Scotland’s Pagans are hoping to address MSPs for the first time as they continue their journey from derision and persecution to official recognition.
The faith, which holds nature to be sacred, held sway in the British Isles for centuries before being displaced by the arrival of Christianity.
The Scottish Pagan Federation (SPF) is today celebrating its 50th anniversary and will mark the milestone by requesting to have a representative deliver Time for Reflection in the Scottish parliament debating chamber.
The weekly four-minute spot has featured representatives of Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism and Humanism, as well as a number of denominations of Christianity and non-believers.
Steffy Von Scott, the presiding officer of the SPF, believes it would show how far they have come.
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“Fifty years ago you could still lose your job or livelihood, have your children taken away by social services or have a brick thrown through your window, just for being Pagan,” he said. “Today we have more approved celebrants than ever and more legal Pagan weddings taking place in Scotland than those carried out by the Mormon or Jewish faith communities.
“We have Pagan university chaplains, Pagan literature available in hospitals and have a Pagan tick-box in place in the Scottish census, a result of much campaigning.
“These things speak volumes, while Linda Haggerstone — our chaplain at Glasgow University — gave a keynote address at the official interfaith event at Cop26 last year.”
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Von Scott added: “Having a representative deliver Time for Reflection to MSPs at Holyrood is most definitely on our list of things that we would like to achieve.
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“We have never been invited to take part before but feel it would be appropriate to do so in our anniversary year.”
The SPF is also keen to have Paganism included in the religious and moral education curriculum.
“Teaching children and young people about the realities of Paganism, alongside other faiths and belief systems, would be the best way to overcome prejudice,” Von Scott said.
“Our surveys showed that some of our younger members are facing discrimination in schools not just from their classmates but, in some situation, from teachers too. That is unacceptable.”
Before its inclusion in this year’s census adherents would have to state their religion in a catch-all section of “other faiths”, alongside Zoroastrians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Taoists and self-proclaimed Jedis.
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A spokesman for the Scottish parliament said there was nothing to stop MSPs from inviting a Pagan speaker. “Time for Reflection provides a weekly opportunity for MSPs to come together to reflect before a meeting of the parliament commences,” he said.
“Contributions are welcome from those of both faith and non-faith backgrounds.”
Modern Paganism has its roots in the early and mid-20th centuries and most devotees believe in the divinity of the natural world and the cycle of life and death.
The UK Pagan Federation was formed 50 years ago, while a separate but closely affiliated Scottish federation emerged 20 years later.
