Karis Burkowski offered this seminar at the University of Waterloo with an audience of 32 persons.
Who are the Neo-Pagans? Why is this new yet ancient spirituality growing so rapidly?
While paganism does not proselytize and has no intent to displace any other religion, it offers an alternative to those who are seeking.
Paganism respects and empowers those who have felt powerless in other religions. Women are drawn to it because it has a Goddess as well as a God, and because it honours women as spiritual leaders and priestesses. In an age of environmental crisis, pagans see the Earth as sacred and learn from observing Nature. Pagans recognize themselves as children of the Universe, evolving with it and co-creating it.
Pagans keep things simple: Celebrate life. Harm none.
Paganism is a form of spirituality well-suited to the modern temperament, with no gurus, no hierarchy, no dogma. In today’s rational, knowledgeable world, it does not require belief in texts written when the world was flat, or faith in a far-off deity. Paganism is a personal path of self-exploration, growth and responsibility. It shows us that our lives are spiritual journeys and provides a genuine and direct experience of the Divine.