war and paganism

WAR AND PAGANISM

Neopaganism embraces a wide range of spiritual and cultural traditions, as far as contempt for war is concerned, it can be said that it is an ideal shared by almost all groups although not by all; Most schools of thought promote pacifism because it is in line with their worldview and values, it must be remembered that some groups perform rituals for the promotion of peace and some members are also activists.

The concept of immanent Divinity leads to consider all forms of life sacred and worthy of respect, it is from this consideration that a well-known principle of Wicca shared by most pagans derives: "do what you want without harming anyone"; when promoting the sacredness of life, love and respect for nature, including human beings, tolerance, temperance harmony with the surrounding world and individual freedom automatically distance themselves from all the forces that trample on these values; in contemporary paganism, needlessly killing a living being is considered an offense to the Gods because the Gods are present in all beings.

Paganism disapproves of the patterns of domination and exploitation, including the dynamics of power and conquest that characterize armed conflicts; listening to the lessons of history, one realizes that war is a failure, From the lessons of the past it can be deduced that at the end of hostilities most ordinary people are defeated whether they are on the side of the vanquished or on that of the victors; In almost all conflicts there are not the good guys and the bad guys as they want us to believe with the various more or less veiled disinformation propaganda, unfortunately there are only the bad guys, the good guys are those who risk losing their homes or even worse their legs under the bombings.

War is a manifestation of the disharmonies and deep spiritual disconnection in the world; it is a force that threatens freedom and prosperity, with its devastating impact it causes unnecessary damage to all beings and to the Earth; For all these considerations, most pagan spiritual currents promote the search for peaceful solutions.