Modern Pagans Talk about Hunting

Since I was a boy,  I have wondered about the intersection of hunting and religion—primarily because in my younger church-going days, hunting was never mentioned in church.

It was important at our house—we ate a lot of venison—yet it was never discussed on Sunday, pro or con.

Indeed, the whole issue of our relationship with and responsibilities toward non-human nature never came up in church, although I got a lot of old-style conservation talk across the kitchen table.

Breaking that silence, however, here is an interview with three Midwestern deer hunters who happen to be followers of contemporary Pagan religions—Wicca, etc.

What they say about the experience of hunting is not too different from what you read in the more thoughtful, less "hook and bullet-oriented" outdoor writing.

For Jude the hunting experience affects his whole life, “ You can’t kill an animal and not have it effect you. It is like directly experiencing rebirth, recycling, respect for the animals and the plants, and living from and with the land. I feel connected to nature. When you are hunting you are not just observing or enjoying nature, you are a part of it. Many see a birth, and some may get to save a life, but as a hunter you take that ultimate responsibility when you end a life.”

Read the whole thing—you might find yourself in sympathy.