The Pagan Blog Project E Is For Women Equality And Paganism

Today was International Women's Day!Did you know that International Women's Day is not a modern holiday? It has been observed since in the early 1900's. Every year on March 8, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate how far women have come. These international events range from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.THE 2013 THEME"The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum" is the 2013 theme of the internationalwomensday.com website. The theme is described as "Over time and distance, the equal rights of women have progressed. We celebrate the achievements of women while remaining vigilant and tenacious for further sustainable change. There is global momentum for championing women's equality."International Women's Day has this to say about women's equality:"The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men."PAGANISM AND WOMEN'S EQUALITYOne of the things that I love about Paganism and Wicca is how women and men are viewed as equals. Being a Pagan has done more to empower me as a woman than anything else I have ever done in my life. My favorite and most empowering statement is "Thou art Goddess." Paganism has helped me understand my power as a woman, the sacredness of being a woman, and understand how religious beliefs have done more to suppress women throughout time more than anything else. I understand how the world for the most part is a patriarchy.Now I am not blaming Christianity. Not entirely anyways. Women were suppressed long before Christianity came into the picture. Catherine Noble Breyer brilliantly explains in her article Power of Pagan Women about how there is a tendency in Wicca to lay the blame solely on Christianity. In reality, this a myth. According to her article, it's the Roman empire that we need to blame.I was initially drawn to Paganism partly because of inequality and how it's affected me as a woman. My favorite memoir is Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd. The book is about how the experience of women's inequality led her to feminine spirituality. However, I must admit when I was in my twenties I thought of Paganism and Wicca as being feminist religions. I've gotten older and wiser and now understand Paganism and Wicca are religions for ALL living things no matter what gender and no matter if they are human, animal, or plant. Joseph Bloch has written an excellent article on the topic. In his article Is Paganism Inherently Feminist?, he comes to the conclusion that being a feminist is not a requirement of Paganism.There are Pagans and Wiccans that differ on this though. Many see feminism as being inherent to Paganism. The writer of the blog Inner Sanctuary feels this way. "Pagans recognize and respect the sacred nature of both men and women, and promote gender equality." BBC Religions also sees this as an inherent part of Paganism. "Paganism strongly emphasizes equality of the sexes." Patheos says the much same thing. "Paganism generally endorses feminism and accepts a post-patriarchal understanding of gender. Nearly all segments of the Pagan community regard men and women as true equals."So while being a feminist may not be a requirement of Paganism, one has to wonder if the two ideas can really be separated.Other women, such as Kelley Heckart, have found the one place they feel equal is in Paganism. She writes "I have nothing against men. I just want to be treated as an equal, to have a voice when it comes to connecting with the higher powers of the universe. With paganism I found that necessary balance that I needed in my life."Some believe the feminist leanings of Paganism and Wicca are the very thing that will bring about equality. In her article What is Paganism? Judy Tatum writes, "In addition to the important mandate of environmental activism as a religious responsibility, the manifestation of Divinity in female form carries the most potential for impact upon our society today."Sue Monk Kidd in her memoir I mentioned earlier agrees. She writes "Likewise, if the key symbol of God is that of a male king (without any balancing feminine imagery), we become a culture that values and enthrones men and masculinity." Starhawk, one of the most well known feminist Pagans in all of history, feels it is far bigger than just Paganism. Witchcraft is only one possible path for feminists. In Womanspirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion by Carol P. Christ and Judith Plaskow she is quoted as saying, "I see the next few years as being crucial in the transformation of our culture away from the patriarchal death cults and toward the love of life, of nature, of the female principle. The craft is only one path among the many opening up for women, and many of us will blaze new trails as we explore the uncharted country of our own interiors."The "next few years" part is possibly the most interesting. Why? Because sadly this quote was published in 1979. I wonder if Starhawk could have even imagined that in the advanced year of 2013, the cultural times would be described as a "War on Women." I'm sure she would agree with me when I say we need feminine spirituality now more than ever."This post has been part of the blogging project The Pagan Blog Project 2013. This is a year long blog party where you blog on pagan topics from A to Z."