I was wondering about the various reasons for not participating, and how much weight each carried in the pagan community. It could be, as you say, that people just don't want to "come out" as pagans because it's still too misunderstood in the culture at large. Or maybe pagans WANT to participate but other Judeo-Christian groups reject them. Or maybe pagans aren't formally organized enough (by choice or by flakiness) to get it together to try. Or maybe they reject labels (but have to have something in order to find each other).

Personally I'd love to see pagans go work side-by-side with other religious and spiritual groups at soup kitchens, building houses, peace vigils, etc. I'm sure lots of pagans do plenty of volunteer work as individuals, but I think it could be healthy for society to enlarge its perspective about earth-based spirituality.

Amy, if the group is 501c 3 organized as a charitable, educational, or religious organization it is eligible for grants. Many groups choose not to apply, for the official status or for the money for the simple reason that it makes them beholden to our governmental agencies.

Our group is 501c 3 and active in a small way with charitable works and outreach but our area is so conservative that I doubt very much we would be welcomed on an interfaith council of any sort; if you're not one of the many varietals of Christianity you're really not welcome. There is a Buddhist monastery near us but I don't believe they are active in the area interfaith council either. However, we DO have plans for interfacing with the local law enforcement agencies regarding Wiccan/Pagan/Satanist type activities, doing educational programs and presentations etc. We've already had members of religious studies classes attend some of our events and it was enjoyable for everyone all the way around.

Yes, part of the problem IS the threat of losing one's job if one's religion is known; my husband and I both have been forced out of jobs because of it. We're both happier now, but it really sucked in the meantime while doing a major career turn. We don't flaunt it but we refuse to hide it either. It's such a major part of who we are, and so integrated into our lives, we feel it would be wrong to make a job more important than our lives.

Regarding the earlier comment, I don't think being a Pagan group automatically means you must be involved in environmental stuff...at least as a group. Not that it's not important because it is, it's just that we all have a limited amount of time to devote and I would guess many groups choose to focus their efforts on an official basis elsewhere, as our group does -- we do public education at our public events and always welcome questions (just not DURING the rit) regarding the focus of our group. We are heavily involved in charitable activities, operating a small food/clothing bank, adopting a family for the holidays each year, and things of that sort. That really occupies much of our council's time and we don't have much to devote to anything else. Individuals in our group however, are heavily involved in all sorts of things that the group as an official entity isn't.

There are benefits and drawbacks to being 'official' vs informal/not official but it's really up to the people involved. Many in the Pagan world have all the good intentions there could be but simply don't have the maturity to follow through. Give it time, allow for burnout, do research, and you'll see that the Pagan world is a microcosm of the larger world around us.

I beleive that they can apply for federal funding, I recall vaguely reading something about that back in my college days (about 3 yrs. back), when our local group was researching things of that mannor prior to one of the first "I am"/Pagan Unity Campaignes...

Also, in my experience this is correct, a lot of them aren't comfortable w/everyone and their dog knowing that they're pagan. Plus (and I'm sure someone'll be pissy at this) I know a lot of pagans who shy away from large social gatherings, and are a bit to flighty to be in large organized groups. (Not all are, I know, and that's not a bad thing, just what I've seen in the past).

You mention the UU church and that leads me to a question I have had on my mind for quite awhile. What faiths/ spiritual practices are explored and tolerated in the Unitarian Church ? There is one nearby where I live, and I have heard that Pagans are sometimes welcome at the Unitarian Church, but other times I have heard that it is mostly Christian. Can someone provide clarification of this for me?

meaning we all have different views, gods, goddesses, deities, etc.