I don’t know if you’d like to leave this to another future blog, Gus, but do you have any thoughts about educating qualified Pagan teachers? It seems like many teachers in the Pagan community are also clergy. I’m not sure that necessarily needs to be so, for example.

I’ve written in Pagans and Christians on why I do not like the term “Pagan Clergy.” It is very dangerous to us, in my opinion. BUG ME if I don’t do something on that issue soon.

As a European, I would guess that state-enforced religious monopolies and religious coercion until the early 20th century both led to secularization and a lack of a level playing field for various other/new religions, including other Christian denominations than the officially sanctioned one(s). (This, by the way, is what Stark and Finke claim in their interesting sociological book, “Acts of Faith.”)
But I think that everyone is at least implicitly grounded in some sort of faith, although not necessarily a religious or supernatural one. Especially in the case of Scandinavia, the alternative seems to have been the secular “trinity” of socialism, atheism, and unbounded rationalism. Growing up in Sweden, I remember the extraordinary emotional attachment of most people to the political party of their choice, which was in fact often chosen by their parents or grandparents (especially for supporters of the largest party, the Social Democratic Workers Party).
In the case of Sweden, less than 50% of the population claim any kind of religious faith, while slightly more than half claim to be either atheists or agnostics. Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of self-professed Christians (about 30-40%) tend to vote for the four non-socialist parties, which have had a much less coherent ideology than the social democrats (mostly some vague mixture of liberalism, populism, and pragmatism). But even among self-professed Christians, most are secularized Lutherans who attend religious services about twice a year on average. In most locations, there are few alternatives other than Lutheranism (lots of empty churches everywhere) on the one hand, and Catholicism and Islam on the other (which almost exclusively serve immigrant communities).
Living in Taiwan now, I can’t help but notice that religion is a much more important part of life than in much of Europe. Note that the state here is and has always been entirely non-religious – there are not even any religious public holidays. But 90% of the population believe either in God or some other supernatural power, and the religious alternatives are wide-ranging. Some popular religions have only appeared over the last 20 or 30 years. An interesting example is Yiguandao, which claims a membership of 5 to 6 percent of Taiwan’s population; this religion claims to mix the best of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism and requires a strict vegetarian diet as a condition for membership. Another anecdotal example is my neighborhood, where there is a Kingdom Hall, a Presbyterian church, a Catholic church, an independent Christian church, about 5 different types of taoist temple and 3 or 4 Buddhist temples. And unlike in Europe, all these different religious facilities attract worshippers – more than once a week.

Christianity has positively influenced the world more than any other faith. It is true that those who profess to be Christians have had a negative impact in world history. On the balance any honest research of religion and world history christianity over-whelmingly has shaped the culture of western civilization especially. Up until the politically correct term of BC (before common era) the historical timeline was divided by Christ’s birth, BC (before christ). It seems to me that the further the world distances itself from biblical morals namely outlined in the ten commandments the worst societies have become. One thing for sure we will all absolutely find out what we face after death. I’m sure each belief system thinks that their way is the way. Stay tuned!

Gus, I think the “Pagan Clergy ”or more precisely, clergy, is something that monotheistic religions understand. I also think that many pagans, imo, take on the term clergy so they can act in an ecclesiastic manner and have their actions sanctioned by state and government.
I also joined the online clergy thing so I could marry when asked. As a Wiccan, I did this so the marriage would be officially be recognized by state and government but personally, the only recognition I need is of myself, the two individuals, male/female, male/male or female/female and the Goddess and God. Lets face it, not having a central authority is a two edged sword but I wouldn’t trade a thing.
One thing I’d like to mention, that what does concern me, is the anything goes for Paganism or Wicca by those joining. Those who use Wicca as a scare tactic offend me, those who use Paganism or Wicca as a means to gain power over others or as a method of rebellion against family or as a simple fad, because it’s different, offend me. In the tradition I was taught I had to copy my teachers Book of Shadows as he read it to me. I had class time; practice doing rituals, magick, and spending time in meditation with the Goddess and God. For me, it took over four years to go through the three degrees in my tradition. There was a lot of time and dedication that went into this. I have no issues with someone who joins and then finds out that the religion doesn’t fit them; I’m cool with that. Wicca isn’t for everyone just like no one religion will ever be the “right” thing for everyone.
One thing that Paganism and Wicca teach that the big three do not, is the concept of learn and evolve. While I do not believe in the concept of sin, if there was a sin against the universe, it would be, imo, not evolving in this lifetime. The past is exactly that, it is still something that can be learned from, the future is made up of choices in the here and now and is always in flux but today is the most precious gift we have. Sorry, rambling.
Face it, to leave ones family religion takes a lot of courage and for some religions, to change can be a death sentence but there is apparently many who seek to find something that will feed their soul. May they find the answer they’re looking for.
Ron

Gus: Your comment about qualified Pagan teachers got me thinking about my own Pagan education.
I admit that my own experiences with Pagans never involved any formal teachers. It mostly learned through books and, trial and error, and by working with others.
I don’t regret any of this, but I sometimes wonder about the lack of qualified teachers for those with more of a desire for face-to-face experiences. I also wonder how many people walk away from these paths for similar reasons.
Of course, this all brings about how formal do we want teachers to be. Do we want to create institutions to help educate them?

The problem with having qualified teachers is WHO gets to decide who is qualified?
I had no teacher. I began seriously studying Witchcraft in 1972 when I was 13. I read and read and READ anything I could get my hands on regarding the subject. Began my first magickal workings about a year later. I learned by trial and error what worked and what did not. Back then, there wasn’t any other way for me to do it as I didn’t have any living person to teach me. My mother could read Tarot but wasn’t able to teach me more than that. My father was encouraging but he couldn’t help me either. Nevertheless, I’ve never felt I’m less of a Witch than someone who had a teacher.
It’s encouraging to me that Paganism has become more widely accepted and even understood somewhat, as people become more educated regarding different religious beliefs.
Just this afternoon one of the local churches was AGAIN going door-to-door in my little suburban neighborhood trying to spread Christianity. A very well-dressed, nice-looking couple smiled as I opened the door. They offered me a pamphlet and asked me if I had some time to hear about the “good news in the Bible”. I told them, “No thank you, we are Witches in this house”. Just doing my part to further their education.

This whole ARIS report has been a whirlwind. The question on qualified teachers has plagued me since day one of my Wiccan Life, and one that is answered by individual traditions and groups. In 1998, I went online to answer this difficulty, formed a website in 2001, and have seen continued growth as people seek to learn about Wicca. Ultimately, people can only teach words and concepts, and you must experience Wicca for yourself to understand it.

I agree with both Cheryl and Ed, to a point. So long as a Wiccan does primarily devotional practice, I agree 100%. Most Wiccans do that.
But Wicca’s roots are in more than that and the possibilities of spiritual and magickal development open up still more widely to working with the spirit world, deeper healing, and so on. There one can either learn from genuine ‘elders’ or run the risk of getting into unintended difficulties.
To pick a related but not particularly Wiccan example (so as to avoid anyone reading more into my point than I intend) I have taken nasty energy out of more than one masseuse who had what I think were quite genuine innate healing talents, which made them good masseuses, but did not know how to get rid of what they took out intuitively.
I do not mean to discourage anyone from reading a book and practicing Wicca. That is wonderful stuff. But they have just entered the sitting room, so to speak. It’s a good place to be, and probably all the farther most people ever want to go. But if you want to go farther, a book won’t do it and practice can result in some difficulties that could be avoided if the practitioner had had a teacher.
We do not have enough of those teachers. Aron asks about creating institutions to provide them. A sort of Wiccan Hogwarts maybe. As is obvious from my later post on clergy, I’m skeptical of institutions like that and love the small group approach – but what do others think who do more than primarily devotional practice?

For me it would be about having options available for those who want it, not forcing anyone to have to get any formal education to teach about Paganism. I also think it might help deepen Pagan communities if we had some centers for learning beyond shops.

Gus, you mentioned, “But if you want to go farther, a book won’t do it and practice can result in some difficulties that could be avoided if the practitioner had had a teacher.”
I believe we often learn FROM those difficulties. No matter how long you’ve been a Witch, sooner or later you’re going to encounter a difficulty with your magickal work. You will need the experience of getting yourself out of those difficulties as well. Having someone spoon-feed you step by step what you need to do is *not* the best way to learn, in my opinion.
I think another danger in having a teacher is that if they follow the XYZ path, they will teach YOU how to follow the XYZ path and that might not be right for you although it could be the perfect path for them. And a wide-eyed newbie to anything Pagan won’t know that, especially if learning from “High Priestess Lady Dark Crystal Ravenwing Feather-poof and her 27 degrees of Irrelevance” who also has the title of Teacher.
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post here, I never had a teacher. I’ve been a Witch for 37 years and I’ve been asked to BE a teacher many times over the years by people looking to learn about Witchcraft. I reject the role of teacher but have sometimes been a guide, sharing what I know but then I also tell them they have to go out and find their own path for themselves. I loan them books (I have hundreds of them on many flavors of Witchcraft) and tell them to read just as I did. I can’t tell someone what path they should follow, I can only show people where they can look to find their own path. I can offer advice and guidance, but I will not profess that I have the “right” way of being a Witch as I believe that it is different for everyone.
It seems to me having official Teachers could easily become a way to start yet another witchier-than-thou session of “I’m a REAL 3rd Degree Witch because I learned from so-and-so!”

Cheryl,
It’s wonderful you had the dedication and focus to teach yourself, and to practice for so many years. It is also the case that for every general rule there are exceptions, and you might be one. But as a general rule, I think you are mistaken in denying the value of good teachers.
A great deal of what we do requires getting the ‘feel’ of what is going on and when to do something. Book knowledge does not teach this. Books can describe to us how to cast a circle, celebrate Sabbats and Esbats, and so on. But practice gives us the skills to actually do a decent job at it. I suspect you are with me so far.
But practice inside a group increases our rate of improvement for we learn from one another. This is true even for acquiring the most basic skills. We learn from one another. Even if everyone involved is a beginner, it helps us to work and learn together. I would guess you agree.
If we learn from one another, it is even better to learn from more experienced people. So long as they are generous with their knowledge and respectful as to how they transmit it, we are ahead of the game by learning from them.
Yes, we learn from our mistakes. But what do we learn? Many mistakes do not send us a clear message. It helps to learn from those who have gone before, in Wicca as in just about everything else.
This does not make us clones of our teachers. I will never forget what a Crow Indian Sun Dance priest told me when I was visiting him. Basically it was “Gus, if I taught you to conduct a sweat lodge, in time you would change it.” I waited for a rebuke that never came. Instead he said, “And that would be good, for that is how you make it yours.” His point: learn from the experienced, and once you have learned, make it yours.
I honestly do not know what you mean by “official teachers.” I’ve made it quite clear I do not favor some accrediting agency for Wiccan teachers.

I’m not sure I agree with you. I do understand that we can learn from one another, but I’m not convinced that what we learn from one another is always best. We can also learn bad habits as well. It may just be the perspective I’m viewing this from. I didn’t learn from a teacher, so I’m having a hard time seeing how learning from a teacher would work. Actually though, I had MANY teachers I suppose, but they were all via books. Nevertheless through those books, I learned many different ways of looking at Witchcraft. Some I rejected because they were clearly not right for me (in the beginning I read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on, including books by Aleister Crowley, Anton LaVey, Joseph Campbell – Golden Dawn, Golden Bough, etc.) There are not many authors I’ve missed over the years (I adore the Campanellis I was so sad when Pauline passed away). I had to sort through it all and discover what resonated with me, and discard what did not. I read somewhere that when you find your path, it will shine as a silver thread and you’ll be able to follow it easily after that. For me, that was definitely true. I don’t know if this matters but I’m not Wiccan; I tend to be more free-spirited about it (that isn’t a criticism of Wicca). I use the term hedgewitch to explain my path to other Witches because it is the best reflection of it.
I know you mentioned many times that you don’t want some “accrediting agency” for teachers. What I don’t understand is how we could actually have teachers without this. Who would be able to call themselves a teacher? Without some sort of oversight, anyone can call themselves a teacher. And that could be a problem. WITH oversight, other control issues come into play – also a problem. Maybe a possible answer is for people to find not one teacher, but several.
Sorry if I’m rambling here, I’m a bit rushed at the moment and that’s never a good time to try to communicate

This is super quick – I’m on the run. A teacher is anyone we look to to earn from. A qualified teacher is anyone who is able to do a good job.
Students pick teachers – but these days many say they cannot find ones, or ones in whom they have confidence. I’ll do a post on this issue before long.

I think one of the important differences between the US and Europe is separation of Church and State. Most European countries have a state religion. The US doesn’t. In the past twenty years Christian Churches in the US have gotten more involved in government and as a result their numbers are declining.

I think one of the important differences between the US and Europe is separation of Church and State. Most European countries have a state religion. The US doesn’t. In the past twenty years Christian Churches in the US have gotten more involved in government and as a result their numbers are declining.

This whole subjuect , to me, is insane. I am a Christian but that is just to easily identify what I believe. My Father is GOD and that’s only becuase of my faith HHe teaches me with LOVE!!