Due to an unusual abundance of like-minded people, theatmosphere at the biannual PATHS FAQ Night on Thursday more closelyresembled an intimate theological discussion than aquestion-and-answer session.
Of the 13 people who attended, three were members of PATHS andthree were members of Texas Christian University’searth-based religion group, which was founded last semester. Thiswas the first time the two organizations came together for anevent.
Amy Dominguez, president of PATHS, said tonight was unusual inthat the questions asked were very philosophical. She said thatusually the questions asked are very basic, citing a list of topfive queries, including, “What does “pagan”mean?” and “Do you do human or animalsacrifice?”
“Because we’re pagans, people often go, ‘Whatthe heck does that mean?'” Dominguez said. She saidstudents often have an incorrect perception of pagans, and that thegoal of FAQ Night is to give people an answer to any questions theymight have about who PATHS members are or what they do.
“If you keep to yourself, you let people have enough spaceto think bad things about you,” Dominguez said.
PATHS stands for “Pursuers of All Things Holy andSacred,” and although its members do not all practice thesame religion, they believe that all things are divine, and theydraw spiritual inspiration from the earth and environment. Membersworship a variety of gods and goddesses, ranging from Greek andEgyptian to Native American pantheons.
Although tonight’s session went smoothly, Dominguez said,”We never know what to expect. We hope for the best, webelieve in the best.” But she said that the group alwaysprepares for the worst. Dominguez said the organization always hasa cell phone with the university Chaplain and the SMU PoliceDepartment on speed dial at every meeting.
PATHS member and professor Susan Harper-Bisso recalled a meetingwhere it became clear these security procedures were not unfounded.Harper-Bisso said the members had just finished meditating at theirweekly meeting, and participants were taking turns describing howthe activity had been beneficial to them.
“It’s a very vulnerable time,” she said.
According to the professor, it was at this point that a visitorstood and announced that the message he had derived from hismeditation was that they were all “a bunch of Satanists, andhe was there to pierce our hearts with the sword of god.”
Harper-Bisso recalled that he had made a point of standingbetween the group and the door. “He trapped us in our ownmeeting,” she said.
The University Chaplain was called immediately, and no one wasphysically harmed, but even incident like this has made memberswary. Dominguez said that she feels PATHS has to take moreprecautions than other groups do, and related this feeling to whatmany Muslim students experienced after 9-11.
“Any religious minority on campus is aware of the thingsthat could go wrong,” said Dominguez. “I think that forour group that’s more of a daily thing.”
Despite the fact that they do feel a need for heightenedawareness, both the TCU group and PATHS remarked on what theyconsider uncanny tolerance on the part of Christian-basedorganizations.
“The Christian groups here are awesome,”Harper-Bisso said. She noted that no group has disrupted any PATHSevent or ritual, and that there has not been any officialprotesting.
Megan Thomas, president of the TCU group, said that she waspleasantly surprised at the interest level in earth-based religionson the TCU campus. After transferring from the University ofWisconsin in Madison, which Thomas said has a lot of pagan groups,she sent out an e-mail to students asking if anyone was interestedin starting an earth-based religion group. According to her, theresponse was much greater than she expected.
Members Siobhan Bailey and John Mark agree and said thatalthough they only have about five core members, many more attendthe meetings. Bailey said that she intends to start a group at theUniversity of Texas in Dallas when she transfers there nextyear.
