People in minority religious communities, like Paganism, often feel isolated and even marginalized by others because of the lifestyle differences associated with their spiritual path.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It appears to be in the nature of religion itself to be prejudiced against those who are different.
Religion creates community, community creates altruism and altruism turns us away from self and towards the common good... There is something about the tenor of relationships within a religious community that makes it the best tutorial in citizenship and good neighborliness.
Call it a case of observer bias on my part, but Humanist Paganism seems to be an emerging option for those who want to be part of the Pagan community, but who want to be a little more intellectual about their practices, and they really don't care about the 'woo' anymore.
I had a multicultural exposure; that's why I don't believe in a particular religion. I have respect for most because I grew up surrounded by so many. I don't judge people by that, and I feel extremely offended when people categorise based on race, religion, or gender.
A lot of people are simply interested in exploring their own spirituality, their own values, who they are, whether they're happy where they are.
Minority is about being an individual. It's like you have to sift through the darkness to find your place and be that individual you want to be your entire life.
It is an accepted commonplace in psychology that the spiritual level of people acting as a crowd is far lower than the mean of each individual's intelligence or morality.
Religion is often just tribalism: pride in a group one was born into, a group that is often believed to have 'God' on its side.
I think people are isolated because of the nature of human consciousness, and they like it when they feel the connection between themselves and someone else.
At the risk of sounding like a spoilsport, I'd say that pagans have about the same experience of otherness and isolation as anyone else. We're not special in that regard. But this is because the problem of loneliness is almost universal - and that, to my mind, makes it much more serious.