A research question....

[FireryWings]

Well, I have to take English 102 this semester, and have to write a research paper. I've decided to research the different reasons why people leave the major religions to embrace the old religion, witchcraft in particular. I was just wondering if I could get a little bit of help from my cyber-friends in narrowing those major reasons down. If anyone has the time, could you please list the major reasons why you became pagan? Anything goes and any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Blessed Be!!:sunny:

[Xander67]

:wave:

this thread should be interesting, I look forward ot reading the responses!!

Good one Firey :)

[Rani Drummond]

I personally became a Pagan because my mum is, and it was the only kind of religion that actually made any sense to me. However, I have a friend whose mother is gay, has no men in her family, and has had more than one abusive relationship with men. Much as she loves men still, it's understandable that any religion which predominantly worships a solo male god would not be attractive to her, and she found in witchcraft something that welcomed her specifically as a woman.

[Raevyn]

- balance of male and female, God and Goddess
- no Heaven or Hell, no divine judgment but responsibility for actions and repercussions on a personal basis
- ability to work with new age concepts and thinking, or to reconstruction ancient religions. Ability to mix beliefs and research without adhering to a specific set of principles set in stone - flexibility

[Azure]

There are two books you need to read, one is Margot Adler's "Drawing Down the Moon," which deals with the rise of American Paganism in the 60s and 70s, and the other is "Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern pagan Witchcraft" by Rnald Hutton. You might also find useful a book called "Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community" by Sarah M. Pike.

A quick note: Modern Paganism is a new religion, although many branches of it use historical root material. Most of modern Paganism's basic tenets can be traced back no further than their creation in the 18th century, and the vast majority of them only to the early to mid twentieth. The idea that modern Neo-Pagans practice a traditional "old religion" is a misnomer. But as Hutton and Adler and many others point out, that doesn't matter at all. It isn't age that gives a belief its validity, but commitment.

As for my own choice - I was raised in Athens, running around the Greek ruins all the time. Even though I attended Church on the American military base, it never quite held the same resonance for me as the Parthenon and Delphi did.
When I moved back to the States, still a child, I read every mythology I could, and discovered the idea of Wicca and began practicing on my own or with friends by age 11 or so. This was back in the 80s, so there was a lot less material readily available to kids.
I still attended church to please my parents until college, and even in college and grad school took advanced Christology as well as classes in mythology or other cultures. I have a dual undergrad degree in theatre arts and Medieval Lit, and the same for a Masters, so I have a good grounding in history and scholarship.
I no longer consider myself Wiccan, and have Reconstructionist leanings, but with a belief system that combines my Greek culture childhood with my Celtic ancestry, that doesn't quite work perfectly either.
I still have reverence and respect for the historical Church and alternative Christianity, but the modern Church, especially the 20th century Protestant American one in which I was raised in no way addresses my spiritual needs.

[FireryWings]

Wow, thanks for the info. I'll be sure to read those books and use them for my paper!

Blessed Be!!:sunny:

[Scarlettvixen]

Hi FireyWings
that is such a multi faceted question for me - there are many reasons that i rejected christianity and chose pagan beliefs
but here goes, they r in no particular order

rejection of the rigidity and hypocracy of the church i was raised in, and when i investigated other varieties of christianity found them all the same, following that rejection of the church i began examining my beliefs about god - i found/ find it impossible to believe in him! basically i am a concrete thinker - i need proof in my hands.

for a long while i then called my self athiest, and i still dont believe in any one diety. rather i believe that gaia is our mother and that she /universal consciousness/ i have no idea, are what is out there. when we pray/do magic we are attempting to alter the fabric that we exist in, and sometimes we suceed - thats when we have sucess with prayer/magic

the fact that christianity has this mind set of breed breed breed gets to me, we need to care for our mother not smother her!

that seems a bit inchoherent on reading it! but i cant seem to word what i feel any better

hope its what u r after

[Knight]

Hi, Fireywings. Great topic for a paper.

It seems that there are two questions here: one, why do people leave the mainstream religions, and two, what draws them toward Witchcraft. At least, that's the way it happened for me.

I was raised Catholic, and went to Catholic schools for twelve years. I was treated OK for the most part, but I recieved and witnessed some really cruel treatment from some students and faculty. I just never felt welcome there. This led me to doubt, and ultimately reject the church's teachings. I kept up an act until I graduated high school, then stopped going to church. I've never been back. In retrospect, if I hadn't seen so much out of control meanness, I might never have left.

As to why I was drawn to the Craft, my early experiences left me feeling empty, angry and alone. I was a self-help junkie. I would haunt the bookstores or the 158 aisle at the library (psychology/ self help!). I would hope that each book would be the answer.

I stumbled onto Wicca by a happy (?)accident(?). A new shop opened up near my work called the Dragon's Den. I was into Dungeons and Dragons, so I stopped in, thinking it was a game shop. Wrong! It mostly sold gemstones, but had a few books on Wicca. One was titled "Wicca" by Vivianne Crowley. The cover blurb talked about the tranformational power of Witchcraft. I was intrigued, but a bit frightened. Wasn't this devil worship? Hadn't I seen all those scary movies? This is how it starts, pick up the wrong book, and wham! No more soul! But when I read up, it seemed very benign. A part of my heart that had been shut down for a while began to wake up again.

At the same time, I was doing a play with a very gentle soul named Nick. He wore buttons like "Techno-pagan", and from some of his references, I guessed he was (gasp) a witch! But he was such a great guy, and his brother was a Catholic priest! We had a lot of talks about Paganism. It was Nick, and the reality of how he treated others, that led me to accept Wicca as a positive pursuit. Sadly, Nick passed away some years ago.

To sum up: some Catholics treated me badly. I felt bad, went searching, found something that made me feel better, and some Witches treated me well. Accident? Maybe not.

[FireryWings]

Knight~~~

You're right, it does seen to have two questions. But I'm just doing creating right now so I'm playing with it so I can get my thesis right. This paper counts for alot of my grade so I have to get everything right from the start!:rolleyes:

I'm getting lots of great responses! Thanks to all those posting. :D

Blessed Be!:sunny: