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Pagan Miracles Occur
at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions!
A Report from the Archdruid
Thanks to the outstanding generosity of one of our members (who
insists on remaining anonymous), I was able to represent Neopagan
Druidism at the 1993 Parliament of the World's Religion, held in
Chicago from August 28th through September 4th. This event celebrated
the 100th anniversary of the first such Parliament. In 1883, many
Eastern religions made their first major appearance to the American
public. This year's gathering may prove to have been as important for
the Earth Religions as 1883 was for Vedanta, Buddhism, Jainism, Zen
and Bahai.
Some 7,000 people attended over the course of eight days: mystics and
others from the liberal wings of Judaism, Catholicism, Eastern
Orthodoxy, and Islam, official Representatives of those same faiths
(mostly arch-conservatives), leaders from various liberal mainstream
religions (mostly Unitarian Universalists and mainline Protestants),
representatives of various Eastern religions (such as Hindus, Jains,
Sikhs, Shintoists, etc.), delegates from more obscure minority belief
systems (such as Theosophists, Rosicrucians, Urantians, etc.), Native
American religious leaders (some 60 or so!), and us -- the Neopagans.
Oh, yes, there were also a few hundred reporters from both secular and
religious media, most of whom were far more interested in the
"unusual" religions than in the mainstream ones.
While at the Parliament, I witnessed events of a (more-or-less)
miraculous nature: Representatives of most of the world's different
religions showed up and were civil to each other. Well, most of the
time. The Eastern Orthodox Catholics dropped out of the Parliament
early, ostensibly because of the presence of "unreal" religions such
as ourselves, but actually following an old pattern of walking out of
ecumenical events. A few delegates from India got into a fight during
a speech about political/religious persecutions there. Some of the
Jewish groups left because an Islamic preacher known for anti-Semitic
comments appeared (the only Big Name who brought armed bodyguards).
Everybody else seemed to get along remarkably well, and it was quite
an experience to see all these people in their ceremonial clothing
talking peacefully with one another.
Even more astonishing, leaders of several different Neopagan
organizations actively cooperated to put our best collective face
forward! Representatives of the Covenant of the Goddess (COG), the
Fellowship of Isis (FOI), the EarthSpirit Community (ESC), Circle
Sanctuary, the Church of All Worlds (CAW), Panthea/CUUPs, and our own
ADF (three other members showed up -- as parts of other groups) worked
together to educate other religious leaders and the assembled press.
Special honors should go to Don Frew and Phyllis Curot of COG, Lady
Olivia Robert of FOI, Andras & Deirdre Corban Arthan of ESC, and the
many others who worked with them. By the time we counted all the
Neopagans at the Parliament, there were more than 150 of us, from
dozens of different traditions!
We directed people to each other's events, we handed out each other's
literature, we referred reporters to each other's experts. We all
showed enormous solidarity and pluralistic toleration. Selena Fox and
I even kissed and made up -- in front of witnesses!
COG, FOI, and the Lyceum of Venus of Healing (LVH -- a school and
healing center within FOI) had hospitality suites throughout the
event, hosting press conferences, parties and "off-program" workshops
by Neopagan teachers (FOI, for example, graciously loaned me the use
of their suite to present "Druidism 101"). ESC and COG had very
professional looking press kits and publicity packets to explain
Neopaganism simply and clearly. A generic Wiccan ritual was performed
in a nearby park (after sicing the ACLU on the Chicago Parks Dept.),
which was attended by 200 delegates and filmed by documentary makers
and TV stations. ESC's Pagan chorale, Mothertongue, gave a magnificent
concert, complete with dancers and stage magic by Jeff McBride. The
FOI performed a complex ritual drama based on Egyptian mythology. No
honest person who attended any of these events could ever again
believe the lies that Christian fundamentalists tell about us.
The week included literally hundreds of different presentations from
scores of different faiths. Usually there were eight to twelve events
happening simultaneously. Amid the pleasant chaos, Pagan after Pagan
presented workshops and lectures about Goddess Worship, Neopaganism,
Wicca, Earth Religions old and new, the Gaia Hypothesis, and more.
Perhaps just as important were the many presentations made by members
of the mainstream religions about goddesses, Sophia, Shekinah, and
other manifestations of the Divine Feminine Spirit(s). Most of these
Goddess-oriented presentations drew large crowds. It got to the point
where speaker after speaker began to say, "or Her" every time the
Supreme Being was referred to as "Him." A few even added, "or It or
They!"
The omnipresence of Divine Females at the Parliament inspired me to
make a three-foot wide paper banner saying, "The Goddess: You will
never be able to ignore Her again." By accidentally joining the end of
a procession of peace- and ecology-oriented banners ("The Ribbon
Project"), I was able to carry this Goddess banner throughout the huge
crowd gathering for a closing speech by the Dalai Lama. It was
heartwarming to see nearly a third of the delegates applauding loudly
whenever they saw the banner. It was even better to see the large
number of women from Catholic, Islamic, Sikh, and other patriarchal
faiths who stood up to cheer, even though their male leaders were
frowning fiercely.
So the Parliament was a grand experience for Neopaganism in general.
We networked with other polytheistic groups present, including Native
Americans, Hindus, and Shintoists. We were able to explain ourselves
to a large number of sympathetic and interested reporters, as well as
liberals from the religious mainstream and other minority belief
systems. We even managed to get three Neopagan representatives (Lady
Olivia of FOI, Lady Cara-Marguerite of LVH, and Deborah Ann Light of
COG, FOI, ESC, ADF, and several other groups) into the elite(ist)
subset of 200 "spiritual leaders" who met during the last three days
of the Parliament to approve an official statement on global ethics.
As for ADF's benefits from my attendence, they were not as high as
they might have been, had we had financing to attend further in
advance. FOI, COG, Circle and ESC were able to join as "Co-Sponsors"
of the Parliament early, giving them slots in the programming and time
to get press kits and such together. Of course, co-sponsorship, press
kits, and renting hospitality suites probably cost each of these
sibling organizations a few thousand dollars each (not to mention
airfare, food, and lodging expenses). Their investments paid off in
increased access to both delegates and the media.
I brought along a few hundred ADF brochures, which I passed out along
with cards listing our new 800 number (1-800-DRUIDRY). These have
resulted in at least one "follow-up" interview about Neopagan
Druidism, which should appear soon in the Atlanta Journal &
Constitution. If we had had a professional looking press kit, and an
information booth or hospitality suite in which to hand it out, we
might have been able to generate more press interest. If we had been
able to send several of our Senior Druids, we would have been able to
share our liturgical and artistic excellence with the world.
As things were, operating on our usual shoestring budget, I was able
to do some useful networking with leaders from other religions --
including a Chinese Taoist master who is 1/4 Irish and very interested
in ADF! I was also able to meet many delightful Chicago-area Pagans,
do a couple of lectures at local metaphysical shops (Light of the Moon
and The Occult Shop), and it looks as if we will be having several new
members and a new Grove there soon!
On a personal level, I met and/or was inspired by wonderful people
from many other Pagan and non-Pagan faiths. I found the common thread
was one of simple human decency being valued more than doctrine.
Perhaps the world's problems aren't all caused by monotheism per se,
as I have tended to believe, but by what Sam Webster calls "mono-
thesis-ism", dualism, fundamentalism and fanaticism. We have more
allies in the world's other religions than we may have believed.
I am also beginning to get a clearer idea of Neopaganism's role in the
history of America and the world. I'll discuss this at length in the
Samhain issue of DP (#11). In the meantime, my deepest thanks go to
the anonymous ADF member who made this adventure possible. May the
Earth Mother cast many blessings upon your generous head!