30 Day Paganism Meme: Day 29 ~ The future of Hellenismos

Like any minority religion, the future of Hellenismos is dependent upon those who practise it. People have to be dedicated not only to traditions, culture, and mythology, but also to growth: Population growth of the community (be it through “family building” or through outreach), spiritual growth, and the growth of organisations and informal groups that are and will become the public face of Hellenic polytheism — from umbrella groups like YSEE to generalised ritual groups like Hellenion to Thiassoi both big and tiny dedicated to all of our gods and goddesses from Zeus to Hera to Dionysos to Aphrodite to Eros to Gaia-Kybele to Asklepios to Hekate to Priapos to Kirke.

With this growth, there should be both dedicated de-facto clergy and community builders, and always at least a slightly larger number of “laity” — people who are religious, but who prefer a role as part of the masses, not as one in a spotlight within the religion. After all, if the social sciences have proved to us nothing else about ourselves, they have shown that the influence of a priest or city councilman has a far lesser effect on what we do with our lives than our friends and families.

I’d like to see the erection of new temples and the increase of semi-public and public dedicated sacred spaces within my own lifetime. This can only happen with not only people dedicated to making it happen, but also dedicated to acquiring resources; I’ve seen people with only part-time employment raise the funds and equipment to film feature-length underground-indie films, so while I know that many (if not most) Hellenistai are far from rich, I also know that a few people dedicating themselves to fund-raising for lasting projects can do it. The projects probably will take several years to finalise, but it’s possible with the right people channelling the right dedication into the right areas.

I’d also really like to see a certain mentality, or at least a certain camp that champions it, to basically lose the last remaining threads of genuine respectability it clings to, because the underlying game of “divide and conquer” that camp is best known for will become the downfall of Hellenismos if enough people are either stupid enough to get sucked into it, or apathetic enough to ignore the need for a necessary attention to everything that is at fault with that sort of thinking. Don’t become consumed with bringing others down &mdasjh; but don’t be so naive as to assume that a certain “Pope No-Life & His Talking Butt-Plugs” can’t bring real harm to a community if left unchecked; when everything one touches turns to rust, it’s best for others to take note of that and, like a colony of ants who’ve noted a member infected by cordyceps, reduce that member’s ability to infect others with the brain disease.

I’d like to see a reduction of growth from Christianity, at least to a greater extent than what’s alleged in some more recent surveys, and especially a reduction in its most harmful sects: Fundamentalists and Evangelists. I have little, if any problem with the meat-and-bones of things the composite character of “Jesus” is said to have said, and so I have no problem being asked to tolerate Quakers, Menonites, Shakers, other pacifist sects, and basically any Christian who will not pose a threat to those exercising their right to freedom of religion. Political clowns and “real-life Internet trolls”¹ like Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, Glenn Beck and others pose a real threat to polytheism, if given any sort of power. For any Hellene to advocate any such person who advocates that sort of “religion” into a public office is to take a dump on the altar of the Theoi and on whatever hero-cult to United $tates “founding fathers” may exist:

“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” —Thomas Jefferson

“Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the Common Law.” —Thomas Jefferson

“If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their turns been persecutors, and complainers of persecution. The primitive Christians thought persecution extremely wrong in the Pagans, but practiced it on one another. The first Protestants of the Church of England blamed persecution in the Romish Church, but practiced it upon the Puritans. They found it wrong in Bishops, but fell into the practice themselves both here (England) and in New England.”
—Benjamin Franklin

“The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.” —James Madison,1803 letter objecting use of gov. land for churches

“Have you considered that system of holy lies and pious frauds that has raged and triumphed for 1,500 years?” —John Adams

“The divinity of Jesus is made a convenient cover for absurdity. Nowhere in the Gospels do we find a precept for Creeds, Confessions, Oaths, Doctrines, and whole cartloads of other foolish trumpery that we find in Christianity.” —John Adams

“The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my profession.” —Adraham Lincoln

I’d also like to seem in my lifetime, true peace and harmony for polytheists in Hellas. While her people have decriminalised Their worship (all of five years ago), there are still social injustices faced by many who do so with any degree of public knowledge. This is also a problem I want to see eradicated within the Anglosphere, but it exists to a far lesser extent in recent years. I know this may be a little too much to ask, but if you don’t ask, then you never know what you might get; if you do ask, then there’s at least a chance.

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^{1: Quote goes to my humanoid meat-based house-mate.}

List behind cut:

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0. Intro to meme
1. Beliefs – Why Hellenismos?
2. Beliefs – Cosmology
3. Beliefs – Deities
4. Beliefs – Birth, death and rebirth
5. Beliefs – Sacred sexuality
6. Beliefs – Divination, mysticism and various woo shit
7. Beliefs – The power of prayer/reciprocity
8. Beliefs – Festivals
9. Environmentalism
10. Patrons – Eros
11. Patrons – Apollon
12. Pantheon – Moisai
13. Pantheon – Adonis & the Flower Boys
14. Pantheon – Nyx & Kybele/Gaia
15. Pantheon – Every-One Else
16. NNymphai, Khthonoi, & The Dead
17. My ways of worship
18. Community
19. Hellenismos and my family/friends
20. Hellenismos and my love life
21. Other paths I’ve explored
22. Hellenismos and major life events
23. Ethics
24. Personal aesthetics and Hellenismos
25. Favoured ritual tools, and why
26. Any “secular” pastimes with religious significance, and why
27. How Hellenismos has helped me in difficult times
28. One misconception about Hellenismos you’d like to clear up
29. The future of Hellenismos
30. Advice for seekers