Do all major religions share values of love, compassion and forgiveness, as the Dalai Lama says? I can’t speak for ‘all religions’—I can only speak as a Pagan about the values I see in our tradition. Even there, probably every Pagan would give a slightly different answer.

The heart of our spirituality is the understanding that everything is interconnected and interrelated, and that the Goddess is immanent—embodied in the world, in nature and in human beings, not separate. Love and compassion spring naturally from that worldview, for love is the way we connect with the Goddess—love aroused by the beauty of the natural world, love stirred into being by our connections with each other, love that cherishes the well being of the beloved. Of course, for us passionate, sexual, erotic love is also sacred--a way of deeply connecting to the Goddess—and that does not seem to be common in all major religions.

‘Forgiveness’ would not be my number three Pagan spiritual value. I would put justice, freedom, beauty, balance, ecological responsibility and creativity up there, not in any ranked order. Human forgiveness needs to come after a wrongdoer repents and makes amends for a hurt—otherwise, premature forgiveness can simply perpetuate systemic violence. The Goddess’ forgiveness—well, we don’t really see the Goddess as administering a system of transgression and punishment. Rather, she faces us continually with the challenges we need in order to grow. If we fail to meet those challenges, she just keep giving us the same ones over and over again, sometimes in more and more extreme forms. Sometimes a flat-out punishment might be easier to take. But we always have the chance to grow and change.

If there’s one belief religions do share, sometimes against all evidence to the contrary, it’s that our practices and insights will make people better than they would be otherwise. Yet there are Buddhists who fail in compassion, Christians who lack charity, and yes, even Pagans who drive SUVs and don’t compost their garbage. Knowing that, perhaps we can practice some compassion toward each other, judging people not by what they profess to believe but by their actions, and not blaming other religions for the transgressions of their imperfect followers.