Over the years I have found myself in the position of creating earth-centered ceremony for my Unitarian Universalist congregation. The intent of these events was to fuse a naturalistic sense of place with a loose Wiccanate structure, in order to…
Read MoreDe Natura Deorum is a semi-seasonal column where we explore the beliefs of Naturalistic Pagans about the nature of deity. For the rest of this month, the theme here at HP is “Inspiration”. Some of our contributors have shared their…
Read MoreI have never had a supernatural experience.
I have never seen a ghost, a spirit, a wraith, or a shade.
I have never witnessed an inexplicable omen.
I have never heard the voice of a god.
My god box is empty.
To me, collective religious ceremony and shared devotional practice is not something peripheral, but is the very center of religion. It is the core that holds everything together. I believe without such shared practices, religious community will fall apart, but there are still enormous challenges to developing religion centered on communal ceremony.
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