Julian Society Membership Opportunities

II. The opportunity to focus directly on Pagan religion and its history, rather than diluting your religious efforts with the usual gamut of "alternative" social issues.

In recent years Paganism has come to be not just associated, but equated  with various modern social issues and lifestyle choices.  Because of this civil activism is often considered the same thing as religious participation. It can get to the point where one doesn't feel they're a true Pagan unless they march in such-and-such a parade or demonstration, belong to half a dozen political and social organizations, or participate in any of a variety of civil/social events. While there are indeed many social issues deserving of the time and focus of Pagans, the Julian Society believes that focus on purely religious matters is vital. 

The Julian Society has been founded on the belief that Pagan religion itself is a worthy social goal. Rebuilding the worship of the ancient Gods is so important that is not only a worthy independent goal - it is a crucial focus that is dangerous to ignore.  We do not of course discourage social activism for those interested in pursuing it - we rather seek to provide a spiritual balance to all the tangential social efforts that seem to sidetrack Pagan thoughts and efforts to a disproportionate extent.  

The Julian Society promotes religious participation  before social activism. We seek to be a place where the myriad of alternative distractions can be laid aside for a time. Therefore we seek to love Paganism in the way that Julian loved the Gods and Philosophy;  as a thing of beauty that is grand enough to inspire us fully, and important enough to command our full attention.  We encourage our members to live our various lifestyles as responsible people - and also to focus on Pagan religion responsibly as well.  

An interesting way to evaluate alternative social issues is to evaluate them in the light of Pagan religion itself. One can plug almost any modern lifestyle or cultural agenda into this question: "Will involvement in __________ truly help to rebuild Pagan religion, or would rebuilding Pagan religion rather help to solve the overall issues with _________?"  As often as not one will find that rebuilding the influence of the ancient Goddesses and Gods, and the religions that honor them, is the most efficient way to solve modern concerns that try to pull our attention away from spirituality. 

Therefore, members of the Julian Society get a chance to act on behalf of Pagan religion that has become a rarity in the modern world.