How would a hypothetical rural white neopagan county vote?

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

Say a county is settled by European neopagans from a particular area who may have fled to the US to escape persecution and it remains relatively homogenous to the present day. How would they vote? I can imagine that religious freedom would be an issue, they probably would go through cycles of even being denied representation in state government but other then being non-christian would in some respects be no different from most rural white counties today in trending heavily Republican.

[Skill and Chance]

There's an element of horseshoe theory here where I think it would end up being dominated either by far left environmentalist or far right fascist militia types.  They probably have their own 3rd party winning elections at the county level but either vote 85%+ D or  85%+ R  in statewide/federal elections.  If they have been there a long time with the same beliefs, they would have been entirely shut of politics above the local level for a long time and therefore tended toward extreme, insular views.

[Vosem]

Settled when? If the answer is 1960s and this is a New Age movement, Humboldt County type of situation, then solidly D and in fact getting more so over time. If the answer is this is a timeline where neopagans are more common generally and the county is settled sometime in the 1800s (or even just pre-Great Depression), then you probably see an Ellis County type of pattern where it starts off D as a "religious minority" county but eventually becomes R as a "rural county". Depending on the geographic location and main industry when it transitions might vary but it would probably go for GWB in 2000.

[TransfemmeGoreVidal]

Settled when? If the answer is 1960s and this is a New Age movement, Humboldt County type of situation, then solidly D and in fact getting more so over time. If the answer is this is a timeline where neopagans are more common generally and the county is settled sometime in the 1800s (or even just pre-Great Depression), then you probably see an Ellis County type of pattern where it starts off D as a "religious minority" county but eventually becomes R as a "rural county". Depending on the geographic location and main industry when it transitions might vary but it would probably go for GWB in 2000.

Which group settled in Ellis County that was a religious minority? I guess I was thinking sometime in the nineteenth century. Sort of imagined a timeline where a ton of locals joined the military and there was a war memorial in town dedicated to all who had gone to Valhalla in battle.

[Sol]

Settled when? If the answer is 1960s and this is a New Age movement, Humboldt County type of situation, then solidly D and in fact getting more so over time. If the answer is this is a timeline where neopagans are more common generally and the county is settled sometime in the 1800s (or even just pre-Great Depression), then you probably see an Ellis County type of pattern where it starts off D as a "religious minority" county but eventually becomes R as a "rural county". Depending on the geographic location and main industry when it transitions might vary but it would probably go for GWB in 2000.

Which group settled in Ellis County that was a religious minority? I guess I was thinking sometime in the nineteenth century. Sort of imagined a timeline where a ton of locals joined the military and there was a war memorial in town dedicated to all who had gone to Valhalla in battle.

Ellis County was extremely German Catholic.

[Vosem]

Settled when? If the answer is 1960s and this is a New Age movement, Humboldt County type of situation, then solidly D and in fact getting more so over time. If the answer is this is a timeline where neopagans are more common generally and the county is settled sometime in the 1800s (or even just pre-Great Depression), then you probably see an Ellis County type of pattern where it starts off D as a "religious minority" county but eventually becomes R as a "rural county". Depending on the geographic location and main industry when it transitions might vary but it would probably go for GWB in 2000.

Which group settled in Ellis County that was a religious minority? I guess I was thinking sometime in the nineteenth century. Sort of imagined a timeline where a ton of locals joined the military and there was a war memorial in town dedicated to all who had gone to Valhalla in battle.

Ellis County was extremely German Catholic.

Still is, I think (or still was as recently as the 1990s), but this just stopped mattering at a certain point. Presidentially the county last outright voted Democratic in 1992 and last appeared way more Democratic than its surroundings in 2000, but nowadays it sort of fades into the 'rural America' background and doesn't vote very differently from its neighbors -- it's still consistently about 10 points more Democratic than they are, but this means voting R>70% instead of R>80%. Kobach noticeably massively under-performed there in 2018, and only carried it with a plurality, and Sebelius won huge landslides there in her elections (but she was strong in that part of Kansas generally, as was the D Attorney General of that era, Phil Morrison). The last election I can find with the classic pattern -- Ellis as a weird island of blue surrounded by seas of red -- is the 1996 Brownback vs. Docking Senate race.

(Wonder if a big part of the shift in the late 1990s isn't the election of Jerry Moran to the U.S. House -- he himself is from Ellis, actually, which might have given the voters there are more solid connection to the Republican Party. Moran has never lost Ellis in any of his races and was an uncommonly popular Representative and Senator in his district generally.)

[GregTheGreat657]

It's political party affilation before the late 20th century would likely be based on its location. Starting in the late 20th century, it would be heavily Democratic. This would be due to its left-leaning ideology. Donald Trump would probably lose handily here, but his 2016 campaign would have outrun every other Republican since Reagan.

[Sol]

Settled when? If the answer is 1960s and this is a New Age movement, Humboldt County type of situation, then solidly D and in fact getting more so over time. If the answer is this is a timeline where neopagans are more common generally and the county is settled sometime in the 1800s (or even just pre-Great Depression), then you probably see an Ellis County type of pattern where it starts off D as a "religious minority" county but eventually becomes R as a "rural county". Depending on the geographic location and main industry when it transitions might vary but it would probably go for GWB in 2000.

Which group settled in Ellis County that was a religious minority? I guess I was thinking sometime in the nineteenth century. Sort of imagined a timeline where a ton of locals joined the military and there was a war memorial in town dedicated to all who had gone to Valhalla in battle.

Ellis County was extremely German Catholic.

Still is, I think (or still was as recently as the 1990s), but this just stopped mattering at a certain point. Presidentially the county last outright voted Democratic in 1992 and last appeared way more Democratic than its surroundings in 2000, but nowadays it sort of fades into the 'rural America' background and doesn't vote very differently from its neighbors -- it's still consistently about 10 points more Democratic than they are, but this means voting R>70% instead of R>80%. Kobach noticeably massively under-performed there in 2018, and only carried it with a plurality, and Sebelius won huge landslides there in her elections (but she was strong in that part of Kansas generally, as was the D Attorney General of that era, Phil Morrison). The last election I can find with the classic pattern -- Ellis as a weird island of blue surrounded by seas of red -- is the 1996 Brownback vs. Docking Senate race.

(Wonder if a big part of the shift in the late 1990s isn't the election of Jerry Moran to the U.S. House -- he himself is from Ellis, actually, which might have given the voters there are more solid connection to the Republican Party. Moran has never lost Ellis in any of his races and was an uncommonly popular Representative and Senator in his district generally.)

Oh yeah of course, I just meant more that I assume there's been sufficient assimilation for whatever historical ethnic identity to not matter.

[Indy Texas]

There's an element of horseshoe theory here where I think it would end up being dominated either by far left environmentalist or far right fascist militia types.  They probably have their own 3rd party winning elections at the county level but either vote 85%+ D or  85%+ R  in statewide/federal elections.  If they have been there a long time with the same beliefs, they would have been entirely shut of politics above the local level for a long time and therefore tended toward extreme, insular views.

Very much this. If you're a white person who has gotten into neo-paganism, you probably fall into one of two categories:

1. Extreme Right. Views neo-paganism as getting back to a more authentic European way of living. Regards Christianity as a foreign, Jewish-influenced faith from the Middle East that has weakened European civilization by making it be too "nice."

2. Weird Left. Views neo-paganism as more in touch with nature and more respective towards women (women being able to be priestesses and witch-doctors and whatnot as opposed to traditional Christian theology which largely excludes women from clergy and leadership). Regards Christianity as a tool Europeans have used for centuries to conquer and oppress indigenous peoples around the world.

These two groups would want nothing to do with each other, so any large pagan community in a given place would almost certainly only have one or the other kind, and political allegiances would be downstream of that.

[parochial boy]

If I remember right, the actual largest pagan movement - and by far - is Russian style Rodnovery which has millions of followers and quite well established extreme right wing tendancies.

So it's a pretty clear answer in that respect.

[lfromnj]

Settled when? If the answer is 1960s and this is a New Age movement, Humboldt County type of situation, then solidly D and in fact getting more so over time. If the answer is this is a timeline where neopagans are more common generally and the county is settled sometime in the 1800s (or even just pre-Great Depression), then you probably see an Ellis County type of pattern where it starts off D as a "religious minority" county but eventually becomes R as a "rural county". Depending on the geographic location and main industry when it transitions might vary but it would probably go for GWB in 2000.

Which group settled in Ellis County that was a religious minority? I guess I was thinking sometime in the nineteenth century. Sort of imagined a timeline where a ton of locals joined the military and there was a war memorial in town dedicated to all who had gone to Valhalla in battle.

Ellis County was extremely German Catholic.

Still is, I think (or still was as recently as the 1990s), but this just stopped mattering at a certain point. Presidentially the county last outright voted Democratic in 1992 and last appeared way more Democratic than its surroundings in 2000, but nowadays it sort of fades into the 'rural America' background and doesn't vote very differently from its neighbors -- it's still consistently about 10 points more Democratic than they are, but this means voting R>70% instead of R>80%. Kobach noticeably massively under-performed there in 2018, and only carried it with a plurality, and Sebelius won huge landslides there in her elections (but she was strong in that part of Kansas generally, as was the D Attorney General of that era, Phil Morrison). The last election I can find with the classic pattern -- Ellis as a weird island of blue surrounded by seas of red -- is the 1996 Brownback vs. Docking Senate race.

(Wonder if a big part of the shift in the late 1990s isn't the election of Jerry Moran to the U.S. House -- he himself is from Ellis, actually, which might have given the voters there are more solid connection to the Republican Party. Moran has never lost Ellis in any of his races and was an uncommonly popular Representative and Senator in his district generally.)

FYI Ellis has a state college, obviously it isn't a bastion of liberalism but probably is the main factor that moderates the county relative to its surroundings at this point.

[EastAnglianLefty]

There's an element of horseshoe theory here where I think it would end up being dominated either by far left environmentalist or far right fascist militia types.  They probably have their own 3rd party winning elections at the county level but either vote 85%+ D or  85%+ R  in statewide/federal elections.  If they have been there a long time with the same beliefs, they would have been entirely shut of politics above the local level for a long time and therefore tended toward extreme, insular views.

Very much this. If you're a white person who has gotten into neo-paganism, you probably fall into one of two categories:

1. Extreme Right. Views neo-paganism as getting back to a more authentic European way of living. Regards Christianity as a foreign, Jewish-influenced faith from the Middle East that has weakened European civilization by making it be too "nice."

2. Weird Left. Views neo-paganism as more in touch with nature and more respective towards women (women being able to be priestesses and witch-doctors and whatnot as opposed to traditional Christian theology which largely excludes women from clergy and leadership). Regards Christianity as a tool Europeans have used for centuries to conquer and oppress indigenous peoples around the world.

These two groups would want nothing to do with each other, so any large pagan community in a given place would almost certainly only have one or the other kind, and political allegiances would be downstream of that.

Though if we're talking about a rural European neopagan community that fled due to persecution, we have to accept that such a thing doesn't exist, but if it had it would have its own identity that wouldn't necessarily map on to those you get where it's a niche subculture.

[Sol]

There's an element of horseshoe theory here where I think it would end up being dominated either by far left environmentalist or far right fascist militia types.  They probably have their own 3rd party winning elections at the county level but either vote 85%+ D or  85%+ R  in statewide/federal elections.  If they have been there a long time with the same beliefs, they would have been entirely shut of politics above the local level for a long time and therefore tended toward extreme, insular views.

Very much this. If you're a white person who has gotten into neo-paganism, you probably fall into one of two categories:

1. Extreme Right. Views neo-paganism as getting back to a more authentic European way of living. Regards Christianity as a foreign, Jewish-influenced faith from the Middle East that has weakened European civilization by making it be too "nice."

2. Weird Left. Views neo-paganism as more in touch with nature and more respective towards women (women being able to be priestesses and witch-doctors and whatnot as opposed to traditional Christian theology which largely excludes women from clergy and leadership). Regards Christianity as a tool Europeans have used for centuries to conquer and oppress indigenous peoples around the world.

These two groups would want nothing to do with each other, so any large pagan community in a given place would almost certainly only have one or the other kind, and political allegiances would be downstream of that.

Though if we're talking about a rural European neopagan community that fled due to persecution, we have to accept that such a thing doesn't exist, but if it had it would have its own identity that wouldn't necessarily map on to those you get where it's a niche subculture.

IIRC there were/are some pagan remnant communities in European Russia in places like Mari El and Mordvinia

[CookieDamage]

It depends on how great lady Athena Pallas tells us how to vote

[Pres Mike]

How does this community survive to modern day?

Look at Louisiana. You had successive governors try to stamp out FRENCH. Like prevent state schools from teaching it.

[Samof94]

How does this community survive to modern day?

Look at Louisiana. You had successive governors try to stamp out FRENCH. Like prevent state schools from teaching it.

Quebec averted this issue and French is alive and well.
Back on topic,  neopaganism just seems like a far right idea simply because the reigning “didn’t come form Judaism” and is seen as more “pure” and “European”. Many forms of paganism glorify themselves by not having their god get executed.