Anarchist positions on religion
Since individual anarchist positions on religion and spirituality are as diverse as the individuals themselves, the terms in the following list merely describe gradations that most positions fall under; they are not to be mistaken for official categorizations of religious Anarchist sects.
- Anarcho-Atheistic position: Religions and deities are inherently authoritarian and therefore undesirable.
- Anarcho-Monotheistic position: (1) God is to humankind as a wise mentor is to an apprentice or a loving father to a child, not the sort of authority to which most Anarchists object. (2) God is the only true, rightful authority.
- Anarcho-Pantheistic position: There are no individual Gods, but Gods are not necessary in order to have a strong spirituality. Humans should strive with one another to achieve a natural equilibrium without coercion from government.
- Anarcho-Polytheistic position: (1) Deities are representatives of human nature (archetypes) and have no true power. (2) Deities are to humans as wise mentors are to apprentices or loving parents are to children, not authority-figures in the sense to which most Anarchists would object. (3) Gods are the only true, rightful authorities.
- Anarcho-Spiritualistic position: Supernatural entities and forces are unknowable. The only laws that are true must be discovered through spiritual self-development, not by any church or authority. Alternately, "Anarcho-Gnosticism."
Anarchist themes in religion
Anarchistic and anti-authoritarian movements have played significant roles in the development of certain religions, particularly those that arose during a class struggle. Some of these are viewed as having explicit anarchist teachings.
Christianity
According to some, Christianity was an originally anarchistic movement. Jesus is said by these folks to have come to overthrow Jewish law; he supposedly taught that the only rightful authority was God, not man, and replaced the law with the golden rule. See also: Christian Anarchism
Stregheria
Stregheria, from c. 1350 CE onwards, is a religion based around the teachings of Aradia de Toscano. According to Stregheria, the wealthy Christian class made slaves of the poor, who fled from their oppressors and became thieves and assassins and began to make homes for themselves in outlaw camps in the Alban Hills surrounding Lake Nemi. Aradia, after her initiation into a Dianic Witchcraft cult, began to councel them and take pity on them. She became known as La Bella Pelegrina (The Beautiful Pilgrimess) and after supposedly receiving a vision from Diana, came to believe she was the spiritual incarnation of Aradia (goddess), and became revered as such by the outlaws. She taught them Witchcraft, and methods to curse their wealthy oppressors.
The religion originally honored the god Lucifer, the goddess Diana and their daughter Aradia (goddess), and came to adopt a Christianized view of Lucifer and Diana; Lucifer became a brave rebel who opposed the tyrant God of the Christians, whilst Diana became a nearly Lilith-like figure.
The Benandanti, Witches employed by The Church to combat the followers of Aradia (labeled the Malandanti), eventually joined the movement when they too became the target of the witch-hunts.
The religion has no central authority or authorities in the strict sense, however deities are honored as wise teachers.
Vodun
Vodun, like Stregheria, evolved as a religion by which slaves were able to reconnect with their cultural roots. Like Stregheria, it was somewhat influenced by Christianity as it did so.
Discordia
Discordianism has been accused of being merely a prank, but as a religion resembles Situationist ideas and other core anarchist sentiments. The surreality of Discordia certainly rings of anarchism, even if it is only ontological.
See Also
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