Pagan association stops meeting

Marshall University's Pagan Association, which once received national media attention, no longer meets on campus.

Marty Laubach, professor of sociology at Marshall and faculty advisor for the Marshall Pagan Association, said no one from the association has contacted him this semester and the members may no longer be together as a group. He said the association most likely did not drift apart due to conflict within the group, but because members have become more involved with their studies.

George Fain, former president of the Pagan Association, worked to establish the pagan group at Marshall in spring of 2007, Laubach said. A September 2008 story in The Parthenon reported that Marshall received national media attention for recognizing Paganism as a religion.

Laubach said it is typical for pagan groups to disband after a short amount of time because of the pagan emphasis on individualism. Some members of the association were known as "solitaries", meaning they worship alone.

"Pagan groups are notoriously unstable," Laubach said. "Smaller groups come and go very quickly. Groups will last as long as the people can get along together."

Clayton McNearney, religious studies professor at Marshall, said it is expected for student groups to stay together for only a short amount of time. He said students are initially active and interested, but eventually graduate and become uninvolved in the group.

"A group is held together by leaders. When the leaders aren't there anymore the group dies out," McNearney said.

He said Neo-paganism, like Christianity, is not confined to just one set of beliefs. Pagans can be involved in Wicca, Egyptian beliefs, Voodoo, Shaman practices, and many other belief systems.

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a pagan is defined as a follower of a polytheistic religion, meaning they worship more than one god.

Laubach said even though pagan groups don't stay together for long, research indicates an increase in the number of people turning to alternative religions, while the number of Christians in America continues to decline. The attraction of these belief systems may lie in individualism.

"It's growing because it's so individual. People can tailor it to their beliefs," Laubach said. "The ceremonies are fun, and it appeals to people who are open and seeking a religion."

He said paganism is especially attractive to feminists because they worship goddesses as well as gods.

Shannon Miller can be contacted at miller535@marshall.edu.