]

Hey, this is britain.
Nobody cares ;)

[Nightlady]

In Finland paganism isn´t so popular yet, but the interest for especially neo-pagan recon is growing... In Sweden there are quite a lot of Asatru and Norse recon people... and more come every day... paganism is actually very popular in Sweden... but there are many who call themselves pagan just because it is considered cool...

[Sequoia]

The USA in general is pretty diverse, so I can't really speak for the WHOLE country, but for my county... it's pretty common and accepted. We even have a Goddess Festival each winter and plenty of people walk around wearing pentacles.

But what do you want? This is Sonoma County, California. Sebastopol is like one of the Hippy Centers of Northern California :lol: And don't even get me started on Guerneville...

[Brandon Bee]

How popular is Paganism where I live? I'd say Paganism is barely known about here. In fact, the only time I have seen it associated where I have lived is off of MySpace profiles and off looking for various things online.

[la tortuga]

Texas is actually not too terribly bad.

I mean there are obviously situations where you just don't say a word-- so I said to keep your mouth shut.

In other situations, though, it's perfectly okay to be open -- so I also said to steer clear of churches and it's not too bad.

It's not to steer clear of churches, just steer clear of Christian groups, really.

[MoonChild78]

I suppose that in general in the US being a pagan is ok but where I live which is a VERY catholic/christian town, if you're not catholic/christian you don't admit it. It's sad but my town and neiborhood are very conservative and so I leave my relgion and my politics in my house. Sad but change comes to this neck of the woods very slowly.

[NefertSatSekhmet]

Hey, this is britain.
Nobody cares ;)

Sure, nobody cares, but in my area it seems to be assumed that if you are not Asian (and therefore either Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh), you must be Christian. I get lots of shocked expressions and questions when people say something to my that assumes I am Christian and I tell them, "Well, actually I am Pagan."

As an American living in England, the thing I find most troubling is the Religious Education in my kids school. My poor kids come home and complain that they are the only Pagans in the whole school. They are not even allowed to celebrate Halloween because, as the head teacher explained, "It is a Pagan holiday, and we are a mostly Christian school." (There are a few students that are obviously Muslims, but not many.)

Unfortunately England doesn't have the same separation of church and state that I am used to in the USA. I am really unsure what to say to the school, so I just stay silent, and now I try to teach my kids about Paganism more, to balance what the school tells them.

[Tigerlily]

I live back and forth in two parts of Canada: Toronto and Atlantic Canada (smallish town./city). In Toronto, there's way more Pagans than my small city in the Maritimes. Or maybe not necessarily more but they are more open to wearing pentacles.

[electricpeppers]

Hey, this is britain.
Nobody cares ;)

This has been my experience. I think England specifically, even though it is 'Church of England', 70 % of the people I encounter are atheists or just don't care either way. I've only known one Christian before and she was a tad fundamentalist. Yet she has outgrown that mindset!

Thankfully, England seems to be generally very tolerant of other religions partly, perhaps, because of the cosmopolitan nature of the society. For instance, my dad is a born and raised Iranian Muslim who is now an atheist and my mum is a English/Welsh agnostic... neither of them are all that bothered that I'm Pagan.

[Buick]

It’s mostly frowned upon where I live. But I believe it’s slowly gaining social acceptance in the US.

I think it’ll be a while before you can be openly pagan here in the states without some degree of harassment.

I keep my spirituality on the DL. Most people around here think I’m a Baptist because I attended a Baptist church when I was younger and I don’t correct that assumption. ..... It works to my advantage
This way I can spend less time defending my lifestile and more living it.:abanana:

[erika]

I live in Southern Ontario, Hamilton - its pretty large city about an hour from Toronto. In my experience the pagan community here is large and very open. A Hamilton Pagans Yahoo Group has about 700 members, we have Pagan Pride Day festival downtown every year, people don't hide it all. Where I work I often see customers wearing pentagrams and I've known quite a few people through friends and when I was in highschool who openly practice and don't hide it. I've never had a problem with telling anyone about my religious views (except for one extremely christian ex-boyfriend - needless to say that didn't work out, I told him I'd go to his church one sunday because I'm not against understanding others beliefs and ended up getting a lecture from the preacher/whatever they're called guy who was bent on "saving me"). I even noticed the other day that there's a pagan club at my university who had a little table set up in one of the main buildings with information and whatnot. Canada's not an intolerant country, though I can't really speak for the rest of it.

[LostSheep]

Sure, nobody cares, but in my area it seems to be assumed that if you are not Asian (and therefore either Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh), you must be Christian. I get lots of shocked expressions and questions when people say something to my that assumes I am Christian and I tell them, "Well, actually I am Pagan."

As an American living in England, the thing I find most troubling is the Religious Education in my kids school. My poor kids come home and complain that they are the only Pagans in the whole school. They are not even allowed to celebrate Halloween because, as the head teacher explained, "It is a Pagan holiday, and we are a mostly Christian school." (There are a few students that are obviously Muslims, but not many.)

Unfortunately England doesn't have the same separation of church and state that I am used to in the USA. I am really unsure what to say to the school, so I just stay silent, and now I try to teach my kids about Paganism more, to balance what the school tells them.
paradoxically, though, we don't get the fundamentalism - the kind of extremism like that Westboro Baptist Church lot - maybe it's because, if everyone's assumed to be Christian, no one really seems to take much notice of it, that's what I've found anyway.

[David19]

Sure, nobody cares, but in my area it seems to be assumed that if you are not Asian (and therefore either Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh), you must be Christian. I get lots of shocked expressions and questions when people say something to my that assumes I am Christian and I tell them, "Well, actually I am Pagan."

As an American living in England, the thing I find most troubling is the Religious Education in my kids school. My poor kids come home and complain that they are the only Pagans in the whole school. They are not even allowed to celebrate Halloween because, as the head teacher explained, "It is a Pagan holiday, and we are a mostly Christian school." (There are a few students that are obviously Muslims, but not many.)

Unfortunately England doesn't have the same separation of church and state that I am used to in the USA. I am really unsure what to say to the school, so I just stay silent, and now I try to teach my kids about Paganism more, to balance what the school tells them.

I must have gone to very different schools to your kids 'cause I've never noticed that, I didn't think religion was in state schools (I know you can get religious schools like Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, etc).

Do you kids go to a state school or is it CoE? (I went to a CoE primary school, but that wasn't fundamentalist, like the ones that let religion rule their lives or think their way is "better", etc).

[NefertSatSekhmet]

I must have gone to very different schools to your kids 'cause I've never noticed that, I didn't think religion was in state schools (I know you can get religious schools like Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, etc).

Do you kids go to a state school or is it CoE? (I went to a CoE primary school, but that wasn't fundamentalist, like the ones that let religion rule their lives or think their way is "better", etc).

It is a state school, and R.E. is definitely part of the curriculum at the primary school they attend. I sort of assumed it was the norm for England. Its not too fundamentalist, but it is definitely biased towards Christianity.