Polytheist minorities and privilege

[Anonymous]

The society we live in is primarily monotheist; this confers a religious privilege to practitioners of monotheist religions (with the except of some Eastern religions). But Western Pagans (people who worship Greek Gods, Roman Gods, Celtic Gods, etc) are a marginalized and invisible religious minority. I'm reposting a great essay from this blog: https://krasskova.wordpress.com/2017/01/23/guest-post/

It's about a Western Pagan who experiences her deities only in museums, instead of temples, and how she feels isolated. I thought it might be interesting for people to read.

You can click the link, but I'll paste the essay here:

To all of my Christian, Jewish, and Muslim brothers and sisters: here is a slice of life from my point of view as a pagan/polytheist.

I think too many people take for granted how many churches line the streets, how many temples and mosques stretch across the landscape, how many people have spiritual advisors and pastors and priests and ministers for guidance, when all I have is a tiny shrine at home and a visit to a museum where Gods are treated as fascinating yet primitive antiquities.

It’s strange that, for some people, walking into a museum is a wonderful experience, an opening into a different world while still remaining in the the present. Looking at cool old stuff. For me, walking into a museum is a religious experience. That’s what it was like for me yesterday wandering through the Walters Museum as a polytheist.

[ Edited by Admin to comply with copyright laws. ]

[Anonymous]

Isn't the point of religious belief that you believe it regardless of what everyone else believes? What "privilege" are you lacking being a polytheist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the point of religious belief that you believe it regardless of what everyone else believes? What "privilege" are you lacking being a polytheist?

Do you even know what privilege means?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the point of religious belief that you believe it regardless of what everyone else believes? What "privilege" are you lacking being a polytheist?

Do you even know what privilege means?

The actual word, or this divisive neo-communism buzzword that's all the rage among the kids these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't the point of religious belief that you believe it regardless of what everyone else believes? What "privilege" are you lacking being a polytheist?

Do you even know what privilege means?

No one in the Western Hemisphere can avoid hearing all about it on a daily basis, so why would you think pp doesn't know what it means?

I would also love to hear the point of this woe is me essay, and I'm sure you're primed to educate all of us, so have at it!

[Anonymous]

No one in the Western Hemisphere can avoid hearing all about it on a daily basis, so why would you think pp doesn't know what it means?

Because anyone who calls privilege a "divisive neo-communism buzzword" or "woe is me essay" clearly does not know what privilege means. Claiming that you hear the word "privilege" everyday doesn't mean you know what it means.

Let me guess: you think the word "Islamophobia" is an example of minorities having privilege, amirite? Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No one in the Western Hemisphere can avoid hearing all about it on a daily basis, so why would you think pp doesn't know what it means?

Because anyone who calls privilege a "divisive neo-communism buzzword" or "woe is me essay" clearly does not know what privilege means. Claiming that you hear the word "privilege" everyday doesn't mean you know what it means.

Let me guess: you think the word "Islamophobia" is an example of minorities having privilege, amirite? Good luck.

Now you're just making no sense. Who called privilege a woe is me essay? I called the essay a woe is me essay. Islamophobia has nothing to do with any of this, so no, younotrite.

[Anonymous]

Now you're just making no sense. Who called privilege a woe is me essay? I called the essay a woe is me essay. Islamophobia has nothing to do with any of this, so no, younotrite.

I can't tell if you are aware of the logical gymnastics you're attempting, or if you genuinely have no clue that this makes no sense. Either way, I'm not interested in letting an angry troll drag me into a flame war, when the thread was about bringing awareness about polytheist religious experiences. Have a nice life!

[Anonymous]

I'm still interested in hearing about the polytheist who feels left out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Now you're just making no sense. Who called privilege a woe is me essay? I called the essay a woe is me essay. Islamophobia has nothing to do with any of this, so no, younotrite.

I can't tell if you are aware of the logical gymnastics you're attempting, or if you genuinely have no clue that this makes no sense. Either way, I'm not interested in letting an angry troll drag me into a flame war, when the thread was about bringing awareness about polytheist religious experiences. Have a nice life!

Troll. Another great word to throw around when someone doesn't agree with you!

-"angry troll" who apparently doesn't know what privilege or Islamophobia mean

Ps. Thanks for the education!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm still interested in hearing about the polytheist who feels left out.

It's not something the essay writer is "complaining" about, so much as spreading awareness about. It's that she experiences her deities as real, living gods, but the rest of the world sees them as relics of history. If you go to a Wikipedia entry for the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, and it says something like, "Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love". Compare that to Radha, a Hindu love goddess, who is still talked about in the present tense and gets worship in temples - that's a privilege, that Hindus get to experience polytheist worship without having to justify it to anyone. Imagine a world where you're the last Hindu in existence and everyone else refers to the Hindu deities as, "those old Vedic deities from India's pagan past," as if they're a nice piece of history but not actually real. That's what a Western Pagan feels, so the essay writer is describing how she doesn't really have a community and how she only sees museums displaying her deities as antiquities, but she wishes she could house those deities in a temple and openly offer them worship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still interested in hearing about the polytheist who feels left out.

It's not something the essay writer is "complaining" about, so much as spreading awareness about. It's that she experiences her deities as real, living gods, but the rest of the world sees them as relics of history. If you go to a Wikipedia entry for the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, and it says something like, "Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love". Compare that to Radha, a Hindu love goddess, who is still talked about in the present tense and gets worship in temples - that's a privilege, that Hindus get to experience polytheist worship without having to justify it to anyone. Imagine a world where you're the last Hindu in existence and everyone else refers to the Hindu deities as, "those old Vedic deities from India's pagan past," as if they're a nice piece of history but not actually real. That's what a Western Pagan feels, so the essay writer is describing how she doesn't really have a community and how she only sees museums displaying her deities as antiquities, but she wishes she could house those deities in a temple and openly offer them worship.

Wow. This is so much more helpful than the person who got all insulty throwing around the word "privilege." Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm still interested in hearing about the polytheist who feels left out.

It's not something the essay writer is "complaining" about, so much as spreading awareness about. It's that she experiences her deities as real, living gods, but the rest of the world sees them as relics of history. If you go to a Wikipedia entry for the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, and it says something like, "Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love". Compare that to Radha, a Hindu love goddess, who is still talked about in the present tense and gets worship in temples - that's a privilege, that Hindus get to experience polytheist worship without having to justify it to anyone. Imagine a world where you're the last Hindu in existence and everyone else refers to the Hindu deities as, "those old Vedic deities from India's pagan past," as if they're a nice piece of history but not actually real. That's what a Western Pagan feels, so the essay writer is describing how she doesn't really have a community and how she only sees museums displaying her deities as antiquities, but she wishes she could house those deities in a temple and openly offer them worship.

Wow. This is so much more helpful than the person who got all insulty throwing around the word "privilege." Thank you.

I'm the person who "got all insulty throwing around the word "privilege"". You're welcome. Being asked, "I'm still interested in hearing about the polytheist who feels left out." is so much more helpful and polite than being a troll.

[Anonymous]

*editing to correct, the person who wrote the "helpful" explanation is me - the person who used the word "privilege".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:*editing to correct, the person who wrote the "helpful" explanation is me - the person who used the word "privilege".

I'm the PP who asked the original question and the same one who said I was still interested in your thoughts. Don't know why your initial response chose to focus on whether I knew what privilege meant. I disagree with the use of this word "privilege" in the current political lexicon. I find it ironic that the same people who talk the most about diversity demean and marginalize certain groups of people by dismissing them because of some privilege that they think they have. I think it's divisive and not at all helpful to a constructive relationship with others. We are all people worthy of respect until we prove otherwise. But disagreeing with you on that point doesn't mean I wasn't interested in why you posted.