Hindu statesman Zed welcomed at Pagan Pride Day

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed was welcomed at 10th Annual Pagan Pride Day on September ten in Sparks (Nevada, USA).

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, met with area Pagan leaders Laura Fitzpatrick, Margie E. Ewen, Tony Howard, Ellyn Darrah, and Wolf Carnahan. He was taken around the festival which included booths, food, music, drumming, workshops, magic, rituals and children’s activities. Food collected on the occasion reportedly went to the Evelyn Mount Community Outreach program.

Laura FitzPatrick of Children Of Temple Earth, later thanking Zed for the visit, said: “…it was a joy to spend time with and I look forward to more shared events”.

Rajan Zed says that all religions are different ways to relate to the Divine, different responses to the Reality and are a positive sign of God’s generosity. A more inclusive understanding of religion is needed and we should learn to live together with mutual loyalty despite our seriously different faiths, Zed adds.

Participating groups in the Day festivities included Sacred Earthwalk Spirit Lodge, Pagan Alliance of Nevada and The Children of Temple Earth. The non-profit Northern Nevada Pagan Pride Project provides information to non-pagans about Paganism, works to make the area a safe place for Pagan community, and participates in charity and community projects. According to rough estimates, there are about 10,000 Pagans in Northern Nevada, who include Druids, Wiccans, Shamans, Alexandrian, Norse, etc., besides eclectic Pagans.

Recently, Lincolnshire County Council in United Kingdom allowed its schools to teach Paganism to students along with six other world religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism). Charity Commission for England and Wales has given official recognition to Druidry as a religion.

Various faith groups are sometimes categorized under the broader umbrella of Paganism; like Norse, Celtic polytheism, Hellenismos, African traditional religion, Chinese folk religion, Wicca, Germanic Neopaganism, etc.