I've been talking and corresponding with some people to gather information for an essay I plan to write tonight. I have also been spot checking blogs and forums.

It looks like some of my feelings about "Pagan Community" are shared by others.

I put this up in a reply to comments for this post, but I think it had wider application than I thought.

❝As a serious scholar, I am at best a half-assed philosopher, but I suspect that the need to classify faith may have started with the rise of monothesim and by implication, the True Faith™. It's something I haven't really taken the time to explore, probably because I am not really sure how to examine the assumptions of people long dead.❞

Aside from the social aspect, most of the examples of "Pagan Community" I have seen lately have excluded people. It seems like the ones making the strongest calls for a "Pagan Community" are the last ones I want anything to do with.

That is True Faith™ for you. "We're in the right and you're wrong and we're BETTER because of that."

I want to know about people as individuals. I want to know if I can enjoy a meal with them. I want to know if I can play with their kids. I want to know if I can scratch their cats or stroke behind the ears on their dogs. I want to know if I can walk around their yard without stepping on something valuable. I want to know if they use their fireplace. I want to know what kind of feelings their house holds.

I guess I am more interested in good neighbors than I am a "Pagan Community." And I don't think I am the only one like that.