Pagans only, please: Why is everybody against us?

Question

Do they just not get us, or what?

Answer 1

Not everyone is against us. That's not really a healthy mindset.

Answer 2

See, you've got your little martyr complex going already...

Answer 3

They are?

I live in a small Texas town and my faith is no secret. A great many people are aware that I am a polytheist of the Germanic persuasion. I encounter very, very little issue with this. While I realize that there *are* people who have an issue with my beliefs, they don't have the guts to do anything about it, so I don't care much. Or perhaps because I don't care much, they don't have the guts.

Either way I am a pretty well respected and very active person in my community.

Answer 4

No body likes a smart ***.

Telling people who believe in invisible gods that you see and feel your gods every day, ( and that hence they do too) in the sun the moon and the earth, tends to p**s them off a bit.

And anyway, all the religious nutters hate anyone that reads a different book.

Ps: The only way they could make the people attend their ludicrous ceremonies was to have them on the same days the pagans had theirs, just changed the name.

Theyre still OUR rites,  

Answer 5

Everybody?  I don't believe that but there are some rabid fundies that are.  Usually they send nasty emails then block me.  

Answer 6

I like Pagans just fine. I also like Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Pastafarians, atheists and everyone else I've come across in my life. Have yet to see anything that made me think that any one religion was any better or worse than any other.

But the Wiccans do have the best parties, and in the end will out-compete Christianity as the dominant religion in the US, because even the best night of Bingo can't hold a candle to a well-run Aphrodite's Shrine.

;D

Answer 7

It's because we are so darn pretty!

Answer 8

i love a lot of pagans.  i only know 1 pagan i don't like, and my dislike has absolutely NOTHING to do with her choice of religion, she's just a *****.

Answer 9

First off, EVERYBODY isn't against Us, or You, or me for that matter. People want to voice their opinions, just like you do. Unfortunately, SOME and notice I said SOME, speak of their opinions as if they were facts. Everybody isn't on Yahoo answers. Actually, a very small amount of the population of the world actually posts in here. So your "everybody is against us" doesn't really fly. Now, for those ignorant few who make ignorant remarks about Pagans, well, that pretty much sums it up, ignorance. Ignorance of their own history, of world history and of their own neighbors. It happens. We, however, don't add to the ignorance by lumping EVERYBODY together in some nameless heap just to get attention by perceiving that "they' are against "us". Besides, who are you to me that I get lumped in with you in your question? NOBODY seems to be against me personally. If someone doesn't like my beliefs, well, not really my problem. They aren't living my life nor do they answer for the choices I have made in that life. I'm sure they will get over it, I know I will.  

Answer 10

Because they know we are right :)

Answer 11

EVERYONE likes me as a pagan, thank you!  

Answer 12

Are they?

No one's against me...  Maybe you're just doing it wrong.

Answer 13

Hmmmm, nobody is against me. Relax and don't sweat the small stuff.

Answer 14

Have you ever heard the saying" ignorance is bliss?" I think people would rather be ignorant about any topic than they had learn something. Unfortunately, it's also true about most religions. Most people hear crazy things about someones beliefs and instead of asking questions, they just go right on believing what they've heard.

So sad isn't it?

Answer 15

They are.. ?  

Answer 16

The Mormen already got to you, didn't they!?

Will the conspiracy ever end?

Answer 17

Oogally boogally Pagan boy

Answer 18

How many atheists do you know who are against you?  I'm certainly not.  I've never seen atheists bash pagans.  Oh, we might pick fun at those who take their paganism a little too seriously, but that's not really us being "against" you -- we do that to everyone.  Most of the atheists on R&S are cool with pagans.  I think it's even fair to say that, on R&S at least, we have a mutually beneficial alliance.  

I broke your "pagans only" rule, and I'm not sorry.

Answer 19

im a pagan, but i must disagree.

i think you need to leave the persecuted mind-set your in and look around. support of pagans and religous freedom is growing every year.

by saying that everyone is against us, your inplying that those who are intolerant are in the majority, which is not true....they just scream louder.

Luzifer

Answer 20

I didn't know everyone was against us...hmmm...thanks for the memo.

Answer 21

Because long ago, (this IS a fact of history, not an idea of what happened) there were many pagan churches, infact paganism or at least a form of it (of course they had different names) were the earliest of religions. but anyway, there was this new religion called Christianity, and the pagans and christians got along and even sometimes shared the same church because that was where christianity originated, and got many ideas from. but then they separated, and became competitors over who had the most followers. christianity was this new thing that everyone was excited about, and seemed more reformed. So they won, and becaus ethey were more refomed and because of the ideas and rumors put across against the pagans, the pagans became the new enemies of the people. considered witches and worshippers of false gods, in other words Satan.

the idea stuck. and the become Christian or go to h**l things kicked in.

now I live in a famil of christians so I have no ill will against them, in fact most of them are good people, but take into consideration that these were different times. this was even before the time when christians went around killing non followers, jews I think.

Of course many religions did this, not just them. it's just how things happened.

but basically the idea, or simple rumor of Pagans being devil worshipers stuck all through history

(example: witch burning)

and is finally starting to be accepted again.

though man y churches still believe the pagans are worshipping false gods, things ARE getting better

Answer 22

I thought everybody but the Evangelicals and Fundamentalists like you guys.

This Atheists thinks Pagans are pretty cool (for superstitious types.)

Answer 23

Hey, did you just lump me in with people who are against pagans?

That's not very seemly of you.

Answer 24

Perhaps it might have something to do with the fact

that we were virtually wiped out by the Christians

1600 years ago... and then the murderers had 1600

years to re-write history, to spead lies about us, and

to justify their act of killing us by saying that we were

evil and deserved to die... I think that could account

for it.

Answer 25

Well...on a general level, it's basically misinformation and a general refusal to learn proper facts. They want to believe propaganda spread about something they only learn about in church. It's sad that they don't want to expand their minds and learn about something. Learning what something is, is the best way to defeat fear.

On a personal level, I don't know anyone against me as a pagan, or they just don't want to say it to my face.

Answer 26

Because Christians believe that only they are right and that everyone else is wrong and deserve to be burned at the stake.