20th Annual Kansas City Pagan Pride Day

From 20th Annual Kansas City Pagan Pride Day Website:

20TH ANNUAL KANSAS CITY PAGAN PRIDE DAY

Harvest Festival Craft Faire
Sunday, 9 September 2018, 10am-6pm
Merriam Marketplace, 5740 Merriam Drive,
Merriam, KS 66203

There has never been a better time in American history to be a Pagan!

In the space of a single generation, Paganism has blossomed from relative obscurity to a thriving community. Our spirituality has been recognized on military tombstones, and our clergy have invited by several statehouses to offer opening blessings. Pagan groups are increasingly common on college campuses and military bases. A new generation of Pagan children has been born and raised within our traditions. There are is an increasing number of books and internet resources to include podcasts, website, on-line educaton and blogs. And there is more diversity than ever within Paganism so that each of us can find the practice that calls to our soul.

But

There is much still do do.

Because of religious intolerance, fueled by misunderstanding and fear, those who have chosen to follow a Pagan religious belief often cannot live their lives openly and honestly. . Too often they see themselves surrounded by others that seek to dehumanize those that do not believe the same as they do. They silence. They shame. They intimidate and terrify people from openly proclaiming what they believe. Though they might never make a racial slur or discriminate based on gender, we find that they still exhibit religious discrimination because they believe that there is only one valid religion, or because they were simply misinformed about another's religious practices. They fail to understand that tolerance is not enough. They need to realize the value of plurality of opinion, background, and viewpoint, especially in an increasingly global community.