Guide Patti: There's an excellent chapter entitled "Yeah, But What About My Sex Life?" One of the points you make in this section is that the Pagan sexual ethic includes more than just pleasure and enjoyment. As the Pagan community matures, are we starting to see a shift away from the "do what feels good" mentality, and more towards the idea that while sex does feel really good, we're also obligated to be honest and responsible?
Rev. Dana Eilers: I certainly hope so. It is my profound hope that we, as Pagans, always combine the pleasure of sex with the great Wiccan rule of “‘An it harm none, do as ye will.” I wrote about this rather extensively in my column for GREEN EGG on line. The column is entitled “Brief Bits: Legal Topics for Pagans.” The article was entitled: “Condoms and the Wiccan Rede.” One of my points in that particular chapter of The Practical Pagan was to emphasize that although Paganism does not cast sex into a realm of guilt and suppression, it does not mean we are free to be stupid about it.
Disease, emotional pain, pregnancy, jail, and death can be the consequences of stupid sex. We have to recognize that, deal with it, be responsible about it, and live up to whatever Pagan ethics we have about sex. Responsibility is a cost/benefit analysis and does not equal guilt or suppression. If we are responsible and honest as people, we are then free, as Pagans, to choose our sexual pleasures as consenting adults with and/or among other consenting adults. Unfortunately, many people equate Paganism with rampant, uncontrollable, and immoral sex. I could say that I equate Catholicism and the Christian Right with more rampant, uncontrollable, and immoral sex than I do Paganism.
People might be frightened of having a coven of Wiccans meet in their neighborhood, but these same people would not be frightened of a Catholic church opening up down the block or sending their sons to be pages in Congress. Everyone needs to wake up, get educated, face the facts, and get real. The towering divorce rate, the high incidence of child abuse and neglect, and the figures concerning unwanted pregnancy have become staggering with very little help from Paganism, thank you very much. I think that a dose of the responsible Pagan approach to sexuality might be very helpful to society at large.
Guide Patti: Another chapter in "The Practical Pagan" discusses coming out of the broom closet. I've met a few people who have said they'd like to be out, but they're worried because once you're out, you can't "take it back," and I always try to remind them that ultimately, it's their choice. Do you ever see us reaching a point in society where no one will fear taking that leap?
Rev. Dana Eilers: That is a tough question, and I have to say that honestly, I do not see it happening in my lifetime. This is like saying that we will be able to smash the employment glass ceiling for women in my lifetime, eradicate racism in the justice system in my lifetime, or fully accept homosexual marriage in my lifetime. Prejudices die hard, and I think that religious prejudice reaches down through the ages and grips us in a choke hold rivaled only by the prejudice against homosexuality. There has been a powerful propaganda machine at work against Paganism since the Christians began recruiting converts from among the Roman citizenry, and it is still at work in today’s society. To be out as a Pagan and unafraid will be a generation or two in arriving. When we do reach this point, I hope that we reach it in time. More on this later.
Guide Patti: As a practicing attorney, I know you spent a lot of time on issues of religious rights and freedoms. Your book Pagans and the Law: Understand Your Rights is full of information about legal cases involving Pagans, as well as how to locate pagan-friendly attorneys. What advice would you give readers as far as how to protect themselves when it comes to their rights as a Wiccan or Pagan?
Rev. Dana Eilers: First, you have to know what these rights are. I would suggest that everyone read the federal Bill of Rights and their state constitutions. Second, I would recommend that they log onto the federal EEOC web site and look at the federal Title VII laws regarding discrimination in the workplace and log onto their corresponding state web sites to familiarize themselves with their state laws regarding discrimination in the workplace. Third, if Pagans have children, they should become familiar with their state laws regarding child abuse, child neglect, and child custody. They need to know that freedom of religion is not absolute and will not protect them against what the state perceives as neglect and/or abuse. Of course, I would also recommend that they put my book Pagans and the Law: Understand Your Rights on their bookshelves and try to get around to reading it.
Next, it is hard to be biased against someone who helps out in the community, pays their taxes, keeps up their property, and generally lives a life that looks like everyone else’s. I have found that if you go to work every day and mow your lawn, most people could care less to whom you pray as long as you do it in the privacy of your own home. I love the drama and pageantry of Pagan ritual, and I have participated in very public Pagan rituals conducted in very public places with my picture appearing in very public newspapers while wearing very Pagan apparel. This is risky business, and I have taken the risk with nearly zero bad result. A lot of Pagans would not have been so fortunate. So, for the majority of Pagans, I would suggest that they keep pomp and circumstance of Paganism in the privacy of their homes or at Pagan festivals where they are relatively safe from prying eyes. If you are comfortable wearing your symbols out in the open, then do so and take your steps into the world at large as a Pagan with caution and care.
