Thank you for this! You raise many great points. I hope to have the time soon to respond to some of your specific observations.
I certainly agree with you about the subjectivist solipsism problem. Pretty much everything intellectually inflicting western culture right now has been downstream of enlightenment rationalism (as you point out) and sola scriptura. And as you suggest, Neopaganism is kind of the leading edge of where these trends have ultimately led.
Neopagnaism has mostly functioned as a fandom rather than a proper religion. Fandoms usually are places for adult hobbyists and enthusiasts to gather over some shared interest; they're not places to bring the whole family to. And then there's the issues within Neopaganism that a lot of its adherents are antinatalists.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2025-10-02 07:13 pm (UTC)I certainly agree with you about the subjectivist solipsism problem. Pretty much everything intellectually inflicting western culture right now has been downstream of enlightenment rationalism (as you point out) and sola scriptura. And as you suggest, Neopaganism is kind of the leading edge of where these trends have ultimately led.
Something that just came to mind regarding your point about pagan community being almost totally unable to perform ordinary community functions, is this article from awhile back:
https://www.churchofasphodel.org/articles/why-my-aunt-judy-isnt-a-pagan-or-how-far-we-still-have-to-go.html
Neopagnaism has mostly functioned as a fandom rather than a proper religion. Fandoms usually are places for adult hobbyists and enthusiasts to gather over some shared interest; they're not places to bring the whole family to. And then there's the issues within Neopaganism that a lot of its adherents are antinatalists.