Thanks very much for posting this! First off, I sympathize with the "passing as a normie" side of things, as I've got a family and a respectable job, and I lack tattoos and wear mostly socially acceptable clothing. That being said, I have come to be comfortable with the term "heathen" when I think about "what is it I do religiously?" but I don't exactly introduce myself that way at parties.
I think a big part of what has worked for "Druidry" is that "Druid" was never really used as a pejorative the way "pagan" and "heathen" both originated. When the Romans met Druids, they were just some foreign priesthood, and by the time Christianity came around, they were long gone. So, when it got revived as a term, it didn't have much baggage, but it had the advantage of being a) short, and b) highly specific.
The chief challenges I see with your proposed terms (such as "Ancestral Way" or "Ancestral Faith") is that they are not as brief and not as unambiguous. For very many folks, "Ancestral Faith" would mean Christianity, because it's what their ancestors for any distance they can readily trace back followed. "Ancestral Way" might mean anything from a way of religious belief to a diet that rejects processed foods. "Pagan" and "heathen" both at least address these particular concerns well, at the cost of trying to re-appropriate some pejorative terms. Naming stuff is hard!
In the spirit of not offering criticisms without offering solutions, I might put forward these suggestions, without any particular attachment: 1. The Old Way/Faith 2. The Elder Way/Faith 3. The Way of Godhi 4. The Troth (this has some baggage these days, due to specific organizations that have used it) 5. Holy Way
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2022-02-12 04:34 am (UTC)I think a big part of what has worked for "Druidry" is that "Druid" was never really used as a pejorative the way "pagan" and "heathen" both originated. When the Romans met Druids, they were just some foreign priesthood, and by the time Christianity came around, they were long gone. So, when it got revived as a term, it didn't have much baggage, but it had the advantage of being a) short, and b) highly specific.
The chief challenges I see with your proposed terms (such as "Ancestral Way" or "Ancestral Faith") is that they are not as brief and not as unambiguous. For very many folks, "Ancestral Faith" would mean Christianity, because it's what their ancestors for any distance they can readily trace back followed. "Ancestral Way" might mean anything from a way of religious belief to a diet that rejects processed foods. "Pagan" and "heathen" both at least address these particular concerns well, at the cost of trying to re-appropriate some pejorative terms. Naming stuff is hard!
In the spirit of not offering criticisms without offering solutions, I might put forward these suggestions, without any particular attachment:
1. The Old Way/Faith
2. The Elder Way/Faith
3. The Way of Godhi
4. The Troth (this has some baggage these days, due to specific organizations that have used it)
5. Holy Way