"Larper" is a term that gets thrown around too loosely

[Beautiful Border]

Add to that the fact they aren't even practicing anything close to actual pagan beliefs, just the shit that happened to be transcribed by monks centuries after the fact. It's really juvenile. At least with atheism/agnosticism, there is an attempt to have a coherent worldview and make sense of the world we see. Paganism is for mentally unbalanced people to LARP that they have superpowers or some shit and it's so readily obvious, that it's a joke in and of itself.

You're taking them a little too much at face value. If pressed most of them will admit that they don't actually believe in the gods they're purporting to worship, even Varg (probably the only avowed pagan who is close to being relevant) has admitted this on occasion.

My take is that pagans are just people who are looking for some kind of community to belong to and a sense of identity. People do this with all sorts of things, and in this particular case the community is formed around an interest in "the gods of their ancestors" or whatever. This is actually true of most niche subcultures, by the way - including "tradcaths" and most westerners who convert to things like Russian Orthodoxy, as well as a lot of people who become furries and troons. They're just lonely people looking for a connection, and if it works for them then I won't begrudge that.

 

[Geddy Lee's Fee and See]

You're taking them a little too much at face value. If pressed most of them will admit that they don't actually believe in the gods they're purporting to worship, even Varg (probably the only avowed pagan who is close to being relevant) has admitted this on occasion.

My take is that pagans are just people who are looking for some kind of community to belong to and a sense of identity. People do this with all sorts of things, and in this particular case the community is formed around an interest in "the gods of their ancestors" or whatever. This is actually true of most niche subcultures, by the way - including "tradcaths" and most westerners who convert to things like Russian Orthodoxy, as well as a lot of people who become furries and troons. They're just lonely people looking for a connection, and if it works for them then I won't begrudge that.

I'm not mad at them for being lonely and wanting connection. That's a fundamental human need. I just find it so strange you have to make shit up and pretend you believe it just to find that connection. That is acually insane.

Same thing goes for tradcaths, orthobros and prautists (although even that isn't as comparible, since they are LARPing about their devotion to an already existing ideology, not making one up). You are better off finding a community of people that have similar interests and hobbies than LARPing about your beliefs to find genuine companionship in this increasingly lonely world. I can't stop them. I just find so strange people lie to themselves to attain what they could with just basic introspection into what they like, what they might like or trying something new in terms of activities. Most people just do different things and go to different clubs to meet new people typically, not gaslight themselves into a new belief system.

 

[melty]

It grinds my gears slightly when people use LARP to refer to something done online. Larp is live action role play. Internet role play is just rp.

 

[SwanSwanson]

practicing their faith sincerely, and building it up in real life

Its because modern society makes it easier for pagans and makes it hard for Christians and muslims.

 

[Lone Wandering Courier]

Its because modern society makes it easier for pagans and makes it hard for Christians and muslims.

Not really considering several pagan symbols are treated as hate symbols by the (((ADL))) and much of the pagan community is made up of White nationalists. Being a chr*stian is way easier since there are still literally churches everywhere.

 

[Magical Abductor]

I'm not mad at them for being lonely and wanting connection. That's a fundamental human need. I just find it so strange you have to make shit up and pretend you believe it just to find that connection. That is acually insane.

Same thing goes for tradcaths, orthobros and prautists (although even that isn't as comparible, since they are LARPing about their devotion to an already existing ideology, not making one up). You are better off finding a community of people that have similar interests and hobbies than LARPing about your beliefs to find genuine companionship in this increasingly lonely world. I can't stop them. I just find so strange people lie to themselves to attain what they could with just basic introspection into what they like, what they might like or trying something new in terms of activities. Most people just do different things and go to different clubs to meet new people typically, not gaslight themselves into a new belief system.

I would say your missing an important aspect for some people, which would be being virulently anti-semitic and also interested in religion. A fair few new age pagans are just lost boys who have recently found an interest in religion but are anti-semitic to the point of discounting the option of believing in any abrahamic religions at all. If you come at it from that perspective your options are more or less vedic hinduism and paganism or make up your own schizo ideas, but if you want a community its basically only paganism.

 

[Charlie Rockwell]

A lot of people are LARPing because at the end of the day they have floppy morals and won't stand up for them when pressed, or don't really know much about what they say they believe in in the first place.

 

[Linako 2.0]

If you come at it from that perspective your options are more or less vedic hinduism

I saw that happed in some small pockets of the internet, but it gets shot down because Americans love beef too much and see vegetarianism as fake and gay.