How do I find a "pagan" or "gothic" type "church" in my area?

I am Goth, and it is in no way a religion or a 'spiritual view' that is going to help you along your path of enlightenment. Goth is a subculture. it is a way of thinking first and for most, second most a way of dress that reflects said thinking, and third most, a music that sums those thoughts in an expressive manner other than clothes. That is Goth in a hand basket.

Now as for your edit, it can, by some, be viewed as more than that. It is, after all a way of life. It is a view point (mostly dark) thats can make the person who is following said subculture feel as if it is a religion, but it is not. It is a mindset, a way of dress, and to some, a music culture, depending on which Goth you ask.

We Goths are Intelligent people, and come in all forms and religions. Goths are, for the most part, non judge mental about who you are, so long as you know what you are and make such decisions on your own based on what you feel or know to be true verses what society tells you is true( though some books can seem real, some are no better than the misguided judgements of the christians who tell everyone they are wrong and going to hell for not believing them..not trying to pick on anyone).

However, if you meant that you want to go to a 'church' with the Gothic look to it, like the Norte Dome, then i would suggest you look up Church's in your area with historic backgrounds that are deep into the Gothic design of the middle ages. There is usually always one in each big city, as it is a very elegant and sturdy structure. That does not, however go to reason that the people who practice their religion inside of said church are as elegant or sturdy as the building itself.

Now as for the Pagan part of your question. You will find no 'church' that supports paganism or any branch of it. A church is a building that houses a group of people for the perpose of worshiping to a higher power (my own defintion by the way). Namely, most churches are only for those of faiths that support the belief in one higher power. The christian church (or Catholic church, though is still technically a part of Christian religion. do not believe me, look it up, i gave a link.) Judism also mave churches, though they are typically called Synagogues.

As for which branch of pagainsm, it is a decision only you can make. I am currently studing Wicca which is a nature based religion. If you enter into a Coven you will not find them huddled together in a 'church' and being read to from the 'bible'. It is nothing like that. covens practice outside. Nature is the church. A ritual can be anywhere, a meadow, a mountianside, a fresh garden. Even in your own home. It is what you make it, so long as you keep to the basics of loving the Goddess and the God, along with a heartfelt love for nature.

I, too, was raised a christian. I feel i have had Christianity shoved down my thorat since birth. I was never given the chance to learn there was more religions than just chrisitanity. at the age of eight i embraced the religion, knowing nothing else. Though i am but 22 yrs old, i have spent a great deal of my life on a spiritual journey. I remember being eight and never feeling saved. For years, everynight, i begged, pleading and fought with god to save the soul everyone told me was in danger of hell.

When i was a young teen, by best friend became Wiccan. He is still very dear to me. After he changed religions, i was curious about it, but never presued it. It wasn't until i took a world religions class that my eyes opened. For years now i have studied Wicca, fascinated by it, and loving what it taught, though i never concidered leaving Christianity. I was in fear of leaving. it was all i knew, after all and people just do not usually change over night.

It actually turned out to be Christians themselves that made me want to leave it. They constantly shove religion down your throat, with no care to your feelings or thoughts. They are the most judgemental people i've met with no care that they do not practice what they preach. I was actually kicked out of Church of being Goth once, though i had gone to that church my entire life. I started to really dislike christians, though i was one. I started researching the religion i was following. What i found was not flattering.

Needless to say i no longer consider myself Christian, and have been studing Wicca in earnest, as it calls to me as nothing else does.

If you want to learn about Wicca, or paganism in gerenal, go to the library, and check out as many books as you can. Read them. If you feel that it might be right for you, then do it and let nothing stop you. If you wish to practice in a Coven then just get online and go to some Wicca sites. Some, if not most, will have links to covens. if none have your area, then try doing a local search. If that does not help, you can always try myspace and look up websites of people who say they are in a coven in your area, and try to talk to them about it. Whatever way works for you. If you try it and it does not suit, then it is your right as a human to change your mind and try something esle until you find that reiligion or spiritual outlook that calls to you. It is your life and you deserve to live it as you see fit and no one else.

If you wish to become Goth, then i encourage you to research that as well. Know what you are and embrace it always and never go into anything blindly. That is something only the ignorant do, and you do not strike me as an ignorant person. I will give you some sites of Wicca and Goth to help you out. Never stop learning . Never stop finding out who you are.

"To thine own self be true"

Note : if you like i will go check out hat book you mentioned and read it, and get back to you with my thoughts on it. I may read it anyway as i am curious about what the aurthor said to give it that impression. Just let me know.

"To thine own self be true"

Er, you'll need to research what religion. "Paganism" includes any religion that isn't christianity/judaism/islam and "Goth" is a subculture, not a faith.

Are you only looking up these religions because you like to wear black? I did that too, a long time ago, so I'm not calling you out on it or anything, but you may be ridiculed by people who are really serious about those religions. Just to warn you.

If you live in New England, the Unitarian Universalist church is the closest. Very liberal, all encompassing church with a lot of pagans and agnostics. And open-minded christians.

If you're looking into wiccanism, you'll want to find a Coven. They aren't easy to find, try googling "covens in my area."

There are numerous other pagan religions, but they are very uncommon, even more so than wiccanism. You probably won't be able to form a group. They hold festivals though, particularly for Samhain, Solstice, etc.

If you're looking for Satanism, I recommend hanging around your local Hot Topic.

It isn't really a "church" type thing. You'll be wanting to find a coven. Beware, though, that those can be very hard to find and not easy to get into. I am part of a group in Illinois. If you are near that area, please feel free to message me and I can tell you about it.

Start studying solitary for awihle while you are searching for a group. Stay away from Silver Ravenwolf. I'd also recommend steering clear of Cunningham as well, but he is better than Ravenwolf at least. Try to find stuff by Janet and Stewart Farrar, Raymond Buckland, and possibly Starhawk or Adler. Those are almost always good choices.

If you are interested in British Traditional Witchcraft, start out with Raymond Buckland's Big Blue Book (an introductory book about witchcraft).

We Pagans don't have churches. We have covens, kindreds, solitary practice, etc. There are literally hundreds of pagan religions and practices, so you'll have to do some research. Go to http://beliefnet.com/

http://ecauldron.com/ and to the public library religion/philosophy section. Just avoid anything written by Silver Ravenwolf and DJ Conway--they don't know anything.

btw, gothic or goth is a fashion statement, a very far cry from a religion.

ps. Also try http://www.meetup.com/ to find pagans in your area.

You can try looking for a CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) group. Within some Unitarian Universalist churches there are "pagan" groups (CUUPS). Not all do however. You can check this site to see if one is near you, http://www.cuups.org/content2/

Bear in mind if there isn't one, UU's tend to be very open to anyone. I attend a UU church on occasion, it's quite refreshing!

Your only other option is to look for social groups on http://www.witchvox.com/ or http://www.meetup.com./ You can try covens but most want you to join, that is a pretty big deal and should be considered carefully.

BTW, which tradition of paganism are you looking at? Since it varies greatly it would help to know what your looking at to help narrow it down.

Unitarian Universalist should be cool. There are all kinds of pagans there.

If you want to look on wicca, join a coven.

If you want to join asatru (germanic neopaganism) join The Troth.

search it on the inrter net though I will say it iz my personal experience that churches are a horrible way to learn the religion personally it iz much better to understand things if youlearn them on your own only when you have question do you go to church and ask

also I stopped the pagan religion and went to asatru which iz a norse religion with thor loki and odin if you've heard about it ....if you are any thing like me this will suite you better than pagan religion

and most gothic churches deal in black magic which will allways come back to you in equall or greater proportion

I hope this helps

-Janglez

What kind of pagan? There are a lot of different types and they each have their own practices, belief systems and places/times to gather.

"Gothic" is a fashion statement, not a faith, btw.

Goth and pagan temples today are usually disguised as bars or nightclubs.

http://www.witchvox.com/

Go to the World link, and click local groups, then click your state if American,or country if not.