1. Women over 21 were the LEAST TOLERANT OF THE 4 GROUPS
2. Men under 21
3. Men over 21
4. Women under 21 were the MOST TOLERANT OF THE 4 GROUPS

PARTICIPANTS' INDIVIDUAL ANSWERS

The participants' individual answers were combined to show relative strength of participant responses (choices ranged between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 but were combined so that frequency of 1, 2, 3 choices were compared to the combined frequency of other participants' 4, 5, 6 answers-giving researchers a "yes" or "no" distinction). However, the results listed do not show the people who chose extreme answers.

People who chose 1 (a value equal to Most Strongly Disagree) when asked whether they would try to disrupt a pagan gathering were counted as equal to someone who chose 3, a more midpoint value, though still less "yes" than "no". While a value of 3 was still on the lower half of the scale of 1 to 6, it is still a very different answer than an answer of 1. A value of 1 indicates that the participant in no way agrees with disrupting a harmless pagan gathering. A value of 3 indicates he was not really sure, but since he had no choice but to pick an answer on one of the two sides, "no" (1, 2, 3) or "yes" (4, 5, 6), he picked "no" (3).

Of course the question still remains as to whether the participant would have changed his answer from 3 to 6 if say the pagan group in question was a group of Satanists gathering to practice their faith instead of the group of right-hand path pagans described in the study.

As illustrated in the table above, even with the narrow, completely non-threatening specifications attached to pagan religions, many participants still felt the need to discriminate.

--Participants were less comfortable consulting doctors and having their children taught by teachers who practiced pagan religions publicly than when the doctors and teachers practiced privately. Results seem to indicate that people more afraid of being, themselves, outcasted by association with a pagan than they are of the so-called "dangers" of pagan religious behaviors.

--93% of the sample agreed that they supported religious freedom even if it differed from their own, but then almost two-thirds of that sample attested that they believed some religious activities should be legally prevented. Which is it? Perhaps more people in the general public need to be confronted with their own contradicting beliefs. Would this change their attitudes?

--37.3% of the sample said they would tell pagans to their faces that they disapproved of their religion, and a full 15% said they would disrupt a pagan gathering if they could.

The term, "disrupt" was not clearly defined for this study, so the word could mean many things to the participants. Does it mean calling the police to stop a pagan gathering? Showing up and picketing out in front of the ritual site...or something more violent?

In truth, we'll never know exactly what this particular sample of people interpreted the word, "disrupt", to mean. However, because of the explosive nature of this topic, we cannot afford to assume anything. Further testing should consider that 8.1 of the 54 participants in this study felt they would be compelled to interfere with pagan religious gatherings in one way or another. Researchers should consider this point and allow future participants to choose from a wider range of options so that we can learn exactly to what extent this group wishes harm to our kind.

This above portion of this study explored the attitudes people hold about pagan religions through obtrusive measures, a term that indicates that the participants knew they were being assessed. In this study the type of obtrusive research was the survey. However, a second part of this study examines the attitudes people have towards pagan religions through unobtrusive measures such as tear-down rates of experimental (PAGAN) posters and control (ANOTHER NEUTRAL ORGANIZATION THAT WILL BE KEPT ANNONYMOUS) posters.

Researchers posted 75 pagan posters on the same college campus that the survey research was conducted. These 75 pagan posters advertised for a positive goddess-based discussion group. Researchers also posted 75 control posters and then compared the tear-down rates of both groups. The control group was considered neutral because it was a non-profit organization that was considered socially helpful and in no way socially deviant (as paganism and other subcultures are often seen in mainstream society).

The tear down rates of pagan vs. control posters showed strong significance. As demonstrated in the table below, people not only disapproved of the posters, but also felt compelled to act when they were displayed in "university-acceptable" areas on a college campus in the Midwest.

A Chi-square analysis demonstrated that the number of pagan posters removed from campus bulletin boards was significantly different from the control posters. X (1, N=150) = 4.26, p< .05. A low-moderate relationship of phi = .368 was also shown. Again, if you don't understand this, don't worry about it. It is listed for reference only.

This statistical information can be complicated. In layman's terms, people tore down significantly more pagan posters than control group posters and the statistical tests that were done confirmed that the results were not due to chance. People really disapproved of the pagan posters enough to remove them.

The experimental pagan posters reflected a right-hand path approach to paganism and the occult. Emphasis was placed on positive discussions about new age religions and the "Goddess". An upright pentagram with a woman in the center was displayed on the cover of the poster. No other occult symbols were present and in order to prevent fear reactions, the organization was connected only with the religious aspects of paganism. Magick was not mentioned.

It would seem that from these results, the Burning Times we read about in history books are not as far-gone as we might have thought. We need to consider carefully the ramifications of "coming out of the broom closet" as well as how we come across once we do. This study does not address why the participants were afraid of people interested in the occult.

In closing, a study such as the one listed here serves two basic purposes to the scientific (as well as magickal) community. One purpose is to support or refute an idea based on empirical evidence and statistical analyses. The other purpose is to stimulate further research. If this study does indeed stimulate further research that can perhaps one day teach us why mainstream society regards pagans with such animosity, then maybe we can dispel the rampant ignorance that pegs us as monsters.

In the meantime, all we can do is present role models of descent human beings who just happen to be Pagans, Magicians, Witches, Shamans, Priestesses, Satanists, High Priests, and Mages.