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British Pagans - it's census time!

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    British Pagans - it's census time!

    Well, fellow Brits, it's that time of the decade again. When the census form, with its warnings about fines if you don't return it, plops onto the doormat. It has a voluntary religion question. What to do? What to do?

    There's been a campaign called 'PaganDASH' (http://www.pagandash.org/) in which the idea is we all write

    'PAGAN-(insert path here)'

    in our forms. So I'm PAGAN-HEATHEN. The aim is to ensure we aren't underestimated by officialdom, which tends to happen. I'm doing it.

    Please at least consider it. I can understand why Pagans might not want their religion recorded on the databases of the government, but they do base policy on this stuff. For example the humanist society points out that, thanks to the 'Jedi' campaign last time, 400,000 non-believers didn't get counted (assuming all the 'Jedi' were non-believers - I have my doubts) and that this skews the believer/non-believer data the government uses to decide funding.

    So are you going to do it? Why?
    * * *
    You can find some of my creative writing at http://libbyscribbles.com

    #2
    Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

    If i fill out the census myself i will, although i don't know what i'd put.... Perhaps pagan-atheiest, however chances are my mum will be filling it out and because none of us are religious she'll probably leave it empty.

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      #3
      Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

      There's a section for each individual which includes the religion section, so if you wanted you could ask her to fill it out with whatever you feel appropriate. There is a box for no religion.
      * * *
      You can find some of my creative writing at http://libbyscribbles.com

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        #4
        Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

        It's almost Census time here too (August 9). I'm not sure how the religion section looks, I think it's tick-boxes. I'll probably put Pagan of some description.

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          #5
          Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

          Just completed mine online and I put Pagan down. I don't know that it will do much as I think just putting Pagan rather than with specifics would have made more sense. I just hope enough people actually do it rather than hide it.

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            #6
            Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

            I need to fill out mine, I keep forgetting!

            I will be writing Pagan-Wiccan (Wicca being the closest Pagan path to my own), I have no issue sharing my (general) religious beliefs with the government, I just hope that more recognition of Paganism is made.

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              #7
              Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

              I'm glad to hear others are doing it
              * * *
              You can find some of my creative writing at http://libbyscribbles.com

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                #8
                Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

                I filled mine in online and put Pagan-Witch. Wasn't sure what else to put and this seemed to be the closest I could get
                http://thefeministpagan.blogspot.co.uk/

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                  #9
                  Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

                  I will be filling in mine as Pagan - Kemetic not filled it in yet though. Another one of the guys i work with is putting down "Pagan" More for a joke, like the Jedi thing last time around.

                  hopefully Paganism will be more accepted this time around and the government can ignore us just like everyone else, rather than singling us out to be ignored. after all they wouldn't be doing their jobs if they had to ignore us all individually, when we can be put into a block group and ignored as a collective.

                  M
                  In the end, only you know if you were right or wrong, so tolerate others beliefs, no matter how wrong, they may be right...

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                    #10
                    Re: British Pagans - it's census time!

                    Lol...

                    Having laughed though - I've been to some very ernest interfaith events with government officials and representatives from the police, nhs and fire-service. Partly the reason they're so interested is because they need to understand the larger faith groups (particularly muslim groups) in their attempts to keep communities happy, but they were all warm, fuzzy, very liberal people (even the Tories) whose buzzword was 'inclusion'. They sit on committees and councils throughout the land and they want us to participate. There was a level of polite frustration about how hard it is to get Pagans along to these things. Of course you could justifiably ask whether any of these interfaith committees will ever actually achieve anything and I not so sure they will, but hey they're trying in their own 'minutes and quorums and will someone be secretary?' sort of way. And if we'd like to be taken at least as seriously as the Buddhists, we need to be there next to the Buddhists, saying 'hi'.

                    Oh crap. I seem to have talked myself into going along to the next interfaith event I get invited to...
                    * * *
                    You can find some of my creative writing at http://libbyscribbles.com

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