Authority and Community

Authority has been the largest portion of the conversation so far. And by far, it’s the biggest issue of contention for me in this entire debate. Quite frankly, I think most people are wrong- and that might be putting it lightly.

Practically every post and response involved in this discussion has contained some addendum about how we “don’t need to have anyone with authority within the community”… That there’s “no need for resources”, and is “no need to raise people into positions of authority” (spiritual or otherwise)… That “we don’t need to be like other Communities” in order to function.

Their reasoning?

Well, as one child put it:

A community is not made by specialists, nor by leaders, spiritual or otherwise.

And then went on to further clarify more simply- and more vaguely:

I don’t think that [having community leaders] would really lead anywhere good.

It’s been blatantly obvious this past week that we as Celtic* Polytheists have an extremely negative view of authority and what it means; we have a knee-jerk and ultimately negative reaction to it… No one wants it, and no one wants others to have it.

I don’t like the way the discussion is going in concern to authority- nor what it means for us moving forward as a Community. I don’t like this assertion at all.... In fact, I hate it; it, and the other assertions like it that have been echoed by other users, honestly makes my skin crawl. And it does so because of the mentality that ultimately hides behind phrases like this.

Outside of our own negative experiences with people in authority (because abuse of authority happens), there is no real or legitimate basis for this kneejerk reaction concerning all authority- and Spiritually, it makes no sense to me.

For one, Priests and Priestesses have been a part of religion since religion was conceptualized- if not shortly after; And when we look at the Governmental systems under which the religion we follow flourished, it becomes even more self evident: Clearly defined authority structures existed in nearly every case; there has always been a dedicated clergy whose responsibility it was to lead or perform ritual, guide the laypeople, and teach them the nature and practice of their religion.

Quite ironically, this clear divide between the priestly cast and the laypeople of faiths around the world, is something which is brought up fairly frequently- not just in regards to community. But for some reason, when it comes to the issue of actively building communities amongst ourselves? We push back against the idea that these structures could be continued into modern Paganism.

But we cannot erase or ignore that because we’re uncomfortable with the idea due to our own modern traumas; cherry picking is not an option. 

I don’t just dislike it because it makes little sense in context of our faith, however… I ultimately dislike it because these assertions are, and will always remain, wrong.

Authority is gained several ways, has a multitude of meanings, and even has several integral functions. On its own, it is not inherently bad– and neither is having people in positions of authority. While some people certainly abuse it, the careful organization of a Community can go a long way to curbing this. And not everyone is going to abuse that authority, either.

Ultimately, though, it’s integral to the flow and longevity of a Community.

If you want a close knit, long lasting, fully functioning, and supportive community? Then you have to provide things with value to those who are members of that Community.

This means organizing group events. It means making resources available. It means having people on hand to answer community questions, and having people to deal with community problems and conflict. The list goes on; if you have any hope of having a long lasting community, then these requirements (and others) are not things you can simply opt out of having.

But if you are going to provide these things? Then at some point you need people to step up… You need people to take action; to take responsibility for organizing the various elements of a community that are required for it to function.

And when people step up and take that responsibility- whether it is for organizing resources, organizing group events, and so on? You can do that as democratically as you’d like. But they will inherently be placed in a position of authority within the community.

The division and creation of authority it is a byproduct of any sort of Community building- and it happens naturally whether we want it to or not; as Devo of The Twisted Rope chimed in on the discussion:

I know you mentioned that you didn’t think leaders were necessary, but I do think that they will naturally form to some extent. Over the years, I’ve found that people seem to naturally be drawn to those who have more experience, have more information or knowledge or advice for learning. And to an extent, anyone who pushes content out regularly, and makes themself accessible and open to others will likely eventually find themself with some amount of following, and therefore might be considered a “leader”.

Even by simply being a part of the conversation about Community Building, contributing ideas or encouraging Community Building discourse, we are each becoming authorities that new Community members will come to or look to for guidance in the future… And this happening whether or not we are actively seeking that authority.

Whether you actively seek to have authority or not, by putting yourself front and center -or by taking responsibility and action- you are going to gain it regardless… But ultimately it is up to use to decide what having that authority means, and how we handle having it as a community.

[…] A lot of people seem to really hate the idea of a person in a position of power, but to some extent I think it’s unavoidable due to the nature of people. What’s important is making sure your leaders and power-holders don’t misuse that power, and do right by the people that are supporting them.

However we decide to handle it, though, we can’t keep pretending that we can have a functioning Community without it; refusing to recognize how authority functions, how it can be gained, and what it means is counterproductive if we want a long lasting community.

Our extremely negative kneejerk reaction to even the slightest mention of authority is ultimately going to bite us in the ass in the end if we continue down this path of thought.