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Paid Pagan Clergy?

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
Paying Pagan Clergy – An Organic Approach

What are your thoughts on paid Pagan Clergy?

What about the authors thoughts on not modeling off of mainline protestantism?

I do feel like there needs to be a larger proportion of paid Pagan Clergy, especially if they are performing services such as hand fastings, counseling, or other services for others.

I also think that this is going to be important for founding/maintaining Pagan Temples and providing to an expanding public.
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
I'm on the fence about this.

It would be good to have an institution, so to speak, but there are issues within my own tradition that would need some serious addressing first.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
I'm on the fence about this.

It would be good to have an institution, so to speak, but there are issues within my own tradition that would need some serious addressing first.

I'm on the fence too, but the more I lean towards wanting to be a Priest as a vocation, the more I wish it at least allowed for a life above poverty levels.

Edit: and then there's the monetary issues of building infrastructure.
 

lovesong

:D
Premium Member
Paying Pagan Clergy – An Organic Approach

What are your thoughts on paid Pagan Clergy?

What about the authors thoughts on not modeling off of mainline protestantism?

I do feel like there needs to be a larger proportion of paid Pagan Clergy, especially if they are performing services such as hand fastings, counseling, or other services for others.

I also think that this is going to be important for founding/maintaining Pagan Temples and providing to an expanding public.
Nothing would make me happier than seeing temples emerge and a clergy system grow. Imagine, congregations of polytheists meeting for offering, celebrating festivals on their own land, erecting statues and monuments to the gods again. Imagine a system that allows us to study our faith in a dedicated space with others, imagine seeking counseling within our own faiths, it sounds wonderful to me.

The problem is though, that because we don't have organized systems, we don't have universal beliefs. Within my own community we have everything from "the myths are entirely metaphors" to "the myths are almost entirely literal." Within this group of a dozen or so Heathens there's opposite views on everything from the nature of morality to the importance of tradition to level of orthopraxy to what the gods actually are, we have more disagreements than agreements. Given this very wide diversity, I don't see that dream becoming a reality. Not only do you need enough folks in the area to make any of it feasible, but then you need them to all agree on the basic tenants and rituals.

I could see this maybe being a part time thing, given that there would need to be a wide selection to accommodate all the variation, but the idea of having full time Pagan clergy seems too out of reach. Honestly I would love nothing more than to dedicate my life to my faith, but the reality of bills and such is harsh.
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
Nothing would make me happier than seeing temples emerge and a clergy system grow. Imagine, congregations of polytheists meeting for offering, celebrating festivals on their own land, erecting statues and monuments to the gods again. Imagine a system that allows us to study our faith in a dedicated space with others, imagine seeking counseling within our own faiths, it sounds wonderful to me.

The problem is though, that because we don't have organized systems, we don't have universal beliefs. Within my own community we have everything from "the myths are entirely metaphors" to "the myths are almost entirely literal." Within this group of a dozen or so Heathens there's opposite views on everything from the nature of morality to the importance of tradition to level of orthopraxy to what the gods actually are, we have more disagreements than agreements. Given this very wide diversity, I don't see that dream becoming a reality. Not only do you need enough folks in the area to make any of it feasible, but then you need them to all agree on the basic tenants and rituals.

I could see this maybe being a part time thing, given that there would need to be a wide selection to accommodate all the variation, but the idea of having full time Pagan clergy seems too out of reach. Honestly I would love nothing more than to dedicate my life to my faith, but the reality of bills and such is harsh.

I agree that one of the main issues is the lack of orthodoxy, and even layers of orthopraxic differences. But by the creation of organizations that do agree on set structures, it can grow and pull in others who do agree. Like how despite ADF adherents utilizing many different proto-indo-euro mythos, our rituals and the like still follow the same basic steps, which in turn builds group cohesion.
 
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