"And how do we keep our balance?That I can tell you in one word: TRADITION!"
Fiddler on the Roof

The role of tradition in Paganism is the subject of great argument. Oh, not everyone participates in the fight, and I've generally ignored the turmoil until recently, but a recent argument brought it to mind... and since, well, I'm way behind my schedule, I figured I'd do a piece on my thoughts on the subject.

Many of the people who come from, or have been inducted into, traditional groups feel that Paganism is being diluted by the relatively sudden introduction of new traditions, new material, and the surprising number of new Pagans that have come onto the scene in the last few years. The "Old Ways", they say, are being washed away and being replaced with a New Agey kind of mass-produced religion.

Many of the newer people feel that the Traditionalists are outdated and out of touch. Paganism, they say, is new, and Traditionalists have no place in it.

Of course, this doesn't sum up everybody. I'm somewhere in the middle myself. I myself am non-traditional, but there is certainly a place for Traditionalists in our ranks. There's a need for the Traditionalists. I think both sides are overlooking some vital points.

First of all, we're not all the same religion. My own religion is a combination of several traditions, and some things that just feel right to me. I don't live in a world where the seasons regulate my way of life like our historical, biological, and ideological ancestors did. A God of the Hunt and a Goddess of the Fields aren't really figures that hold any great power in my life. For me, the God and Goddess (whom I call by no particular name) are present in every aspect of my life, and I see no need to divide those aspects among them.

Even the various traditions are too different to be considered the same religion. Some of them hold ideals that I really don't agree with. There's no place in my life for a tradition that holds that, for example, witchcraft is a woman's religion, and there's no place for me in such a tradition.

On the other hand, though, many of these long-standing traditions have faced issues that we haven't yet. Or that we have and haven't worked out yet. In other words, we have a lot to learn from listening respectfully to these people.

One of the problems is that the traditions themselves are often misrepresented by so-called Traditionalists. I say "so-called" not out of disrespect to Traditions as a whole, but out of contempt for people who subscribe to some of the more dangerous fallacies of religion, first and formost the one that says to disagree with someone who claims a position in a religous heirarchy is to disagree with the religion... and to fail to treat that person with deference or their idea of respect is not only rude but immoral.

These so-called traditionalists (let's call 'em SCTs just to annoy them) are often bullies, predators, or just suffering from a God(dess) complex. Furthermore, a number of them have a tendency to imbellish their backgrounds in a variety of ways-- most notably the folks who claim to belong to family traditions, or invent fictional covens when they know that there's no way to verify their claims. While most of these people are just suffering from delusions of significance, some of them are genuinely dangerous... they're the ones that go around telling young women that "Ritual sex is the only way to the True Path", etc., etc.

The true Traditionalists, like most Pagans, tend to be much lower-key. Yes, you'll run into some of them at socials, festivals and camps, but I know a number of them that have stopped going to them because they're genuinely uncomfortable with how modern Paganism is developing. It's not that they're snobs... they just don't like it when people attack their beliefs anymore than the Non-Traditionalists do, and that's how a lot of us tend to "defend" our beliefs.

Myself, I value the Traditionalists, even if I don't hold what they say as true. And I'll respect those that respect me. I do believe that Truth is a personal thing... but the many paths that lead to each person's truth intersect, and sometimes others can help you get closer to your destination.

© 2000 by Cather "Catalyst" Steincamp