Conservative Pagans - We Exist

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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 articles. 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.

"Our particular principles of religion are a subject of accountability to our god alone. I enquire after no man's and trouble none with mine; nor is it given to us in this life to know whether yours or mine, our friend's or our foe's, are exactly the right." ~ Thomas Jefferson

The Stereotype Machine

Meat grinder - cranking out the stereotypesWe 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 believe?

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 to.

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

Conservative Pagan Groups and Resources Online

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.
Conservative Pagans
Conservative Pagans group on Facebook.
The Pagan Conservative
Conservative Pagan social networking community. This is new but looks promising.
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.

Conservative Pagan Bloggers and Commentators

Pagan and Proud | Red Alerts: The American Survival Blog
The blog of an opinionated Republican Pagan. Love him or hate him, but he points out hypocrisy in our community. Note: He's changed the focus of his blog but this link will take you to his archived Pagan and Proud category.
RED STATE WITCH
A conservative Wiccan blogger who shares his thoughts on Pagans and politics with intelligence and a bit of snark.
V Sebastian Page
Rants of a forthright conservative American-Canadian Wiccan.
Rob Taylor | PJ Media
Rob Taylor of Red Alerts now covers the crime section at PJ Media (formerly Pajamas Media). This is a well-known conservative media site. Rob's pieces are insightful and provocative and always call out the the hypocrisy of the left.
The Norse Alchemist
Conservative-leaning Heathen blogger. He posts on different issues including politics.
Thinking Too Much Again
Former liberal now right leaning Pagan who is using this blog to work out her political thoughts. Very well written.
The Pagan Temple
Conservative Pagan shares his thoughts on politics, entertainment and more. Humorous and politically incorrect.
Cara Schulz at Pagan+Politics
Posts by conservative Hellenic Pagan Cara Schulz. She's an articulate, well-informed writer and passionate in her views.

Featured Site

This will be a changing feature which is meant to highlight one of the links above. The current featured site is Red Alerts. Rob Taylor, conservative Pagan crime and culture blogger and PJ Media crime writer has relaunched Red Alerts as a group blog. Check it out!

Armed Pagans

Pagans and GunsThere 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

Most of us don't want to have an arsenal of guns. We just want people to stop trying to take the ones we've got away. Here are links to one well-known and some not so well-known pro-gun ownership groups and a couple of my articles related to women and guns. I've only found one Yahoo group geared specifically toward Pagan gun owners, though some of the other groups below are welcoming to all freedom lovers.
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.
Armed Pagan Yahoo Group
Armed Pagan: A discussion list for Pagans (and anyone else) who believe in self defense and protection of their families.
Gun-Totin' Pagan
Here is a thoughtful article over at Witchvox explaining why anti-gun Pagans might want to rethink their stance.

Michael Moore Hates America

*Above I referenced a scene from Michael Moore's awful "documentary" Bowling for Columbine. For an alternative (re: realistic) view, here is the trailer to Michael Moore Hates America. The movie is also available to buy or to view on demand from Amazon and is linked to below.
Michael Moore hates America (2004) Trailer
by RestoreConstitution8 | video info

43 ratings | 5,122 views
curated content from YouTube
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Pagans in the Military

There are many Pagans and Heathens who have served and are serving their country. Below are links to groups and articles of interest that support them.
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.
Lady Liberty League - Military Network
LLL Military Network - Networking and support for Pagans in the military including distribution of military Pagan prayer cards.
List of Military Pagan Groups
The Witches' Voice offers the latest (updated daily) in news and networking for the Modern Witch, Wiccan and Pagan Community. This page has a list of military covens and other Pagan groups.

American Pagan Pride

Fellow lensmaster and Pagan veteran shares his story and love of his country.
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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. Go ahead and take the World's Smallest Political Quiz sponsored by Advocates for Self Government.

Where do you fall?

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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."

Politician Spotlight

Dan Halloran is an openly Theodish politician elected to the New York City Council in 2009. He prefers to focus on his role in government and tends to keep his religion to himself. Visit him on Facebook.

Conservative Reading

Many of these conservative books have become overwhelming bestsellers outdoing their liberal counterparts on the NYT best-seller list.
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Liberal Media Bias

This film documents the 2008 election of Barack Obama and the incredible amount of media bias that helped lead to his victory including how they specifically targeted Sarah Palin.

Media Malpractice

Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

This is the video on demand version of the documentary. Here is a link to the DVD version.

Pagans and Environmentalism

Not all is as it seems.

There are Pagans who believe in the stereotypical earth-raping Republican. Some even believe everything that comes out of the mouths of Starhawk and Al Gore. This will be a growing list of links to groups and articles that help dispel environmentalist sacred cows.
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.
Global Climate Scam - Exposing the truth about global warming hysteria
A site devoted to exposing frauds in the global climate "industry."
Watts Up With That?
A blog by Alan Watts, a former television meteorologist, who takes a balanced approach to climate change theories.

Challenging the Status Quo

Critics of man-made global warming theory speak out.
The Lies Of Global Warming pt 1
by huhokay | video info

1,444 ratings | 183,806 views
curated content from YouTube

Libertarian Reading

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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

Here are links mainly by Pagans for and against abortion.
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.
Pro-life Paganism
A Canadian Wiccan explains why he is pro-life.
Pagans for Life: A list of Pagan Pro-Life resou... - tribe.net
A good listing of online groups and articles by Pagan pro-lifers.
Home | GOPChoice
The Republican Majority for Choice is the nation's largest pro-choice Republican organization. Learn more about reproductive rights, the GOP, moderate Republicans, and choice issues that are happening today

Pagan and Heathen Homesteading and Preparedness

Encouraging Self-Sufficiency

Pagans and Heathens are among the wave of people who realize the benefits of self-sufficiency and emergency preparedness. While some may accuse the prepper and survivalist movement in general of being paranoid, militia, anti-government nutjobs, many of us simply don't like the way the country is headed and believe that it's our duty to be responsible for ourselves.

We may not have the numbers that other faiths have, but like conservative Pagans in general, we are making ourselves known. Below are links to resources by Pagans and Heathens who are living this lifestyle and sharing their knowledge with others.
Hunter-Trader-Trapper - Rob Taylor
I mentioned Rob's blog above, but along with writing about politics and religion, he has also been an avid proponent of survivalism and prepping. He's posts a lot of great tips as well as his take on the political situations underlying what has led us to the state we're in.
Better Living Daily
Cat Ellis is a heathen homesteader who puts her actions where her mouth is. She and her husband came upon hard times and decided they wanted to take the steps to become as self-sufficient as possible. She started the blog and podcast Better Living Daily to help listeners begin to do this too no matter where they fall on the self-sufficiency scale.
Homesteading Mom
This is another blog by Cat with homesteading tips including recipes, natural health care for the family and more.
Green Surviving
I followed Herbalpagan over from the Preparing for the Future Forum. She has her own blog that started out documenting her journey with homesteading but is now including a lot of great tips for prepping. Check it out.
SHTFM - Survial and Emergency Preparedness
Herbalpagan has joined this radio show hosted at BlogTalkRadio on different aspects of prepping and survivalism. You can tune into the live shows and call in to discuss the topic or download it later if you can't catch it live.
The Silent Prepper and Frugal Living Blog
I've finally added my own voice to the Pagan prepping choir. Here is my recent blog offering where I share what I've learned and am learning on prepping basics and living frugally.

More Preparedness Info

Here are links to my articles relating to preparedness and self-sufficiency. I'll be adding more as time allows, so stay tuned.
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Sources and Disclaimer

Quote sources:
"Our particular principles of religion..." Letter to Miles King 1814, found on Wikiquote.
"A wise and frugal government..." from First Inaugural Address 1801 found on America's Homepage.

Photos: Opening image of eagle is After Ragnarok by Emil Doepler from Wikimedia Commons. Meat grinder: fedek6, sxc.hu. Shotgun: gizadog, sxc.hu.

Disclaimer: I've linked to different sites with varying political and personal opinions. By doing so, I'm not implying that I agree or disagree with everything on those sites or that the owners of those websites agree with me.

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