PIETY

Of all the virtues espoused by ADF, piety has always been the easiest for me. Perhaps it was a childhood of getting up to go to church far too early every Sunday morning whether I wanted to or not; whatever it is, I have always had an appreciation for the physical activities of religious practice. I remember still playing in the backyard when I was 9 or 10 or so, where there were some partially broken cast-concrete pyramid-shaped things of indeterminate origin that some former tenant had abandoned. I set up a sort of temple and made offerings of pine needles on the pylons. I had no idea what I was doing and would certainly never have admitted to any Pagan impulses as a good little Lutheran boy, but whenever I consider the question of when I first felt a pull towards piety, this is the memory that comes to me.

I don’t remember so much discussion of praxis vs. belief when I was involved with ADF in the late ‘90s but it seems to be a hot topic currently, and I think this is an excellent aspect of our religion to consider. I have been involved in several “flavors” of Paganism each of which espoused different theologies of the nature of the divine, and I still feel that all these approaches are valid ways of envisioning the divine. I think that the important thing as humans and as people trying to walk a virtuous path is that we pursue a relationship with the divine as we understand it, and I think that human experience bears out the notion that the divine—whatever Its true nature is—responds in kind to that pursuit. ADF’s espousal of discrete polytheism is a valid way to approach the Gods, and regardless of one’s own theology, be it polytheist or pantheist or duotheist or even ultimately monotheist or monist, all that is required for ADF purposes is to approach the Gods as distinct entities as part of ADF practice. Belief has little to do with praxis, and what binds us together as Pagans and especially as ADF Druids tends to be our praxis far more than our uniformity of belief.

Our methods of approaching the Gods then become methods of cultivating virtue within ourselves. As we regularly approach the Gates and make our offerings, we build the network of reciprocal relationships with Gods and Spirits that enable us to live full lives in the worlds. Only through piety, through regular relationship-building activities like this, will the real work of Our Druidry produce a person who is connected to the Kindreds and able to put Their wisdom to work in the worlds.

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