Pledging to Patron Gods: Harmful or Beneficial?

[Heartsong]

I recently read a very thoughtful, interesting article on heathen women pledging themselves to single deities, but I thought at the time that it could certainly apply to pagans that worship outside the Northern pantheon. The author raises some pretty interesting questions (at least to me), but what caught my eye was this specific passage:

I understand the desire to reach out to the gods and want them to reach back. Sometimes, however, this notion of selecting only one [a Patron] seems to be a byproduct of the monotheism that many people were raised with, either by societal standards or through familial religious convictions. For a long time now, a singular omnipotent presence that can identify with us on a personal level has been considered the norm. And for many people, this is a comforting point of faith, one that’s central to most mainstream religions.

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2014 ... z33mY7cH3f

Is the practice of having a Patron deity actually more harmful than it is beneficial? And what I mean by harmful is, are we limiting ourselves, as the author suggests? Are we cutting ourselves off from other gods from whom we could also glean important lessons? When we choose (or are chosen by) a single deity, are we simply falling back into old, comfortable patterns? Perhaps trying to justify to monotheistic religions our beliefs? A kind of "Hey, I only really worship one god too, you know, so quit judging!" I'm not sure I've come up with an answer to these questions, and I realize that this is going to be a pretty subjective topic, but I would absolutely love to hear what y'all have to say about it!

[Holdasown]

Even those who are monotheist don't really work with or worship one being. The Christians have a trinity, who while one there are three distinct energies and are prayed to separately. Muslims work as much with Mohammad as Allah. Also many are called to the clergy and to me that is what a Patron is. I don't think it's unreasonable to say a Patron is not a product of monotheism. There are many god in some pantheons and no one can form close bonds with all of them. Most people will tell you they work with one to more closely, offer to some, are a god spouse or priest. I think it's natural to have one friend in a group your in so why not the same with gods. No one ever seems to question when you are tied to the big ones like Odin or Thor. Especially if your military or male but mention you consider Freyja a patron and your "Wiccatru" or a false Heathen.

If you are drawn to call your main god or goddess enough to call them patron is usually something people ponder a bit. I consider Holda mine and I haven't found her to be upset by that or that any other god seem to care and it doesn't impede my worship of any other gods.

[seidkonacat]

I really don't think special devotion to a certain God or Goddess is a product of monotheism. Priestesses and Priests of specific Gods and Goddesses have existed before the Age of Antiquity. There's no problem in identifying in a certain member of any given pantheon. Having a special devotion to one Goddess or God (while acknowledging and respecting the rest of the Deities) is a perfectly reasonable way of doing things. The real problems, in my opinion, only arise when you start to deny that OTHER parts of the pantheon are irrelevant or simply don't exist.

[loona wynd]

You raised some good questions so I am going to try and answer them individually.

Is the practice of having a Patron deity actually more harmful than it is beneficial?

I dont see how its harmful.

And what I mean by harmful is, are we limiting ourselves, as the author suggests? Are we cutting ourselves off from other gods from whom we could also glean important lessons?

I don't believe so. I mean I believe that our Matrons and Patrons choose us for a reason. That reason is typically a lesson we need to learn or something like that. They can also be bringing out our personality traits and there to help us become something more. I dont believe that just because we work with one God more than others we are limiting our self. I say this because I feel that there is no reason to limit ourselves when we work with one God more than others. To me it makes sense to develop relationships with the other Gods in the pantheon as well. That way when we have something that we need to work on, or if we want to learn more about the other God and their culture we still can.

When we choose (or are chosen by) a single deity, are we simply falling back into old, comfortable patterns? Perhaps trying to justify to monotheistic religions our beliefs? A kind of "Hey, I only really worship one god too, you know, so quit judging!" I'm not sure I've come up with an answer to these questions, and I realize that this is going to be a pretty subjective topic, but I would absolutely love to hear what y'all have to say about it!

Again I dont think so. I dont believe that having a Patron makes us monotheistic. In the simplest fashion if you believe and worship primarily one God in a pantheon how can you not believe in the other gods in that pantheon. In this fashion you are not really monotheistic at all. You are just dedicated to and may be a priest or priestess of a specific deity. That doesnt exempt relationships with other deities. It just means you do the rituals and religious work focused on one deity and learn the mysteries associated with them deeper than you do other Gods.