I only know one person who is an open atheist and I don’t tend to have any opinion when I hear discussions about the existence of god. I’ll confess that I feel somewhat sorry for atheists. I think its kind of sad that they don’t get enough joy and satisfaction out of a religion to justify a bit of faith when needed. Most humans practice religion of some kind. It has been fashionable in the twentieth century to bash religion and declare it one of the major causes of human suffering. My father-in-law was one such. Culturally Jewish, his father fled the Czar when he was found to be a Communist. Harry believed firmly in an afterlife, but he had bad things to say about religion. All while participating in his Jewish community. This might seem a paradox, but it really isn’t. Judaism does not dictate belief, only behavior, and by all means debate away!
I didn’t agree with Harry, although I did agree that there had been religious wars and persecution. Religions must be part of our biology and thus serve us in a survival capacity, otherwise we wouldn’t make so many of them! It comes down to a few simple ideas. Our brains want to create stories about what happens to us. We have a biological need for meaning. (For more on this I recommend the works of Eugene D’Aquili and Andrew Newberg.) What survival need does this serve? It creates hope. Hope allows one to continue in the face of fear, anguish, and physical or emotional pain. Without hope, we are more likely to give up. For our ancestors, giving up would have, more often than not, meant death.
Ancient religious practice was tribal. The shaman gave voice to stories that explained the tribe’s place in the world. Later the shaman gave way to the priest. I don’t deny that religion was commonly allied with political power (there’s reason why we do our best to keep them separate now.) But I do deny that religion seeks power by its essence. The job of a religion is to seek meaning, to create stories about our place in the web, and if the religion is ethical, applying the same laws of basic behavior to all humans, not just those of the given religion.*
What meanings does Paganism seek? We have many Traditions, and each tells different stories. Sometimes those stories are ancient, and sometimes they are brand new (I give you Greyface). I commend those who can find meaning in the old tales that apply to our prosperous and fast-paced culture. I’m not good at that. No, I’d rather find my own.
Finding, dreaming, building, uncovering, discovering story is what grounds us into our now. We are the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. But we can change our story at any time. What story do you relate to? Which characters do you love? Dislike? How do you feel about what these characters do? Is there another story that might serve you better? I’ll be sharing some stories here. I hope they are able to serve you.
*Don’t kill people, don’t hurt people, and don’t mess with their stuff.
‘An ye Harm None, do as thou wilt.
Golden rule.
Etc.