so....I'm asking this because there's presently two religions, I guess I'd say, that I'm interested in: Taoism is one, but Gaelic polytheism is the other. so far I haven't really found anything in either that says you can't try and be both, but at the same time, I think it's expected that when you settle on a religion, you settle on one religion, you don't try and practice two at the same time. but I really like both of them so far, and obviously I'm going to keep researching and learning, but I don't know what to do if I end up liking them both equally....so I guess I'm wondering if people think that following both is a possibility. the reason I ask is because....so a while back, I was considering really following my heritage, and picking one of two paths in the Abenaki way, and following it until I became a full-fledged member of the tribe around here. but the thing is, you can't follow either path and also be a witch or anything, and I really enjoyed being a witch. still kind of do, but I haven't found anything in Taoism saying I can't be that and Taoist. but my point is: the Abenaki "religion", since that's in essence what their religion is (picking one of the two paths to follow), was incompatible with following any other religion, because it wasn't allowed by their religion. I know I haven't found anything yet that explicitly states that I can't try and do Taoism and Gaelic polytheism....but would it be frowned on to try and be both? would it be inadvisable? I mean, if you can't even practice magic while following the Abenaki path you choose (my magic at the time was unconnected to any gods of any kind, but it still wasn't an allowed thing), then wouldn't it stand to reason that if I follow Taoism, I should probably give up the polytheism and the witchy stuff? I just don't know if what I do now and what I want to do is compatible here--I'd like to be a Gaelic polytheist and a witch, but also a Taoist, and I can't figure out which one to give up if I have to give one up, so I thought I'd try and see if people thought they could be compatible first. if not, I guess I'll figure things out, but....anyway. opinions?
I honestly don't see a reason why you couldn't? I mean, as long as the two aren't ones where one of them flat-out forbids following anything else, it doesn't seem like there's too much incompatibility going on? It's like polyamory, I think. Not everyone's got the capability to love multiple people at the same time and to do it in a way where everyone's being treated ethically, but that doesn't mean that doing that is a Wrong thing! And similarly, not everyone's got the spoons for following multiple religions (and a lot of people are probably brought up to an idea of "you can only pick one at a time" if they've got a concept of being able to switch at all), but that doesn't mean that following multiple religions is a Wrong thing either. And Gaelic polytheism + anything that's not going "nope, if you pick me you can only pick me" seems pretty dang compatible, to me. Although grain of salt that I'm saying this at 4 in the morning, having not yet gone to bed. (But I'm still not seeing any conflicts here.)
I think the idea that a person can only hold one religion at a time is probably cultural. In Japan I stayed with a family who engaged in both Buddhist and Shinto practices. Apparently it's not unusual in Japan to have more than one religion. I wish I could faithfully reproduce some of the explanations and clarifications I was given regarding the lack of automatic conflict with holding more than one belief system. I remember with Shinto and Buddhism, something about how they were so different they tended to cover different spheres of life. Urggh, how could I forget something so interesting? Anyway, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to have multiple religions. If it is breaking some Western cultural norm, that might explain the feeling of discomfort. I bet the worst of it will pass pretty quickly.
it's....not so much breaking a Western cultural norm, I don't think, as it is breaking a Catholic cultural norm--and while I am presently about as far from Catholicism as I can get, I was still very, very much raised in it and forced to go through First Communion and Confirmation and all that bullshit, so everything they believe is still pretty ingrained in my head, and while being polytheist is obviously breaking the whole "worship no other god than me" rule, following TWO religions feels like breaking that even more. not to mention that Christians in general are very....segmented. you can't just be "Christian", you're Catholic or Methodist or Baptist or Coptic and so on, and you can't be TWO of those things, you can only be ONE, and that was also very ingrained in the church I grew up in. so it feels, in a way, like breaking a bunch of cardinal rules--but since I don't even follow that faith anymore, there's not really much reason for me to be bound by those rules anyway, so hopefully if I do the thing, the discomfort will pass relatively soon.
oh boy!! I think i might be able to help a little with the catholic cultural dissonance! My mom basically found she wasn't getting the fellowship she needed at our local parish, so our family wound up attending not only the local parish, but also the local church of the nazarene. double services, double sunday school, hella confusing. BUT. I came out of it with a much more scriptural interpretive base than I might otherwise have had. Even if lots of protestant sects don't consider catholics to be christian, that doesn't stop catholics from pulling from their materials to supplement their own in faith formation, in small groups, lots of smaller ministry things do not originate with catholic authors. And if you take a look at catholicism from the outside what with the trinity and the pantheon of capital S saints, it's not as though you're a far cry from having grown up around what many consider quasi-polytheistic to start with. I think @Aondeug may have some relevant thinks if you haven't previously interacted on this topic. I know Aon has looked seriously into both Buddhism and Gaelpol things.
Leonard Cohen, if I am informed correctly, used to describe his religious views as "Zen Judaism", on the grounds that neither religion contradicted the other or had incompatibilities.
It wouldn't be frowned upon to try out both at once. Or even to follow both at once. I will say that Gaelpol and Taoism might be a bit hard to manage at once, especially where pacifism is concerned. Taoism tends to be very pacifist in my experience, and while you do have your pacifist Gaelpols many very much aren't. Also I mean like half the gods are war gods? Even the happy hearth goddess of momming and happy cuddle loves and soups is a war god. In that she both makes the weapons and wields them. Which isn't to say you can't manage both. Simply that you may come across bits that seemingly contradict ideal wise. Like a sort of beginning "Don't get discouraged" tip, yeah. If you ever need someone to talk to about the Gaelpol thing or difficulties with trying it and another religion at once I'm definitely open to it. And open to questions. I can't guarantee I can answer them but I'll try my best.
It depends on the religions, but I'm a huge supporter of heresy, so even if one of the religions says you're not allowed I would probably still personally give you a thumbs up.
