In their third year of trying, Doug Hubbard, Tina Porter and Susan Bergeron have not given up on the idea of having an Alternative Religions club at Sinclair Community College.
“It’s hard to get people to commit themselves to put their name on a list that says they are pagan because there is still so much prejudice,” Bergeron said.
Bergeron believes a lot of prejudice against paganism comes from misinformation and incorrect stereotypes, especially around Halloween.
“One statement I always like to say (is) ‘My god is not a manifestation of the demon figure of your religion,’ which unfortunately a lot of people like to think,” Hubbard said.
Hubbard, a staff member in the Bursar’s office, will serve as the group’s advisor. He said the prospective club will be diverse and discussion based. Though they may visit religious sites such as churches and parks, Bergeron said conversion to or from paganism would not be a part of the group’s activities.
The group defines alternative religion as anything that is not Judaism, Christianity or Islam, according to Porter. She said one of the group’s objectives is to expose the different ideas in western and eastern religions.
“I ask for an open mind when it comes to religion because there are so many different viewpoints,” Porter said. “Look at how many sects of Christianity or Islam there are… There’s at least three major branches of Judaism and they don’t all agree on the same thing, but they’re all lumped (together).”
Bergeron said one of the main obstacles that keeps the group from becoming a recognized club is “active student,” or registered student, involvement. Though many people have expressed interest in the club, she said it’s difficult to start because everyone must be registered for classes at the same time. She’s hopeful that the club will have 10 students or more very soon.
Hubbard, Porter and Bergeron said they have received many types of feedback about the prospective club, including interest, excuses, mockery and fear. Hubbard said that some people can’t tell certain alternative religions from cults like Heaven’s Gate while others want to know what’s going on without being involved.
“Getting pagans together is like herding cats, and that’s unfortunately more accurate than most of us would like to admit to,” Porter said.