You Aren't the Only One
You've heard the beginnings of the phrases that start like this - "Real Pagans are...." and "I can't believe a Pagan would vote for...". They're like fingernails clawing down a classroom chalkboard for those of us who don't fit into the mold of what "Real Pagans" are apparently supposed to be.
Maybe you let those sentences pass without refuting them just to keep the peace or just because you thought it was pointless to argue. Or maybe you had the nerve to speak out and say you are Pagan and conservative, Republican, Libertarian, or what have you only to be gawked at with contempt or talked down to like a child.
You thought you were alone in the wilderness. But you're not. There are others of like mind, and you will find resources for conservative Pagans of many stripes here. What you won't find are long rants about my personal political beliefs (but maybe a couple interjected sentences). I will save that for other lenses. This is simply a haven for Pagans looking for others on the web who share a politically conservative bent and are either Pagan or possibly Pagan friendly.
I realize I have Libertarian links interspersed with Republican ones, and there are some who might be offended by that. I'm not a card-carrying member of any political party. When I get a chance, I will make lenses devoted to both (or you can start one), but for now, this is just a jumping point for those interested in something other than ultra-liberal Pagan rhetoric.
The Stereotype Machine
We can certainly crank out the stereotypes can't we? How did we all get thrown in the same big Pagan political pot anyway? It most likely stems from the explosion of Paganism on the scene during the 1960's when anti-establishment fervor was at a high.Most Pagans have respect for the inroads others have made on behalf of the religion. But we resent the idea that to be a real Pagan we must all agree on political issues.
To be a real Pagan is to be an individual. If conservative Pagans were the brainwashed sheeple we are sometimes accused of being, then wouldn't we all agree with the left leaning politics of what it appears a majority of Pagans are?
Conservative and liberal are words that bring certain images to mind. These images may or may not describe the individual beliefs of Pagans that we are ascribing these labels too.
For many Pagans that call themselves conservative, this simply means small government. We want the government out of our bedrooms, marriages and our gun cabinets and believe this is what a true conservative is rather than the right wing direction the Republican party has taken. Others are more right or left but still consider themselves conservative.
Please, for the love of the gods, let's stop grinding out Pagans through the Stereotype Machine.
Places to Find Like Minds
- Oak Grove Conservatives
- A site with articles by conservative Pagans and links to online groups for discussion.
- Pagan Republican Anonymous
- A Yahoo group for Pagan republicans and other conservative Pagans.
- Pagan Republican
- Site founded by author Anand Sahaja in support of conservative Pagans. Links to her twitter, Myspace, and other sites can be found on this site.
- Red Alerts
- The blog of an opinionated Republican Pagan. Love him or hate him, but he points out hypocrisy in our community.
- Conservative Pagans for Sarah
- The Conservative Pagans for Sarah group is over at the Team Sarah website.
Armed Pagans
There are more of us than you think. We don't all think that leaving pictures of slain children outside of Charlton Heston's house was a particularly classy or relevant thing to do Mr. Moore.Visit links below for more information on preservation of gun ownership rights. They aren't geared specifically towards Pagans but for people who believe in freedom.
Preserve Your Right to Bear Arms
- National Rifle Association
- Forgive the pun, but the NRA is the big gun of the pro-gun rights organizations.
- Pink Pistols
- Supports gun ownership for the gay and lesbian community.
- Gun Owners of America
- Another lobbying organization devoted to protecting 2nd amendment rights.
- Armed Females of America
- From their website they describe themselves as a "no-compromise" group adamant about repealing anti-gun laws.
- Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership - Homepage
- America's Most Aggressive Defender of Firearms Ownership. A group that wants to change the status quo attitude about guns by Jews.
- Geeks With Guns
- Believe it or not, there is more than one "type" of person that believes in preserving our gun ownership rights.
- The National Rifle Association's Women On Target Program: A Review of My First Shooting Clinic Experience
- NRA's Women On Target program is an excellent way to become more comfortable with firearms in a supportive setting. Here is a review of the first shooting clinic I attended.
- Hunting and Firearms Resources for Women: A Listing of Groups and Outfitters Based in the United States
- More women are taking to the outdoors. They now have many choices to learn hunting and shooting in an encouraging atmosphere with other women.
The World's Smallest Political Quiz
This quiz is short but gets to the point. You most likely already know where you stand, but it's always fun to take this every few years to see if you've changed much. So go ahead and take the World's Smallest Political Quiz sponsored by Advocates for Self Government.
Pagans in the Military
- The Hammer Project - Religious Freedom for Heathens in the Military
- The Hammer Project is the effort to allow the heathen symbol, Thor's hammer, to be placed on the list of Veterans Administration's Emblems of Beliefs allowed on the headstones of fallen soldiers.
- Military Pagan Network - Home
- An organization devoted to helping soldiers and their families retain their rights to religious freedom.
Party and Movement Links
- Republican National Committee
- Official site of the GOP.
- Libertarian Party
- Website of the "party of principle."
- Constitution Party
- Conservative but very Christian focused.
- The Ayn Rand Institute
- Official site espousing objectivism, the idea put forth by author Ayn Rand.
- New Federalist Platform
- Describing themselves as the new Federalists, in their preamble they state they "advocate individual, family and community rights and responsibilities in acts of self-governance, as set forth by our Founders." The site mentions God a bit and their Judeo-Christian heritage, but it's well worth checking out.
- The American Conservative Party
- The American Conservatives -- home of the American Conservative Party. A third party started by those from the right and left who "became dissatisfied with the choice between the socialist Democrats and the Democratic-lite Republican Party."
"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."
~ Thomas Jefferson
Conservative Reading
Libertarian Reading
Pagans and Environmentalism
Not all is as it seems.
- Not Evil Just Wrong - News & Views
- The home of documentary filmmakers Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer and their film "Not Evil Just Wrong - the true cost of global warming hysteria."
- ecoNOT.com -- Individualism, not Environmentalism
- The anti-environmentalist Web site of Robert Bidinotto, opponent of environmentalism, critic of environmentalists and environmental groups, and advocate of individualism.
Pro-Life, Pro-Choice or Both?
Abortion isn't always a black & white issue with Pagans (much like the general public). Many of us believe it is a personal not government issue, but despise the hypocrisy of some who believe in the soul of a tree but not an embryo or that reincarnation excuses abortion.
For and Against
- Pagans for Life
- Essays and opinions for Pagans who are pro-life.
- Heathenism and Abortion
- An article by heathen Jordsvin on why he is pro-choice.
- Feminists for Life - Women Deserve Better
- Presenting a different face of feminism in regards to abortion.
Where do you fall?
Learn More About Paganism
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Pagan Book Reviews
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Hello, I'm Trish Deneen, an eclectic Pagan and writer for several web venues. This is a catalog of my Pagan book reviews located on various places on the web. I reviewed most of them when I was Pagan editor at BellaOnline. I no longer accept Pagan b...
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Pagan Essentials
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Hello, I'm Trish Deneen. This is a catalog of my web articles on the basics of Paganism. This site will be continually growing with lots of new information. I use the term "Pagan Essentials" as the title of this lens not to pretentious...
Has this lens helped you find others of like mind?
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Reply
- PJ_Deneen PJ_Deneen Oct 19, 2009 @ 4:31 pm | in reply to Evelyn_Saenz
- Thank you so much. I was pleasantly surprised to receive it.
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Reply
- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Sep 28, 2009 @ 8:26 am
- Congratulations on the Purple Star Award!
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Reply
- boshemia boshemia Sep 24, 2009 @ 6:30 pm
- Very well said, we can be any combination of beliefs... not everybody fits inside of the box and thankfully we live in a country where we are free to do so. Though I have never met a conservative pagan before I'm happy to know they do in fact exist!
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Reply
- PJ_Deneen PJ_Deneen Aug 23, 2009 @ 11:53 am | in reply to robertsloan2
- Thank you for commenting. I agree that things that shouldn't fall within political party lines become rallying cries for politicians. I would think staying out of other people's lives including their relationships is a core conservative value, but far right conservatives disagree. It's maddening.
The same for gun ownership and gun control. I see it as a freedom issue not a political one, but it's being used as a political identifier.
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Reply
- robertsloan2 robertsloan2 Aug 23, 2009 @ 11:41 am
- I'm glad you defined where you stand on several issues. The gun issue is something that's not really subject to religious dogma. Unfortunately, so many times in facing an election you wind up having to choose candidates who stand against freedom of religion and have a religious-right perspective. Thanks for reminding me that Pagan does not always mean Politically Correct.
I listed "left of center" as the best approximation of my political views, but they are a composite map of different ideas on many issues. Unfortunately there is no particular party or platform that shares my point of view since it's mature and considered rather than prepackaged or laid down as dogma. I never assumed all pagans would agree with me on anything.
Amusingly, some of the ideas that are now taken for granted as the way things are were radical when I was young, issues involving racism and women's equality were radical back then. Hpoefully homophobia iwll diminish too and freedom of religion will be real.
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by PJ_Deneen
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