Toronto Pagan Pride

2009	2008	2007
2006	2005

Photography by Samantha Wu

Pagan Pride Project in Canada and the United States

The first Pagan Pride Day was held in September 1998, with only one event being held in Canada. Since then, Pagan Pride has grown in Canada, the United States and other parts of the World. Canada has become one of the largest supporting countries of the Pagan Pride Project.

Pagan Pride Project was founded in the United States by Cecylyna Dewr and started as a movement to promote understanding and acceptance of Pagan spiritualities.

We have the intention to improve attitudes towards earth-based spiritual practices through our information resources, public events, and media contacts and we hope to challenge intolerance through education.

We wish to present the value that our paths can bring to society, while emphasizing that we do not seek converts but ask that each person honor the Divine in the manner that seems best for him.

Members of modern Pagan and Neo Pagan religions tend to value ecology as an extension of their view of the Earth as sacred and all life as interconnected; hold a paradigm that embraces plurality, supports civil rights, and advocates personal freedom; hold ethical standards that require personal responsibility; be well-read and interested in learning; focus on self-help, emotional and psychological growth; and be keenly aware of each person's right to believe as he chooses, believing that to impose one's beliefs on another is harmful.

While some people may feel that the phrase "Pagan Pride" is too confrontational, it is an effective phrase to communicate how we feel. We are proud of the Gods we revere and the ways we celebrate! While we recognize that our path is not a path for everyone, we claim the right to take pride in what we practice.

From Cecylyna Dewr's article Why Pagan Pride?
© 1998 Cecylyna Dewr. Permission to use in connection with Pagan Pride specifically granted