It’s safe to say this time of year is full of both the honorable and the horrifying. As Chalicecentre.net puts it, “Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry of celebrations from October 31st through November 5th, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery.” 

As we round out the month of October, perhaps you’re finishing up a Diwali celebration, visiting family members’ graves for Day of the Dead, or dressing up for Halloween. There’s a lot going on! Yet more conflicting holidays are on the way.

All Saints’ Day

When is it celebrated? Christians will celebrate this holiday on November 1. A holy day of obligation, Catholics are required to attend Mass tomorrow.

Who is being celebrated? All Christian saints and martyrs. Some saints are celebrated on specific days throughout the year. But on this day, saints and martyrs are celebrated collectively.

What are saints? Saints are deceased individuals who are honored for the good lives they led and the miracles associated with them. Catholics may ask the saints to pray with them or for them, as they are closer to God and may pray for those in need.

Want a history of the celebration? Visit Newadvent.org.

All Souls’ Day

When is it celebrated? Christians will celebrate this holiday on November 2.

Who is being honored? All the dead. Christians may pray for them, visit their graves, or simply reflect on the lives and deaths of loved ones. Often they pray for the souls of loved ones who may be in Purgatory.

What is Purgatory? Catholics believe Purgatory is the place where souls go if they are not being damned to Hell for grave sins but are not yet ready for Heaven because they have not yet paid for minor sins. In Purgatory, souls must be cleansed of sins in order to eventually move to Heaven. When loved ones pray for or hold Mass in honor of those souls, it is believed it helps them move to Heaven.

Want a history of the celebration? Visit Newadvent.org.

Samhain

When is it celebrated?  Wiccans/Pagans will celebrate this holiday on November 2. Samhain is one of the four main festivals of the Celtic tradition. (Another is Beltane, similar to Samhain except that it marks the beginning of Spring.)

What is being celebrated? Beginning with the Celts/Druids, pagans celebrate the end of summer on Samhain. This is their new year, as it marks both the end of harvest and the beginning of a new season. During this time, Wiccans pay respects to the dead. Others use this time to make supplications of the dead and practice divination.

What is divination? Divination involves connecting with the spirit world. At certain times of the year like Samhain, it is thought that divination is easier than at other times. Divination can involve invoking spirits, asking questions of the dead, interpreting dreams, and necromacy (or magic related to death).

Want a history of the celebration? Visit Chalicecentre.net.

According to a report from Dr. Kristin Aune, a University of Derby sociologist, women are leaving the church in drones, due primarily to the masculine hierarchies and traditionalist ideologies.

Wicca for women

Instead, women are turning to Wicca, the pagan witchcraft tradition. In Wicca, emphasis is placed on both the god and the goddess, often giving more prominence to goddesses and female witches (practitioners of the religion). Wicca, Aune told reporters, offers working women a solution to religions that no longer fit into their busy lives. And they offer more opportunities for leadership than churches: for example, the Catholic Church will not ordain female bishops (though female priests are allowed).

In other words, Wicca has given women a sense of relevance when other religions have not. And Aune believes when religions offer women greater roles, those women will return to those religions.

What about men?

But according to one reporter, men are the ones leaving the church – not women. And why would they leave? Because the church is actually too feminine.

UK Telegraph reporter Jonathan Wynne-Jones says as many women as men are now being ordained as church leaders (i.e., beginning to take over the leadership ranks). Churches are stressing balance, trying to use “he or she” in phrasing and sometimes calling God a woman or referring to “our mother Jesus.” Not to mention, by taking traditionalism out of worship services, church-goers are left with emotions only, something “soft,” as he puts it.

Men, he thinks, will return when church services are bold, structured, and, well, masculine.

What do you think?

Do you  notice more men or women leaving religion? Why do you think they’re really leaving? Is it really a power struggle?