Pagan Prompt: What do you say?
pagan_prompt asks: "If the topic of religion and/or spirituality comes up in conversation what do you say? Are you open and vocal about your pagan beliefs? Do you tailor what and how much you say based on who you're talking with?"
I definitely tailor my answer based on the person(s) I'm talking with. If asked directly I will not lie, and I have a handful of answers in a scale of detail:
But man, oh, man the audience makes a difference. I'm out to my friends and some of my family members (I have a beloved family member who probably wouldn't take the news well and am putting off telling her), as well as some folks at work. But I don't go out of my way to bring it up, especially at work. When I was teaching and tutoring, I scrupulously did not tell people I worked with. I live in Silicon Valley in one of the suburban areas, which means it's more tolerant than say, the Bible Belt, but still pretty white bread suburban. (Which is hilarious because there are so many minorities here. Hell, I can get to Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, and Muslim religious buildings without getting on a freeway! But a local elementary school banned a spelling game which used wizards a few years ago because it might teach the kids magic, so... yeah.)
Now that I'm in the more open-minded tech industry, I'm out to some of my coworkers, but only the ones I'm particularly friendly with. I do have a witchy calendar in my cube, but that's mostly in protest over my dotted-line boss's Mormon calendar in his cube. I do wear my above-mentioned necklace every day and usually over my clothes, but almost nobody asks about it.
I definitely tailor my answer based on the person(s) I'm talking with. If asked directly I will not lie, and I have a handful of answers in a scale of detail:
- "I was raised United Methodist."
- "I was raised United Methodist, but don't go to church anymore."
- *smile and hold up necklace bearing a pentacle, faery star, and tiny yin-yang* "Does this tell you anything?"
- "I'm a neo-pagan."
- "I study Anderson Feri witchcraft."
But man, oh, man the audience makes a difference. I'm out to my friends and some of my family members (I have a beloved family member who probably wouldn't take the news well and am putting off telling her), as well as some folks at work. But I don't go out of my way to bring it up, especially at work. When I was teaching and tutoring, I scrupulously did not tell people I worked with. I live in Silicon Valley in one of the suburban areas, which means it's more tolerant than say, the Bible Belt, but still pretty white bread suburban. (Which is hilarious because there are so many minorities here. Hell, I can get to Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, and Muslim religious buildings without getting on a freeway! But a local elementary school banned a spelling game which used wizards a few years ago because it might teach the kids magic, so... yeah.)
Now that I'm in the more open-minded tech industry, I'm out to some of my coworkers, but only the ones I'm particularly friendly with. I do have a witchy calendar in my cube, but that's mostly in protest over my dotted-line boss's Mormon calendar in his cube. I do wear my above-mentioned necklace every day and usually over my clothes, but almost nobody asks about it.