Modern paganism,also known ascontemporary paganism[1]andneopaganism,[2]spans a range ofnew religious movementsvariously influenced by thebeliefs of pre-modern peoplesacross Europe, North Africa, and theNear East.Despite some common similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse, sharing no single set of beliefs, practices, orreligious texts.[3]Scholars of religionmay study the phenomenon as a movement divided into different religions, while others study neopaganism as a decentralized religion with an array ofdenominations.
Adherents rely onpre-Christian,folkloric, and ethnographic sources to a variety of degrees; many of them follow a spirituality that they accept as entirely modern, while others claim to adhere toprehistoric beliefs,or else, they attempt to revive indigenous religions as accurately as possible.[4]Modern pagan movementsare frequently described on a spectrum ranging fromreconstructive,which seeks to revive historical pagan religions; toeclectic movements,which blend elements from various religions and philosophies with historical paganism.Polytheism,animism,andpantheismare common features across pagan theology. Modern pagans can also includeatheists,upholding virtues and principles associated with paganism while maintaining a secular worldview.Humanistic, naturalistic, or secular pagansmay recognize deities asarchetypesor useful metaphors for different cycles of life, or reframemagicas a purely psychological practice.
Contemporary paganism hasbeen associated withtheNew Agemovement, with scholars highlighting their similarities as well as their differences.[5]The academic field ofpagan studiesbegan to coalesce in the 1990s, emerging from disparate scholarship in the preceding two decades.
Terminology
editDefinition
editThere is "considerable disagreement as to the precise definition and the proper usage" of the termmodern paganism.[6]Even within the academic field ofpagan studies,there is no consensus about how contemporary paganism can best be defined.[7]Most scholars describe modern paganism as a broad array of different religions, not a single one.[8]The category of modern paganism could be compared to the categories ofAbrahamic religionsandIndian religionsin its structure.[9]A second, less common definition found within pagan studies – promoted by the religious studies scholars Michael F. Strmiska andGraham Harvey– characterises modern paganism as a single religion, of which groups likeWicca,Druidry,andHeathenryaredenominations.[10]This perspective has been critiqued, given the lack of core commonalities in issues such as theology, cosmology, ethics, afterlife, holy days, or ritual practices within the pagan movement.[10]
Contemporary paganism has been defined as "a collection of modern religious, spiritual, and magical traditions that are self-consciously inspired by the pre-Judaic,pre-Christian, and pre-Islamicbelief systems of Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. "[1]Thus it has been said that although it is "a highly diverse phenomenon", "an identifiable common element" nevertheless runs through the pagan movement.[1]Strmiska described paganism as a movement "dedicated to reviving the polytheistic, nature-worshipping pagan religions of pre-Christian Europe and adapting them for the use of people in modern societies."[11]The religious studies scholarWouter Hanegraaffcharacterised paganism as encompassing "all those modern movements which are, first, based on the conviction that what Christianity has traditionally denounced asidolatryandsuperstitionactually represents/represented a profound and meaningful religious worldview and, secondly, that a religious practice based on this worldview can and should be revitalized in our modern world. "[12]
Discussing the relationship between the different pagan religions,religious studiesscholars Kaarina Aitamurto and Scott Simpson wrote that they were "like siblings who have taken different paths in life but still retain many visible similarities".[13]But there has been much "cross-fertilization" between these different faiths: many groups have influenced, and been influenced by, other pagan religions, making clear-cut distinctions among them more difficult for scholars to make.[14]The various pagan religions have been academically classified asnew religious movements,[15]with the anthropologist Kathryn Rountree describing paganism as a whole as a "new religious phenomenon".[16]A number of academics, particularly in North America, consider modern paganism a form ofnature religion.[17]
Some practitioners completely eschew the use of the termpagan,preferring to use more specific names for their religion, such as "Heathen" or "Wiccan".[18]This is because the termpaganoriginates in Christian terminology, which individuals who object to the term wish to avoid.[19]Some favor the term "ethnic religion"; the World Pagan Congress, founded in 1998, soon renamed itself theEuropean Congress of Ethnic Religions(ECER), enjoying that term's association with the Greekethnosand the academic field ofethnology.[20]Withinlinguistically Slavicareas of Europe, the term "Native Faith" is often favored as a synonym for paganism, rendered asRidnovirstvoin Ukrainian,Rodnoveriein Russian, andRodzimowierstwoin Polish.[21]Alternately, many practitioners in these regions view "Native Faith" as a category within modern paganism that does not encompass all pagan religions.[22]Other terms some pagans favor include "traditional religion", "indigenous religion", "nativist religion", and "reconstructionism".[19]
Various pagans who are active in pagan studies, such asMichael Yorkand Prudence Jones, have argued that, due to the similarities of theirworldviews,the modern pagan movement can be treated as part of the same global phenomenon aspre-Christian Ancient religions,livingIndigenous religions,andworld religionslikeHinduism,Shinto,andAfro-American religions.They have also suggested that these could all be included under the rubric of "paganism".[23]This approach has been received critically by many specialists in religious studies.[24]Critics have pointed out that such claims would cause problems for analytic scholarship by lumping together belief systems with very significant differences, and that the term would serve modern pagan interests by making the movement appear far larger on the world stage.[25]Doyle White writes that modern religions that draw upon the pre-Christian belief systems of other parts of the world, such asSub-Saharan Africaor the Americas, cannot be seen as part of the contemporary pagan movement, which is "fundamentallyEurocentric".[1]Similarly, Strmiska stresses that modern paganism should not be conflated with the belief systems of the world'sIndigenous peoplesbecause the latter lived undercolonialismandits legacy,and that while some pagan worldviews bear similarities to those of indigenous communities, they stem from "different cultural, linguistic, and historical backgrounds".[26]
Reappropriation of "paganism"
editMany scholars have favored the use of "neopaganism" to describe this phenomenon, with the prefix "neo-" serving to distinguish the modern religions from their ancient, pre-Christian forerunners.[27]Some pagan practitioners also prefer "neopaganism", believing that the prefix conveys the reformed nature of the religion, such as its rejection of practices such asanimal sacrifice.[27]Conversely, most pagans do not use the wordneopagan,[19]with some expressing disapproval of it, arguing that the term "neo" offensively disconnects them from what they perceive as their pre-Christian forebears.[18]To avoid causing offense, many scholars in the English-speaking world have begun using the prefixes "modern" or "contemporary" rather than "neo".[28]Several pagan studies scholars, such asRonald HuttonandSabina Magliocco,have emphasized the use of the upper-case "Paganism" to distinguish the modern movement from the lower-case "paganism", a term commonly used for pre-Christian belief systems.[29]In 2015, Rountree opined that this lower case/upper case division was "now [the] convention" in pagan studies.[19]Among the critics of the upper-case P are York and Andras Corban-Arthen, president of the ECER. Capitalizing the word, they argue, makes "Paganism" appear as the name of a cohesive religion rather than a generic religious category, and comes off as naive, dishonest or as an unwelcome attempt to disrupt the spontaneity and vernacular quality of the movement.[30]
The term "neo-pagan" was coined in the 19th century in reference toRenaissanceandRomanticistHellenophileclassicalrevivalism.[a]By the mid-1930s "neopagan" was being applied to new religious movements likeJakob Wilhelm Hauer'sGerman Faith MovementandJan Stachniuk's PolishZadruga,usually by outsiders and often pejoratively.[31]Pagan as a self-designation appeared in 1964 and 1965, in the publications of theWitchcraft Research Association;at that time, the term was in use by Wiccans in the United States and the United Kingdom, but unconnected to the broader,counterculturepagan movement. The modern popularisation of the terms pagan and neopagan as they are currently understood is largely traced toOberon Zell-Ravenheart,co-founder of the 1st Neo-PaganChurch of All Worldswho, beginning in 1967 with the early issues ofGreen Egg,used both terms for the growing movement. This usage has been common since the pagan revival in the 1970s.[32]
According to Strmiska, thereappropriationof the term "pagan" by modern pagans served as "a deliberate act of defiance" against "traditional, Christian-dominated society", allowing them to use it as a source of "pride and power".[18]In this, he compared it to thegay liberationmovement's reappropriation of the term "queer",which had formerly been used only as a term ofhomophobicabuse.[18]He suggests that part of the term's appeal lay in the fact that a large proportion of pagan converts were raised in Christian families, and that by embracing the term "pagan", a word long used for what was "rejected and reviled by Christian authorities", a convert summarizes "in a single word his or her definitive break" from Christianity.[33]He further suggests that the term gained appeal through its depiction inromanticistand 19th-century Europeannationalistliterature, where it had been imbued with "a certain mystery and allure",[34]and that by embracing the word "pagan" modern pagans defy past religious intolerance to honor the pre-Christian peoples of Europe and emphasize those societies' cultural and artistic achievements.[35]
Varieties
editEclectic and reconstructive
edit"We might say that Reconstructionist Pagans romanticize the past, while eclectic pagans idealize the future. In the first case, there is a deeply felt need to connect with the past as a source of spiritual strength and wisdom; in the second case, there is the idealistic hope that a spirituality of nature can be gleaned from ancient sources and shared with all humanity."
— Religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska[36]
Modern pagan attitudes differ regarding the source material surrounding pre-Christian belief systems.[37]Strmiska notes that pagan groups can be "divided along a continuum: at one end are those that aim to reconstruct the ancient religious traditions of a particular ethnic group or a linguistic or geographic area to the highest degree possible; at the other end are those that freely blend traditions of different areas, peoples, and time periods."[38]Strmiska argues that these two poles could be termedreconstructionismandeclecticism,respectively.[39]Reconstructionists do not altogether reject innovation in their interpretation and adaptation of the source material, however they do believe that the source material conveys greater authenticity and thus should be emphasized.[38]They often follow scholarly debates about the nature of such pre-Christian religions, and some reconstructionists are themselves scholars.[38]Eclectic pagans,conversely, seek general inspiration from the pre-Christian past, and do not attempt to recreate past rites or traditions with specific attention to detail.[40]
On the reconstructionist side can be placed those movements which often favour the designation "Native Faith", includingRomuva,Heathenry,Roman TraditionalismandHellenism.[14]On the eclectic side has been placedWicca,Thelema,Adonism,Druidry,theGoddess Movement,Discordianismand theRadical Faeries.[14] Strmiska also suggests that this division could be seen as being based on "discourses of identity", with reconstructionists emphasizing a deep-rooted sense of place and people, and eclectics embracing a universality and openness toward humanity and the Earth.[41]
Strmiska nevertheless notes that this reconstructionist-eclectic division is "neither as absolute nor as straightforward as it might appear".[42]He cites the example ofDievturība,a form of reconstructionist paganism that seeks to revive the pre-Christian religion of the Latvian people, by noting that it exhibits eclectic tendencies by adopting a monotheistic focus and ceremonial structure fromLutheranism.[42]Similarly, while examining neo-shamanism among theSami peopleof Northern Scandinavia, Siv Ellen Kraft highlights that despite the religion being reconstructionist in intent, it is highly eclectic in the manner in which it has adopted elements fromshamanictraditions in other parts of the world.[43] In discussing Asatro – a form of Heathenry based in Denmark – Matthew Amster notes that it did not fit clearly within such a framework, because while seeking a reconstructionist form of historical accuracy, Asatro strongly eschewed the emphasis on ethnicity that is common to other reconstructionist groups.[44]While Wicca is identified as an eclectic form of paganism,[45]Strmiska also notes that some Wiccans have moved in a more reconstructionist direction by focusing on a particular ethnic and cultural link, thus developing such variants as Norse Wicca andCeltic Wicca.[42]Concern has also been expressed regarding the utility of the term "reconstructionism" when dealing with paganisms in Central and Eastern Europe, because in many of the languages of these regions, equivalents of the term "reconstructionism" – such as the CzechHistorická rekonstrukceand LithuanianIstorinė rekonstrukcija– are already used to define the secular hobby ofhistorical re-enactment.[46]
Ecologic and secular
editThe spectrum of modern paganism includes a range ofecologicand explicitlyecocentricpractices, which may overlap withscientific pantheism.[47]Pagans may distinguish their beliefs and practices as a form ofreligious naturalismornaturalist philosophy,[48]with some engaged ashumanistic or atheopagans.
Ethnic and regional
edit
For some pagan groups,ethnicityis central to their religion, and some restrict membership to a single ethnic group.[49]Some critics have described this approach as a form of racism.[49]Other pagan groups allow people of any ethnicity, on the view that the gods and goddesses of a particular region can call anyone to their form of worship.[50]Some such groups feel a particular affinity for the pre-Christian belief systems of a particular region with which they have no ethnic link because they see themselves asreincarnationsof people from that society.[37]There is greater focus on ethnicity within the pagan movements in continental Europe than within the pagan movements in North America and the British Isles.[51]Such ethnic paganisms have variously been seen as responses to concerns about foreign ideologies,globalization,cosmopolitanism,and anxieties about cultural erosion.[52][53]
Although they acknowledged that it was "a highly simplified model", Aitamurto and Simpson wrote that there was "some truth" to the claim thatleftist-oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in North America and the British Isles whilerightist-oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe.[15]They noted that in these latter regions, pagan groups placed an emphasis on "the centrality of the nation, the ethnic group, or the tribe".[13]Rountree wrote that it was wrong to assume that "expressions of Paganism can be categorized straight-forwardly according to region", but acknowledged that some regional trends were visible, such as the impact ofCatholicismon paganism in Southern Europe.[54]
Historicity
edit"Modern Pagans are reviving, reconstructing, and reimagining religious traditions of the past that were suppressed for a very long time, even to the point of being almost totally obliterated... Thus, with only a few possible exceptions, today's Pagans cannot claim to be continuing religious traditions handed down in an unbroken line from ancient times to the present. They are modern people with a great reverence for the spirituality of the past, making a new religion – a modern Paganism – from the remnants of the past, which they interpret, adapt, and modify according to modern ways of thinking."
— Religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska[55]
Although inspired by the pre-Christian belief systems of the past, modern paganism is not the same phenomenon as these lost traditions and in many respects differs from them considerably.[55]Strmiska stresses that modern paganism is a "new", "modern" religious movement, even if some of its content derives from ancient sources.[55]Contemporary paganism as practiced in the United States in the 1990s has been described as "a synthesis of historical inspiration and present-day creativity".[b]
Eclectic paganismtakes an undogmatic religious stance[56]and therefore potentially sees no one as having authority to deem a source apocryphal. Contemporary paganism has therefore been prone tofakelore,especially in recent years as information and misinformation alike have been spread on the Internet and in print media. A number ofWiccan,pagan and even some Traditionalist or Tribalist groups have a history of Grandmother Stories – typically involving initiation by a Grandmother, Grandfather, or other elderly relative who is said to have instructed them in the secret, millennia-old traditions of their ancestors. As this secret wisdom can almost always be traced to recent sources, tellers of these stories have often later admitted they made them up.[57]Strmiska asserts that contemporary paganism could be viewed as a part of the "much larger phenomenon" of efforts to revive "traditional, indigenous, or native religions" that were occurring across the globe.[58]
Beliefs
edit
Beliefs and practices vary widely among different pagan groups; however, there are a series of core principles common to most, if not all, forms of modern paganism.[59]The English academic Graham Harvey noted that pagans "rarely indulge in theology".[60]
Polytheism
editOne principle of the pagan movement ispolytheism,the belief in and veneration of multiple gods or goddesses.[59][60] Within the pagan movement, there can be found many deities, both male and female, who have various associations and embody forces of nature, aspects of culture, and facets of human psychology.[61]These deities are typically depicted in human form, and are viewed as having human faults.[61]They are therefore not seen as perfect, but rather are venerated as being wise and powerful.[62]Pagans feel that this understanding of the gods reflected the dynamics of life on Earth, allowing for the expression of humour.[62]
One view in the pagan community is that these polytheistic deities are not viewed as literal entities, but asJungian archetypesor other psychological constructs that exist in the human psyche.[63]Others adopt the belief that the deities have both a psychological and external existence.[64]Many pagans believe adoption of a polytheistic world-view would be beneficial for western society – replacing the dominantmonotheismthey see as innately repressive.[65]In fact, manyAmerican modern pagansfirst came to their adopted faiths because it allowed a greater freedom, diversity, and tolerance of worship among the community.[66]Thispluralisticperspective has helped the varied factions of modern paganism exist in relative harmony.[56]Most pagans adopt an ethos of "unity in diversity"regarding their religious beliefs.[67]
It is its inclusion of female deity which distinguishes pagan religions from their Abrahamic counterparts.[64] In Wicca, male and female deities are typically balanced out in a form ofduotheism.[64]Among many pagans, there is a strong desire to incorporate the female aspects of the divine in their worship and within their lives, which can partially explain the attitude which sometimes manifests as theveneration of women.[68]
There are exceptions to polytheism in paganism,[69]as seen for instance in the form of Ukrainian paganism promoted byLev Sylenko,which is devoted to amonotheisticveneration of the godDazhbog.[69]As noted above, pagans with naturalistic worldviews may not believe in or work with deities at all.
Pagan religions commonly exhibit a metaphysical concept of an underlying order that pervades the universe, such as the concept ofharmoniaembraced by Hellenists and that ofWyrdfound in Heathenry.[70]
Animism and pantheism
edit
A key part of most pagan worldviews is theholisticconcept of a universe that is interconnected. This is connected with a belief in eitherpantheismorpanentheism.In both beliefs, divinity and the material or spiritual universe are one.[71]For pagans, pantheism means that "divinity is inseparable from nature and that deity is immanent in nature".[56]
Dennis D. Carpenter noted that the belief in a pantheistic or panentheistic deity has led to the idea of interconnectedness playing a key part in pagans' worldviews.[71]The prominent Reclaiming priestessStarhawkrelated that a core part of goddess-centred pagan witchcraft was "the understanding that all being is interrelated, that we are all linked with the cosmos as parts of one living organism. What affects one of us affects us all."[72]
Another pivotal belief in the contemporary pagan movement is that ofanimism.[60]This has been interpreted in two distinct ways among the pagan community. First, it can refer to a belief that everything in the universe is imbued with a life force orspiritual energy.[59][73]In contrast, some contemporary pagans believe that there are specific spirits that inhabit various features in the natural world, and that these can be actively communicated with. Some pagans have reported experiencing communication with spirits dwelling in rocks, plants, trees and animals, as well aspower animalsoranimal spiritswho can act as spiritual helpers or guides.[74]
Animism was also a concept common to many pre-Christian European religions, and in adopting it, contemporary pagans are attempting to "reenter the primeval worldview" and participate in a view of cosmology "that is not possible for most Westerners after childhood."[75]
Nature veneration
edit
All pagan movements place great emphasis on thedivinity of natureas a primary source ofdivine will,and on humanity's membership of the natural world, bound in kinship to all life and theEarthitself. The animistic aspects of pagan theology assert that all things have a soul – not just humans ororganic life– so this bond is held with mountains and rivers as well as trees and wild animals. As a result, pagans believe the essence of their spirituality is both ancient and timeless, regardless of the age of specific religious movements. Places of natural beauty are therefore treated as sacred and ideal for ritual, like thenemetonsof the ancient Celts.[76]
Many pagans hold that different lands and/or cultures have their own natural religion, with many legitimate interpretations of divinity, and therefore rejectreligious exclusivism.
While the pagan community has tremendous variety inpolitical viewsspanning the whole of thepolitical spectrum,environmentalism is often a common feature.[77]
Such views have also led many pagans to revere the planet Earth asMother Earth,who is often referred to asGaiaafter the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth.[78]
Practices
edit
Ritual
editPagan ritual can take place in both a public and private setting.[70] Contemporary pagan ritual is typically geared towards "facilitating altered states of awareness or shifting mind-sets".[79]To induce such altered states of consciousness, pagans use such elements as drumming, visualization, chanting, singing, dancing, and meditation.[79]American folkloristSabina Maglioccocame to the conclusion, based upon her ethnographic fieldwork in California that certain pagan beliefs "arise from what they experience during religious ecstasy".[80]
SociologistMargot Adlerhighlighted how several pagan groups, like theReformed Druids of North Americaand theErisian movementincorporate a great deal ofplayin their rituals rather than having them be completely serious and somber. She noted that there are those who would argue that "the Pagan community is one of the only spiritual communities that is exploring humor, joy, abandonment, even silliness and outrageousness as valid parts of spiritual experience".[81]
Domestic worship typically takes place in the home and is carried out by either an individual or family group.[82]It typically involves offerings – including bread, cake, flowers, fruit, milk, beer, or wine – being given to images of deities, often accompanied with prayers and songs and the lighting of candles and incense.[82] Common pagan devotional practices have thus been compared to similar practices in Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Roman Catholicism, and Orthodox Christianity, but contrasted with that in Protestantism, Judaism, and Islam.[83] Althoughanimal sacrificewas a common part of pre-Christian ritual in Europe, it is rarely practiced in contemporary paganism.[82]
Festival
edit
Paganism's public rituals are generally calendrical,[70]although the pre-Christian festivals that pagans use as a basis varied across Europe.[84]Nevertheless, common to almost all pagan religions is an emphasis on an agricultural cycle and respect for the dead.[82]Common pagan festivals include those marking thesummer solsticeandwinter solsticeas well as the start of spring and the harvest.[70]In Wicca and Druidry, aWheel of the Yearhas been developed which typically involves eight seasonal festivals.[82]
Magic
editThe belief inmagicalrituals andspellsis held by a "significant number" of contemporary pagans.[85]Among those who believe in it, there are a variety of different views about what magic is. Many modern pagans adhere to the definition of magic provided byAleister Crowley,the founder ofThelema:"the Science and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will". Also accepted by many is the related definition purportedly provided by theceremonial magicianDion Fortune:"magic is the art and science of changing consciousness according to the Will".[85]
Among those who practice magic areWiccans,those who identify asneopagan witches,and practitioners of some forms ofrevivalist neo-Druidism,the rituals of which are at least partially based upon those ofceremonial magicandfreemasonry.[86]
History
editEarly modern period
editDiscussions about prevailing, returning or new forms of paganism have existed throughout the modern period. Before the 20th century, Christian institutions regularly used paganism as a term for everything outside of Christianity, Judaism and – from the 18th century – Islam. They frequently associated paganism with idolatry, magic and a general concept of "false religion", which for example has made Catholics and Protestants accuse each other of being pagans.[87]Variousfolk beliefshave periodically been labeled as pagan and churches have demanded that they should be purged.[88]The Western attitude to paganism gradually changed during the early modern period. One reason was increased contacts with areas outside of Europe, which happened through trade,Christian missionand colonization. Increased knowledge of other cultures led to questions of whether their practices even fit into the definitions of religion, and paganism was incorporated in the idea ofprogress,where it was ranked as a low, undeveloped form of religion.[89]Another reason for change was the circulation of ancient writings such as those attributed toHermes Trismegistus;this made paganism an intellectual position some Europeans began to self-identify with, starting at the latest in the 15th century with people likeGemistus Pletho,who wanted to establish a new form of Greco-Roman polytheism.[89] Gemistus Pletho influencedCosimo de Medicito establish theFlorentine Neoplatonic Academyand consequentiallyJulius Pomponius Laetus(student of Pletho) also advocated for a revival[90]and established theRoman academywhich secretly celebrated theNatale di Romaand the birthday ofRomulus.[91][92]The Academy was dissolved in 1468 whenPope Paul IIorderd the arrest and execution of some of the members,Pope Sixtus IVallowed Laetus to open the accademy again until theSack of Romeof the 1527.
Positive identification with paganism became more common in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it tied in with criticism of Christianity and organized religion, rooted in the ideas of theAge of EnlightenmentandRomanticism.The approach to paganism varied during this period;Friedrich Schiller's 1788 poem "Die Götter Griechenlandes"presentsancient Greek religionas a powerful alternative to Christianity, whereas others took interest in paganism through the concept of thenoble savage,often associated withJean-Jacques Rousseau.[89]During theFrench RevolutionandFirst French Republic,some public figures incorporated pagan themes in their worldviews. An explicit example wasGabriel André Aucler,who responded to both Christianity and Enlightenmentatheismby performing pagan rites and arguing for renewed pagan religiosity in his bookLa Thréicie(1799).[93]
19th and early 20th centuries
editGreat God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight ofProteusrising from the sea;
Or hear oldTritonblow his wreathèd horn.
—William Wordsworth,"The World Is Too Much with Us",lines 9–14
One of the origins of modern pagan movements lies in the romanticist and national liberation movements that developed in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries.[94]The publications of studies into European folk customs and culture by scholars likeJohann Gottfried HerderandJacob Grimmresulted in a wider interest in these subjects and a growth in cultural self-consciousness.[94]At the time, it was commonly believed that almost all such folk customs were survivals from the pre-Christian period.[95]These attitudes would also be exported to North America by European immigrants in these centuries.[95]
The Romantic movement of the 18th century led to the re-discovery ofOld GaelicandOld Norse literatureandpoetry.The 19th century saw a surge of interest inGermanic paganismwith theViking revivalinVictorian Britain[96]andScandinavia,and theVölkisch movementin Germany. These currents coincided with Romanticist interest infolkloreandoccultism,the widespread emergence of pagan themes in popular literature, and the rise of nationalism.[97]
"The rise of modern Paganism is both a result and a measure of increased religious liberty and rising tolerance for religious diversity in modern societies, a liberty and tolerance made possible by the curbing of the sometimes oppressive power wielded by Christian authorities to compel obedience and participation in centuries past. To say it another way, modern Paganism is one of the happy stepchildren of modernmulticulturalismandsocial pluralism."
— Religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska[98]
The rise of modern paganism was aided by the decline in Christianity throughout many parts of Europe and North America,[95]as well as by the concomitant decline in enforced religious conformity and greaterfreedom of religionthat developed, allowing people to explore a wider range of spiritual options and form religious organisations that could operate free from legal persecution.[99]
Historian Ronald Hutton has argued that many of the motifs of 20th century neo-paganism may be traced back to the utopian, mysticalcounter-culturesof the late-Victorian andEdwardianperiods (also extending in some instances into the 1920s), via the works of amateur folklorists, popular authors, poets, political radicals andalternative lifestylers.
Prior to the spread of the 20th-century modern pagan movements, a notable instance of self-identified paganism was in Sioux writer Zitkala-sa's essay "Why I Am A Pagan". Published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1902, the Native American activist and writer outlined her rejection of Christianity (referred to as "the new superstition" ) in favor of a harmony with nature embodied by the Great Spirit. She further recounted her mother's abandonment of Sioux religion and the unsuccessful attempts of a "native preacher" to get her to attend the village church.[100]
In the 1920sMargaret Murraytheorized that asecret pagan religion had survived the witchcraft persecutionsenacted by theecclesiasticaland secular courts. Historians now reject Murray's theory, as she based it partially upon the similarities of the accounts given bythose accused of witchcraft;such similarity is now thought to actually derive from there having been a standard set of questions laid out in thewitch-huntingmanuals used by interrogators.[101]
In the transition between the 1800s and 1900s, efforts to incorporate pagan-Roman rituals into the Italian national identity were made by archaeologistGiacomo Boniand esoteric circles in Rome.
In 1927, philosopher and esotericistJulius Evolafounded theGruppo di Urin Rome, along with its journalUr(1927–1928), involving figures likeArturo Reghini.In 1928, Evola publishedImperialismo Pagano,advocating Italian political paganism to oppose theLateran Pacts.The journal resumed in 1929 asKrur.
A mysterious document published inKrurin 1929, attributed to orientalistLeone Caetani,suggested that Italy'sWorld War Ivictory and the rise offascismwere influenced by Etruscan-Roman rites.[102]
Late 20th century
editThe 1960s and 1970s saw a resurgence inneo-Druidismas well as the rise ofmodern Germanic paganismin the United States and inIceland.In the 1970s,Wiccawas notably influenced by feminism, leading to the creation of an eclectic,Goddess-worshipping movement known asDianic Wicca.[103]The 1979 publication ofMargot Adler'sDrawing Down the MoonandStarhawk'sThe Spiral Danceopened a new chapter in public awareness of paganism.[104] With the growth and spread of large, pagan gatherings and festivals in the 1980s, public varieties ofWiccacontinued to further diversify into additional, eclectic sub-denominations, often heavily influenced by theNew Ageandcounter-culturemovements. These open, unstructured or loosely structured traditions contrast withBritish Traditional Wicca,which emphasizes secrecy and initiatory lineage.[105]
In 1998, theECER(European Congress of Ethnic Religions) was founded with the aim of safeguarding pre-Christian or reconstructionist religions.[106]Some of the organizations affiliated with this entity have contributed to the revival of paganism by building temples and organizing rituals and events in collaboration with various organizations.
After the fall offascism,the public focus on pre-Christian Roman spirituality was mainly promoted byJulius Evola.In the 1970s, interest in pagan Romanity and theGruppo di Urresurfaced among youth linked to Evola. He also introduced non-Roman religious concepts likeBuddhism,Hinduism,andsexual magic.
TheGruppo dei Dioscuriwas formed inRome,Naples,andMessina,publishing four pamphlets before disappearing from public view, though it continued activities from 1969 and remained active in various Italian regions after its founder's death in 2000.
The Evolian journalArthos,founded inGenoain 1972 byRenato del Ponte,expressed significant interest in Roman religion. In 1984, theGruppo Arxrevived Messina'sDioscuriactivities, and thePythagorean Associationbriefly resurfaced inCalabriaandSicilyfrom 1984 to 1988, publishingYghìeia.
Other publications include the GenoeseIl Basilisco(1979–1989), which released several works on pagan studies, andPolitica Romana(1994–2004), seen as a high-level Romano-pagan journal. One prominent figure was actorRoberto Corbiletto,who died in a mysterious fire in 1999.
The 1980s and 1990s also saw an increasing interest in serious academic research andreconstructionist pagantraditions. The establishment and growth of the Internet in the 1990s brought rapid growth to these, and other pagan movements.[105]By the time of thecollapseof the formerSoviet Unionin 1991,freedom of religionwas legally established across Russia and a number of other newly independent states, allowing for the growth in both Christian and non-Christian religions.[107]
Religious paths and movements
editReconstructionist
edit
In contrast to the eclectic traditions,Polytheistic Reconstructionistspractice culturally specific ethnic traditions based on folklore, songs and prayers, as well as reconstructions from the historical record.Hellenic,Roman,Kemetic,Celtic,Germanic,Guanche,BalticandSlavicreconstructionists aim to preserve and revive the practices and beliefs ofAncient Greece,Ancient Rome,Ancient Egypt,theCelts,theGermanic peoples,theGuanchepeople, theBaltsand theSlavs,respectively.[108][109][110]
Germanic
edit
Heathenism, also known as Germanic neopaganism, refers to a series of contemporary pagan traditions based on the historical religions, culture and literature of Germanic-speaking Europe. Heathenry is spread out across northwestern Europe, North America and Australasia, where the descendants of historic Germanic-speaking people now live.[111]
Many Heathen groups adopt variants ofNorse mythologyas a basis for their beliefs, conceiving of the Earth as on the great world treeYggdrasil.Heathens believe in multiple polytheistic deities adopted from historical Germanic mythologies. Most are polytheistic realists, believing that the deities are real entities, while others view them asJungian archetypes.[112]
Celtic
editSlavic
editUralic
editBaltic
editGreek
editRoman
editKemetic
editSemitic
editBeit Asherah (the house of the GoddessAsherah) was one of the first modern pagan synagogues, founded in the early 1990s by Stephanie Fox, Steven Posch, and Magenta Griffiths (Lady Magenta). Magenta Griffiths is High Priestess of the Beit Asherah coven, and a former board member of theCovenant of the Goddess.[113]
Armenian
editChuvash
editTheChuvash people,aTurkicethnic group native to an area stretching from theVolga RegiontoSiberia,have experienced a pagan revival since the fall of theSoviet Union.[114]While potentially considered a peculiar form ofTengrism,a related revivalist movement of Central Asian traditional religion,Vattisen Yaly(Chuvash:Ваттисен йӑли,Tradition of the Old) differs significantly: the Chuvash being a heavilyFennicisedandSlavifiedethnicity and having had exchanges also with otherIndo-Europeanethnicities,[115]their religion shows many similarities with Finnic and Slavic paganisms; moreover, the revival of Vattisen Yaly in recent decades has occurred following modern pagan patterns.[116]Today the followers of the Chuvash Traditional Religion are called "the true Chuvash".[114]Their main god is Tura, a deity comparable to the EstonianTaara,theGermanicThunrazand the pan-TurkicTengri.[115]
Eclectic
editWicca
edit
Wicca is the largest form of modern paganism,[53]as well as the best-known[117]and most extensively studied.[58]
Religious studies scholar Graham Harvey noted that the poem "Charge of the Goddess"remains central to the liturgy of most Wiccan groups. Originally written by Wiccan High PriestessDoreen Valientein the mid-1950s, the poem allows Wiccans to gain wisdom and experience deity in "the ordinary things in life."[118]
HistorianRonald Huttonidentified a wide variety of different sources that influenced Wicca's development, includingceremonial magic,folk magic, Romanticist literature,Freemasonry,and thewitch-cult theoryof English archaeologistMargaret Murray.[86]English esotericistGerald Gardnerwas at the forefront of the burgeoning Wiccan movement. He claimed to have been initiated by theNew Forest covenin 1939, and that the religion he discovered was a survival of the pagan witch-cult described in Murray's theory. Various forms of Wicca have since evolved or been adapted from Gardner's British Traditional Wicca orGardnerian Wicca,such asAlexandrian Wicca.Other forms loosely based on Gardner's teachings areFaery Wicca,Kemetic Wicca,Judeo-paganismor jewitchery, andDianic Wiccaor feminist Wicca, which emphasizes the divine feminine, often creating women-only or lesbian-only groups.[119]In the academic community Wicca has also been interpreted as having close affinities withprocess philosophy.[120]
In the 1990s, Wiccan beliefs and practices were used as a partial basis for a number of US films and television series, such asThe Craft,CharmedandBuffy the Vampire Slayer,leading to a surge in teenagers' and young adults' interest and involvement in the religion.[121][122]
Goddess movement
editGoddess spirituality, which is also known as theGoddess movement,is a pagan religion in which a singular, monotheistic Goddess is given predominance. Goddess Spirituality revolves around the sacredness of the female form, and of aspects of women's lives that adherents say have been traditionally neglected in Western society, such as menstruation, sexuality, and maternity.[123]
The Goddess movement draws some of its inspiration from the work of archaeologists such asMarija Gimbutas,[124][125][126][127]whose interpretation of artifacts excavated from "Old Europe"points to societies ofNeolithic Europethat were matristic or goddess-centered worshipping a female deity of three primary aspects,[128]which has inspired some modern pagan worshippers of theTriple Goddess.
Adherents of the Goddess Spirituality movement typically envision a history of the world that is different from traditional narratives about the past, emphasising the role of women rather than that of men. According to this view,human societywas formerly amatriarchy,with communities being egalitarian, pacifistic, and focused on the worship of theMother goddess,[128]which was subsequently overthrown by violent and warlikepatriarchalhordes – usuallyIndo-Europeanpastoralistswho worshipped malesky-gods,[128]and continued to rule through the form ofAbrahamic religions,specifically Christianity in the West. Adherents look for elements of this human history in "theological, anthropological, archaeological, historical, folkloric and hagiographic writings."[129]
Druidry
editDruidry shows similar heterogeneity as Wicca. It draws inspirations from historicalDruids,the priest caste of the ancient paganCelts.Druidry dates to the earliest forms of modern paganism: theAncient Order of Druidsfounded in 1781 had many aspects offreemasonry,and has practiced rituals atStonehengesince 1905.George Watson MacGregor Reidfoundedthe Druid Orderin its current form in 1909. In 1964Ross Nicholsestablished theOrder of Bards, Ovates and Druids.In the United States, the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) was established in 1912, theReformed Druids of North America(RDNA) in 1963, andÁr nDraíocht Féin(ADF) in 1983 byIsaac Bonewits.[130]
Eco-paganism and Unitarian Universalism
editEco-paganism and Eco-magic, which are offshoots ofdirect actionenvironmental groups, strongly emphasizefairyimagery and a belief in the possibility of intercession by the fae (fairies,pixies,gnomes,elves,and other spirits of nature and theOtherworlds).[131]
SomeUnitarian Universalistsare eclectic pagans. Unitarian Universalists look for spiritual inspiration in a wide variety of religious beliefs. TheCovenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans,or CUUPs, encourages its chapters to "use practices familiar to members who attend for worship services but not to follow only one tradition of paganism."[132]
Occultism and ethnic mysticism
editIn 1925, the Czech esotericist Franz Sättler founded the pagan religionAdonism,devoted to the ancient Greek godAdonis,whom Sättler equated with the Christian Satan, and which purported that the end of the world would come in 2000. Adonism largely died out in the 1930s, but remained an influence on the German occult scene.[133]
Demographics
editEstablishing precise figures on paganism is difficult. Due to the secrecy and fear ofpersecutionstill prevalent among pagans, limited numbers are willing to openly be counted. The decentralised nature of paganism and sheer number ofsolitary practitionersfurther complicates matters.[134]Nevertheless, there is a slow growing body of data on the subject.[135]In the US, there are estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 million practitioners.[136]
Europe
edit
Caucasus region
editAmong Circassians, theAdyghe Habzefaith has been revived after the fall of the Soviet Union, and followers of modern pagan faiths were found to constitute 12% inKarachay-Cherkessiaand 3% inKabardino-Balkaria(both republics are multiethnic and also have many non-Circassians, especially Russians and Turkic peoples)[137]InAbkhazia,the Abkhaz native faith has also been revived, and in the 2003 census, 8% of residents identified with it (note again that there are many non-Abkhaz in the state including Georgians, Russians and Armenians);[138]on 3 August 2012 theCouncil of Priests of Abkhaziawas formally constituted inSukhumi.[139]In North Ossetia, theUatsdinfaith was revived, and in 2012, 29% of the population identified with it (North Ossetia is about 2/3 Ossetian and 1/3 Russian).[c]Modern pagan movements are also present to a lesser degree elsewhere; in Dagestan 2% of the population identified with folk religious movements, while data on modern pagans is unavailable for Chechnya and Ingushetia.[137]
Volga region
editTheMari native religionin fact has a continuous existence, but it has co-existed with Orthodox Christianity for centuries and experienced a renewal after the fall of the Soviet Union. A sociological survey conducted in 2004 found that about 15 percent of the population of Mari El consider themselves adherents of the Mari native religion. Since Mari make up just 45 percent of the republic's population of 700,000, this figure means that probably more than a third claim to follow the old religion.[140]The percentage of pagans among the Mari of Bashkortostan and the eastern part of Tatarstan is even higher (up to 69% among women). Mari fled here from forced Christianization in the 17th to 19th centuries.[141]A similar number was claimed byVictor Schnirelmann,for whom between a quarter and a half of the Mari either worship the pagan gods or are members of modern pagan groups.[142]
A modern pagan movement drawing from various syncretic practices that had survived among the Christianised Mari people was initiated in 1990[143]that was estimated in 2004 to have won the adherence of 2% of the Mordvin people.[144]
Western Europe
editA study byRonald Huttoncompared a number of different sources (including membership lists of major UK organizations, attendance at major events, subscriptions to magazines, etc.) and used standard models for extrapolating likely numbers. This estimate accounted for multiple membership overlaps, as well as the number of adherents represented by each attendee of a pagan gathering. Hutton estimated that there are 250,000 modern pagans inthe United Kingdom,roughly equivalent to the nationalHinducommunity.[86]
A smaller number is suggested by the results of the2001 Census,in which a question about religious affiliation was asked for the first time. Respondents were able to write in an affiliation not covered by the checklist of common religions, and a total of 42,262 people from England, Scotland and Wales declared themselves to be pagans by this method. These figures were not released as a matter of course by theOffice for National Statisticsbut were released after an application by thePagan Federationof Scotland.[145]This is more than many well known traditions such asRastafarian,BaháʼíandZoroastriangroups but fewer than the big six of Christianity,Islam,Hinduism,Sikhism,Judaism andBuddhism.It is also fewer than the adherents ofJediism,whosecampaignmade their faith the fourth largest religion after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.[146]
The 2001 UK Census figures did not allow an accurate breakdown of traditions within the pagan heading, as a campaign by the Pagan Federation before the census encouraged Wiccans, Heathens, Druids and others all to use the same write-in term 'pagan' to maximise the numbers reported. However, the2011 censusmade it possible to describe oneself as pagan-Wiccan, pagan-Druid and so on. The figures for England and Wales showed 80,153 describing themselves as pagan (or some subgroup thereof). The largest subgroup was Wicca, with 11,766 adherents.[147]The overall numbers of people self-reporting as pagan rose between 2001 and 2011. In 2001, about seven people per 10,000 UK respondents were pagan; in 2011, the number (based on the England and Wales population) was 14.3 people per 10,000 respondents.
Census figures in Ireland do not provide a breakdown of religions outside of the major Christian denominations and other major world religions. A total of 22,497 people stated Other Religion in the 2006 census; and a rough estimate is that there were 2,000–3,000 practicing pagans in Ireland in 2009. Numerous pagan groups – primarily Wiccan and Druidic – exist in Ireland though none is officially recognised by the Government. Irish paganism is often strongly concerned with issues of place and language.[148]
North America
edit| Socio-economic breakdown of U.S. pagans in 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Canada does not provide extremely detailed records of religious adherence. Itsstatistics serviceonly collects limited religious information each decade. At the2001 census,there were a recorded 21,080 pagans in Canada.[150][151][better source needed]
The United States government does not directly collect religious information. As a result such information is provided by religious institutions and other third-party statistical organisations.[152]Based on the most recent survey by thePew Forumon religion, there are over one million pagans in the United States.[153]Up to 0.4% of respondents answered "pagan" or "Wiccan" whenpolled.[154]
According toHelen A. Berger's 1995 survey "The Pagan Census", most American pagans are middle-class,educated,and live in urban/suburban areas on theEastandWestcoasts.[149]
Oceania
edit| Breakdown of Australians[155] | |
|---|---|
| Classifications | Adherents |
| Animism | 780 |
| Druidism | 1,049 |
| Paganism | 16,851 |
| Pantheism | 1,391 |
| Nature Religions | 3,599 |
| Wicca/Witchcraft | 8,413 |
| Total | 32,083 |
In the2011 Australian Census,32,083 respondents identified aspagan.[155]Out of 21,507,717 recordedAustralians,[156]they compose approximately 0.15% of the population. TheAustralian Bureau of Statisticsclassifies paganism as an affiliation under which several sub-classifications may optionally be specified. This includesanimism,nature religion,Druidism,pantheism,and Wicca/Witchcraft. As a result, fairly detailed breakdowns of pagan respondents are available.[d]
| New Zealander affiliations[157] | |
|---|---|
| Groups | Adherents |
| Druidism | 192 |
| Nature religion | 4,530 |
| Wicca | 2,082 |
| Total | 6,804 |
In 2006, there were at least 6,804 (0.164%) pagans among New Zealand's population of approximately 4 million.[158]Respondents were given the option to select one or more religious affiliations.[157]
Paganism in society
editPropagation
editBased upon her study of the pagan community in the United States, the sociologistMargot Adlernoted that it is rare for pagan groups toproselytizeto gain new converts to their faiths. Instead, she argued that "in most cases," converts first become interested in the movement through "word of mouth, a discussion between friends, a lecture, a book, an article or a Web site." She went on to put forward the idea that this typically confirmed "some original, private experience, so that the most common experience of those who have named themselves pagan is something like 'I finally found a group that has the same religious perceptions I always had.'"[159]A practicing Wiccan herself, Adler used her own conversion to paganism as a case study, remarking that as a child she had taken a great interest in thegods and goddesses of ancient Greece,and had performed her own devised rituals in dedication to them. When she eventually came across the Wiccan religion many years later, she then found that it confirmed her earlier childhood experiences, and that "I never converted in the accepted sense. I simply accepted, reaffirmed, and extended a very old experience".[160]
FolkloristSabina Maglioccosupported this idea, noting that a great many of those Californian pagans whom she interviewed claimed that they had been greatly interested inmythologyandfolkloreas children, imagining a world of "enchanted nature and magical transformations, filled with lords and ladies, witches and wizards, and humble but often wise peasants". Magliocco noted that it was this world that pagans "strive to re-create in some measure".[161]Further support for Adler's ideas came from American Wiccan priestessJudy Harrow,who noted that among her comrades, there was a feeling that "you don'tbecomepagan, you discover that you always were ".[162]They have also been supported by Pagan studies scholar Graham Harvey.[163]
Many pagans in North America encounter the movement through their involvement in other hobbies; particularly popular with US pagans are "golden age-type" pastimes such as theSociety for Creative Anachronism(SCA),Star Trekfandom,Doctor Whofandom and comic book fandom. Other ways in which many North American pagans have gotten involved with the movement are through political or ecological activism, such as vegetarian groups, health food stores, or feminist university courses.[164]
Adler went on to note that from those she interviewed and surveyed in the US she could identify a number of common factors that led to people getting involved in paganism: the beauty, vision and imagination that was found within their beliefs and rituals, a sense of intellectual satisfaction and personal growth that they imparted, their support for environmentalism or feminism, and a sense of freedom.[165]
Class, gender and ethnicity
editUnited States
editBased upon her work in the United States, Adler found that the pagan movement was "very diverse" in its class and ethnic backgrounds.[166]She went on to remark that she had encountered pagans in jobs that ranged from "fireman to PhD chemist" but that the one thing she thought made them into an "elite" was being avid readers, something that she found to be very common within the pagan community despite the fact that avid readers constituted less than 20% of the general population of the United States at the time.[167]Magliocco came to a somewhat different conclusion based upon her ethnographic research of pagans in California, remarking that the majority were "white, middle-class, well-educated urbanites" but that they were united in finding "artistic inspiration" within "folk and indigenous [American] spiritual traditions,"[168]
The sociologist Regina Oboler examined the role of gender in the American pagan community, arguing that although the movement had been constant in its support for the equality of men and women ever since its foundation, there was still anessentialistview of gender ingrained within it, with female deities being accorded traditional western feminine traits and male deities being similarly accorded what western society saw as masculine traits.[169]
Racism and nationalism
editGenerally, modern pagan currents inWestern countriesdo not advocatenationalistor far-rightideologies.Instead, they advocateindividual self-improvementand liberal values ofpersonal freedom,gender equality,andenvironmental protection.The nationalist sentiments expressed by modern pagans in Western countries are marginal, so the ideas ofcosmopolitanismare prevalent. Faith and dogmas give way to active practices, including psychotechnics, which was extensively influenced byneo-Hinduism.In contrast, many areas of post-Soviet modern paganism, including Russian, are occupied not so much with individual self-improvement as they are occupied with social problems, and they also create nationalist ideologies based on the "invented past".[170]
Modern paganism is one of the directions in the development ofromantic nationalismwith its components such as the idealization of a particular people's historical or mythological past, dissatisfaction with modernity, and the ease of transition to a radical stage with the postulation of national superiority.[171][172]
The "volksgeist",which is given great attention within the framework ofethnic nationalism,is often identified with religion, so there is a desire to create or revive one's religion or nationalize one of the world's religions.Heinrich Heinelinked nationalism with paganism. The philosopherNikolai Berdyaev,who shared Heine's opinion, noted the regularity of the tendency of the transition of German antisemitism into anti-Christianity.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the spiritual crisis in Russia led to a fascination with paganism, at first ancient and then Slavic "native gods," which was especially true for thesymbolists.The publicist Daniil Pasmanik (1923) wrote that consistent antisemitism should reject Judaism and Christianity. He noted that this trend had already led Germany to worshipOdinand, in the future, in his opinion, would inevitably lead Russia to worshipPerun.[171]
German occultism and modern paganism arose in the early 20th century, and they became influential through teachings such asAriosophy,gaining adherents within the far-rightVölkisch movement,which eventually culminated inNazism.The development of such ideas afterWorld War IIgave rise toWotanism,awhite nationalistmodern pagan movement at the end of the 20th century.[173][174]
In Germany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Völkisch movement, characterized by a racistantisemiticideology of radical ethnic nationalism of the dominant population, spread.[175][176]The central elements of the worldview were racism andelitism.[177][178]The movement included a religious modern pagan component.[179]The ideology developed out of German nationalist romanticism.[177]Nazism is considered one of the movements within the völkisch[180]or as strongly influenced by the völkisch.[177]Völkisch consisted of many religiopolitical groups whose leaders and followers were closely associated with each other and the developingNazi Party.[179]This ideology significantly impacted various aspects of German culture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.[178]
Liberalism and rationalism, which demystified the time-honored order that accepted authorities and prejudices, also caused an adverse reaction from supporters of the völkisch movement. A negative attitude towards modernity characterizes the writings of German nationalist "prophets" such as Paul Delagardie, Julius Lang, andArthur Moeller van den Bruck.[177]The movement combined a sentimental patriotic interest inGerman folkloreandlocal historywith anti-urban, back-to-the-earth populism.[181]To overcome what they considered the ailment of scientific and rationalistic modernity, the authors of völkisch found a spiritual solution in the essence of the "people," perceived as genuine, intuitive, even "primitive," in the sense of the location of the "people" on the level with the original (primordial) cosmic order.[182]
Völkisch thinkers tended to idealize the myth of the "original nation", which they believed could still be found in rural Germany, a form of "primitive democracy freely subject to its natural elite".[183]The idea of the "people" (German:Volk) was subsequently transformed into the idea of "racial essence", and Völkisch thinkers understood this term as a life-giving and quasi-eternal essence and not as a sociological category, in the same way as they considered "Nature".[184]
Modern pagan ideas were present inAriosophy,anesotericteaching created by the Austrian occultistsGuido von ListandJörg Lanz von Liebenfelsin Austria between 1890 and 1930.[185]The term "ariosophy" can also be used generically to describe the "Aryan" /esoteric teachings of the völkisch subset.[186]The doctrine of Ariosophy was based on pseudoscientific ideas about "Aryan" purity and the mystical unity of spirit and body.[187]It was influenced by the German nationalist völkisch movement, thetheosophyofHelena Blavatsky,the Austrianpan-Germanmovement, andsocial Darwinismand its racist conclusions.[177]Ariosophy influenced the ideology of Nazism.[185]
The works of the Ariosophists describe the prehistoric "Aryan" golden age when the wise keepers of knowledge learned and taught occult racial teachings and ruled over a "racially pure" society. It is alleged that there is an evil conspiracy of anti-German forces, including all "non-Aryan" races, Jews, and the Christian church, seeking to destroy the ideal "Aryan" German world by freeing the "non-Aryan" mob to establish a false equality of the illegitimate (representatives of "non-Aryan" races). History, including wars, economic crises, political uncertainty, and the weakening of the power of the German principle, is seen as the result of racial mixing.
The doctrine had followers in Austria and Germany. Occultism in the doctrines of the Ariosophists was of great importance as a sacral justification for an extreme political position and a fundamental rejection of reality, including socio-economic progress. The Ariosophists sought to predict and justify the "coming era" of the German world order. To counter the modern world, "corrupted" by racial mixing, the Ariosophists created many small circles and secret religious societies to revive the "lost" esoteric knowledge and racial virtues of the ancient Germans to create a new pan-German empire.[177]
To recreate the religion of theancient Germans,List used the Scandinavian epic and the work of contemporary theosophists, in particular Max Ferdinand Sebaldt von Werth, who described theeugenicpractices of the "Aryans", as well asThe Secret Doctrineby Helena Blavatsky andThe Lost LemuriabyWilliam Scott-Elliot.Influenced by these works, List used the terms "Ario-Germans" and "race" instead of "Germans" and "people", perhaps to emphasize the overlap with the fifthroot racein Blavatsky's scheme.[185]List and Lanz developed ideas about the struggle between the "Aryanrace of masters"and the" race of slaves "and about the ancestral home of the" Aryans "on the sunken polar island ofArctogea.[188]
In Nazi Germany, Germanic pagan folklore, as a source of primordial moral standards, was revered higher than Christianity associated with Judaism. Many Nazis saw anti-Christianity as a deeper form of antisemitism.[189]Heinrich Himmlerspoke of the need to create a "neo-Germanic religion" capable of replacing Christianity.[190]The Old Testament was especially repugnant to the Nazis. Adolf Hitler called it "Satan's Bible". Rosenberg demanded that it be banned as a "vehicle of Jewish influence" and replaced by the Nordicsagas.[191]The Nazi ideology combined the veneration of the "pagan heritage of the ancestors" with puritanical, Christian sexual morality, which the "Nordic"Apollowas supposed to personify.[192]
White supremacistideologies andneo-Nazism,including ideas of racism, antisemitism, andanti-LGBTQ,have infiltrated or assimilated many Germanic modern pagan movements such asOdinismand some Ásatrú groups, including theAsatru Folk Assembly.These groups believe that the Germanic beliefs they hold constitute the true Caucasoid ethnic religion.[173][193]
The issue of race is a major source of contention among modern pagans, especially in the United States.[194][195][196]In the modern pagan community, one view is that race is entirely a matter of biologicalheredity,while the opposite position is that race is asocial constructrooted in cultural heritage. In US modern pagan discourse, these views are described as völkische and universalist positions, respectively.[197][198][199][200]The two factions, whichJeffrey Kaplanhas called the "racist"and"non-racist"camps, often clash, with Kaplan claiming that there is a" virtual civil war "between them within the American modern pagan community.[201]The division into universalists and völkisch also spread to other countries,[199]but had less impact on the more ethnically homogeneousIceland.[202]A 2015 survey showed that more modern pagans adhere to universalist ideas than völkisch.[203]
Going beyond this binary classification, religious scholarMattias Gardelldivides modern paganism in the United States into three factions according to their racial stance:
- the "anti-racist" faction, which denounces any connection between religion and racial identity
- the "radical-racist" faction, which believes that members of other racial groups should not follow their religion because racial identity is the natural religion of the "Aryan race"
- an "ethnic" faction seeking to forge a middle path by recognizing their religion's roots in Northern Europe and its connection to people of Northern European origin[195]
Religious scholarStephanie von Schnurbeinaccepted Gardell's tripartite division, and referred to these groups as the "aracist", "racial-religious", and "ethnic" factions, respectively.[204]
Supporters of the universalist and anti-racist approach believe that the deities of Germanic Europe can call anyone to worship them, regardless of ethnic origin.[197]This group rejects the völkisch focus on race, believing that even unintentionally, such an approach can lead to racist attitudes towards people of non-Northern European origin.[205]Practicing universalists such asStephan Grundyemphasize that ancient northern Europeans married and had children with members of other ethnic groups, and inNorse mythology,theÆsirdid the same with theVanir,jötnar,and humans, so these modern pagans criticize racist views.[206][207]
Universalists favorably accept practitioners of modern paganism who are not of Northern European origin; for example,The Troth,based in the United States, hasJewishand African American members, and many of its white members have spouses who belong to different racial groups.[208][209][210]While some pagans continue to believe that Germanic paganism is an innate religion, universalists have sometimes argued that this paganism is an innate religion for the lands of Northern Europe and not for a particular race. Universalists often complain that some journalists portray modern paganism as an inherently racist movement,[203]so they use the Internet to highlight their opposition tofar-right politics.[211]
In Heathenry, the terms "völkisch", "neo-völkisch", or the Anglicised "folkish" are used both as endonyms and exonyms for groups who believe that the religion is closely related to the claimed biological race.[187][212][213]Völkisch practitioners consider paganism to be an indigenous religion of a biologically distinct race[214]that is conceptualized as "White","Nordic","Aryan "," Northern European ", or" English ". Völkisch modern pagans generally regard these classifications as self-evident, despite the academic consensus that race is a cultural construct.
Völkisch groups often use ethnonationalist language and claim that only members of these racial groups are entitled to practice a given religion, taking the pseudoscientific view that "gods and goddesses are encoded in the DNA" of the members of a race.[187][212][213]Some practitioners explain the idea of linking their race and religion by saying that religion is inextricably linked to thecollective unconsciousof that race.[215][216]The American modern paganStephen McNallendeveloped these ideas into a concept he called "metagenetics".[217][218][219]McNallen and many other members of the modern pagan "ethnic" faction explicitly state that they are not racist, although Gardell has noted that their views may be considered racist under specific definitions of the term.[220]Gardell considered many "ethnic" modern pagans to beethnic nationalists.[221]
Many völkisch practitioners disapprove ofmulticulturalismandracial mixingin modern Europe, advocatingracial separatism.[214]In online media, modern pagan völkische often express a belief in the threat of racial miscegenation, which they blame on the social and political establishment, sometimes claiming that their ideas of racial exclusivity are the result of the threat that other ethnic groups pose to "white" people.[222][187]While these groups generally claim to be aiming to reviveGermanic paganism,their race-centric views have their origins in 19th-century culture, not antiquity.[187]This group's discourse contains the concepts of "ancestors" and "homeland", which are understood very vaguely.[223]Researcher Ethan Doyle White characterizes the position of theOdinic Riteand theOdin Brotherhoodas "far right".[224]
Ethnocentric modern pagans are highly critical of their universalist counterparts, often claiming that the latter have been misled byNew Ageliterature andpolitical correctness.[225]Members of the universalist and ethnocentric factions criticize those who adopt an "ethnic" stance. The former view "ethnic" modern paganism as a cover for racism, while the latter view its adherents asrace traitorsfor their refusal to fully accept the superiority of the "white race".[226]
Some modern pagans of the völkisch movement are white supremacists and outright racists[227][228]representing a "radical racist" faction that uses the namesOdinism,Wotanism,andWodenism.[225][229]According to Kaplan, these adepts occupy the "most remote corners" of modern paganism.[230]The lines between this form of modern paganism and Nazism are "extremely thin"[231]because its adherents praiseAdolf HitlerandNazi Germany,[231]claim that the "white race" isthreatened with extinctionby the efforts of aJewish world conspiracy,[232]and dismiss Christianity as a work of the Jews.[233]
Many in the inner circle of the terrorist organizationThe Order,a white supremacist militia operating in the US in the 1980s, called themselves Odinists.[234]Various racist modern pagans supported theFourteen Wordsslogan, which was developed by The Order memberDavid Lane.[235]Some racist organizations, such as theOrder of Nine Anglesand theBlack Order,combine elements of modern paganism withSatanism,[236]while other racist modern pagans, such as Wotanist Ron McVan, reject the syncretism of the two religions.[237]
American neo-NaziWilliam Luther Pierce,the founder of the neo-Nazi organizationNational Alliance,whose ideas stimulatedneo-Nazi terrorism,also created the Cosmotheistic Community Church in 1978. He considered the teaching he created within the framework of this church to bepantheismand leaned towards the "Panaryan" Nordic cults. These cults emphasized the idea of a unique closeness of "white people" with nature and the natural "spiritual essence", which was influenced by the ideas ofSavitri Devi.According to the doctrine, each race has its predestined role: "whites" are predisposed to strive for God, blacks strive for laziness, and Jews strive for corruption.
In 1985, Pierce purchased a large piece of land at Mill Point in West Virginia, fenced it in with barbed wire, and began selling books on Western culture and Western "pagan traditions" there. He aimed to save the "white race" away from the federal government. In part, he also drew onBritish Israelismand the racist religion ofIdentity Christianity.The "National Alliance" met regularly to discuss the ideas of "cosmotheism". Pierce dismissed Christianity as "one of the chief mental illnesses of our people" through which "Jewish influence" spreads. Pierce saw the proposed government after the "racial revolution" as religious, which would be "more like a holy order." He considered the future religion of the "white race" the "Aryan religion" – the "cosmotheism" that he created.[238]
SociologistMarlène Laruellenotes the activation of "Aryan" modern paganism in the West and Russia. For example, social movements are thus developing that appeal to the Celtic past and call for a return to the "druidicreligions "of pre-Christian Europe. For the most part, the French and GermanNouvelle Droiteshare the common idea of a pan-European unity based on an "Aryan" identity and the desire to part with Christianity, the period of domination of which is seen as two thousand years of "wandering in darkness."[239]
Slavic neopaganism (Rodnoverie)has a close connection withNazism,reproducing its main ideas: the "Aryan" idea, including the idea of thenorthern ancestral home(in Rodnoverie, it is in the Russian North, the Northern Urals, or beyond the Arctic Circle); the connection of their people with the "Aryans" or complete identification with them (in Rodnovery, "Slavic-Aryans" ); the antiquity of one's people and its racial or cultural superiority over others; their people (or the ancient "Aryans" identified with them) are regarded as cultural tregers, distributors of high culture, founders of great civilizations of antiquity, (in Rodnoverie, Slavic or "Slavic-Aryan" "Vedic" technological pracivilization, "taught" all other peoples), and creators of ancient writing (in Rodnoverie,Slavic runes); "Aryan" proto-language (in Rodnoverie, "Slavic-Aryan" or Old Slavic), from which all or many other languages of the world originated; reliance onesotericism;orientation to the faith of ancestors (hence paganism); anti-Christianity (the idea that Christians seek to enslave the people) and antisemitism (Jews as "racial enemies" ); "Aryan" socialism (an integral part of the ideology of Nazism) as the most natural for its people (in Rodnoverie, the "original tribal system" of the Slavs, which is thought of as a kind of "Aryan" socialism); symbols and gestures close to or derived from Nazism, etc.[171]
One of the main starting points for the formation of Slavic neopaganism was the search for a rationale for the national idea. Hence follows an increased interest in the origins of national self-consciousness and the national type of religiosity.[240]In the post-Soviet period, in the conditions of the loss of the great "empire" (USSR), land, and influence and in search of internal and external enemies, neopaganism became widespread among nationalist ideologues, just like in Germany in the 1930s. In Rodnoverie, the unity of the Russian people was undergoing a new re-mythologization with an appeal for support to the ideas of the "golden age",the primordial untainted tradition, and the native land.[241]
Historian Dmitry Shlapentokh wrote that, as in Europe, neopaganism in Russia pushes some of its adherents to antisemitism. This antisemitism is closely related to negative attitudes towards Asians, and this emphasis on racial factors can lead neopagans to neo-Nazism. The tendency of neopagans to antisemitism is a logical development of the ideas of neopaganism and imitation of the Nazis and is also a consequence of some specific conditions of modern Russian politics.
Unlike previous regimes, the current Russian political regime and the ideology of the middle class combine support for Orthodoxy withphilosemitismand a positive attitude towards Muslims. These features of the regime contributed to the formation of specific views of neo-Nazi neopagans, which are represented to a large extent among the socially unprotected and marginalized Russian youth. In their opinion, power in Russia was usurped by a cabal of conspirators, including hierarchs of the Orthodox Church, Jews, and Muslims. Contrary to external differences, these forces are believed to have united in their desire to maintain power over the Russian "Aryans".[242]
Some associations of neopaganism, in particular Slavic, are evaluated by researchers as extremist, radical nationalists.[243][244][245]In Russia, individual neopagan organizations and essays were included in thelist of extremist organizations of the Ministry of Justice of Russiaand theFederal List of Extremist Materials,respectively.[246]
The historian and ethnologistVictor Schnirelmannconsiders Russian neopaganism as a direction ofRussian nationalismthat deniesRussian Orthodoxyas an enduring national value and distinguishes two cardinal tasks that Russian neopaganism sets for itself: the salvation of Russian national culture from the leveling influence of modernization and the protection of the natural environment from the impact of modern civilization.[247]According to Schnirelmann, "Russian neopaganism is a radical variety of conservative ideology, which is distinguished by frankanti-intellectualismandpopulism."[171]
Religious scholarAlexei Gaidukovconsiders it wrong to reduce the diversity of native faith groups to nationalism only – he views the ecological direction of Rodnovery as no less significant.[248]Historian and religious scholar Roman Shizhensky believes Rodnovery poses little danger and law enforcement agencies should deal with radical groups.[249]
The Austrian occultistGuido von List,who created the doctrine ofAriosophy,argued that an ancient developed "Ario-Germanic" culture reached its dawn several millennia before Roman colonization and Christianity. According to him, beforeCharlemagne's forced introduction of Christianity, Wotanism was practiced in what is now the Danubian territory of Germany. List considered Charlemagne the killer of the Saxons in memory of the bloody baptism of the pagans of Northern Germany by him. List considered the entire Christian period as an era of cultural decline, oblivion of the true faith, and unnatural racial mixing, when the "Aryan" ruling caste of priest-kings was forced to hide, secretly saving their sacred knowledge, which now became available to List as a full-fledged aristocratic descendant of this caste.[177]
In Slavic neopaganism, there is the idea of an ancient multi-thousand-year-old and developed civilization of the "Slavs-Aryans", while the entire Christian period seems to be an era of regression and decline,[250]the enslavement of the "Aryans" by foreign missionaries who imposed on them a "slave" (Christian) ideology. Rodnovers often regard these missionaries as Jews, "Judeo-Masons",or their accomplices. At the same time, the Slavic" Aryan "volkhvsor priests had to hide in secret places, preserving the knowledge that was now passed onto their direct descendants, Rodnovers.[171]
The idea of the Jewish-Khazar origin of PrinceVladimir the Greatis popular, explaining why heintroduced Christianity,an instrument for the enslavement of the "Aryans" by Jews, and staged the genocide of the pagan Slavs. Roman Shizhensky singles out the neopagan myth about Vladimir and characterizes it as one of the most "odious" neopaganhistorical mythsand one of the leading Russian neopagan myths in terms of worldview significance.
The author of this myth isValery Yemelyanov,one of the founders of Russian neopaganism, who expounded it in his bookDezionization(1970s). Shizhensky notes that the neopagan myth about Vladimir contradicts scientific work on the issue and the totality of historical sources.[251]
Concerning the trend of convergence of neopagan associations from different countries, Andrey Beskov notes that neopagan nationalism is not an obstacle to "neopaganinternationalism",andanti-globalism,one of the manifestations of which was the popularity of ethnic religions, itself acquires a global character.[252]
LGBT
edit
The westernLGBTcommunity, oftenmarginalizedand/oroutright rejectedbyAbrahamic-predominant mainstream religious establishments, has often sought spiritual acceptance and association in neopagan religious/spiritual practice. Pagan-specializing religious scholar Christine Hoff Kraemer wrote, "Pagans tend to be relatively accepting ofsame-sex relationships,BDSM,polyamory,transgender people,andother expressions of gender and sexualitythat are marginalized by mainstream society. "Conflict naturally arises, however, as some neopagan belief systems and sect ideologies stem from fundamental beliefs in themale–female gender binary,heterosexual pairing,resultingheterosexual reproduction,and/orgender essentialism.[253][254]
In response, groups and sects inclusive of or specific to LGBT people have developed. Theologian Jone Salomonsen noted in the 1980s and 1990s that thereclaimingmovement of San Francisco featured an unusually high number of LGBT people, particularlybisexuals.[255]Margot Adlernoted groups whose practices focused onmale homosexuality,such asEddie Buczynski's Minoan Brotherhood, a Wiccan sect that combines the iconography from ancientMinoan religionwith a Wiccan theology and an emphasis on men who love men, and theeclectic pagangroup known as theRadical Faeries.When Adler asked one gay male pagan what the pagan community offered members of the LGBT community, he replied, "A place to belong. Community. Acceptance. And a way to connect with all kinds of people – gay, bi, straight, celibate, transgender – in a way that is hard to do in the greater society."[256]
Transgenderexistence and acceptability is especially controversial in many neopagan sects. One of the most notable of these isDianic Wicca.Thisfemale-only,radical feministvariant of Wicca allowscisgenderlesbians but nottransgender women.This is due to Dianic belief ingender essentialism;according to founderZsuzsanna Budapest,"you have to have sometimes [sic] in your life a womb, and ovaries and [menstruate] and not die". This belief and the way it is expressed is often denounced astransphobiaandtrans-exclusionary radical feminism.[257][258][259]
Trans exclusion can also be found inAlexandrian Wicca,whose founder views trans individuals asmelancholypeople who should seek other beliefs due to the Alexandrian focus on heterosexual reproduction and duality.[260]
Relationship with the New Age movement
edit"Neopagan practices highlight the centrality of the relationship between humans and nature and reinvent religions of the past, while New Agers are more interested in transforming individual consciousness and shaping the future."
— Religious studies scholar Sarah Pike.[261]
Since the 1960s and 1970s, contemporary paganism, or neo-paganism, and the then emergentcounterculture,New Age,andhippiemovements experienced a degree ofcross-pollination.[262]An issue of academic debate has been regarding the connection between these movements. Religious studies scholar Sarah Pike asserted that in the United States, there was a "significant overlap" betweenmodern paganism and New Age,[263]whileAidan A. Kellystated that paganism "parallels the New Age movement in some ways, differs sharply from it in others, and overlaps it in some minor ways".[264]Ethan Doyle White stated that while the pagan and New Age movements "do share commonalities and overlap", they were nevertheless "largely distinct phenomena."[265] Hanegraaff suggested that whereas various forms of contemporary paganism were not part of the New Age movement – particularly those who pre-dated the movement – other pagan religions and practices could be identified as New Age.[266]Various differences between the two movements have been highlighted; the New Age movement focuses on an improved future, whereas the focus of Paganism is on the pre-Christian past.[267]Similarly, the New Age movement typically propounds a universalist message which sees all religions as fundamentally the same, whereas paganism stresses the difference between monotheistic religions and those embracing a polytheistic or animistic theology.[267]Further, the New Age movement shows little interest inmagicandwitchcraft,which are conversely core interests of pagan religions such asWicca.[267]
Many pagans have sought to distance themselves from the New Age movement, even using "New Age" as an insult within their community, while conversely many involved in the New Age have expressed criticism of paganism for emphasizing the material world over the spiritual.[265] Many pagans have expressed criticism of the high fees charged by New Age teachers, something not typically present in the pagan movement.[268]
Relationship with Hinduism
editBecause of their common links to theProto-Indo-Europeanculture, many adherents of modern paganism have come to regardHinduismas a spiritual relative. Some modern pagan literature prominently featurescomparative religioninvolving European and Indian traditions. The ECER has made efforts to establish mutual support with Hindu groups, as has the Lithuanian Romuva movement.[269]
In India, a prominent figure who made similar efforts was theHindu revivalistRam Swarup,who pointed out parallels between Hinduism and European and Arabic paganism. Swarup reached out to modern pagans in the West and also had an influence on Western converts to Hinduism or pro-Hindu activists, notablyDavid FrawleyandKoenraad Elst,who both have described Hinduism as a form of paganism.[270]The modern pagan writerChristopher Gérardhas drawn much inspiration from Hinduism and visited Swarup in India. Reviewing Gérard's bookParcours païenin 2001, thehistorian of religionJean-François Mayerdescribed Gérard's activities as part of the development of a "Western-Hindu 'pagan axis'".[271]
Prejudice and opposition
editIn theIslamic World,pagans are not consideredpeople of the book,so they do not have the same status as Abrahamic religions inIslamic religious lawfor example, Muslim men cannot marry pagan women while they are allowed to marry among people of the book; and Muslims can eat meat of halal animals that are slaughtered by people of the book, but not that slaughtered by methods of other religions.
Regarding European paganism, InModern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative PerspectivesMichael F. Strmiska writes that "in pagan magazines, websites, and Internet discussion venues, Christianity is frequently denounced as an antinatural, antifemale, sexually and culturally repressive, guilt-ridden, and authoritarian religion that has fostered intolerance, hypocrisy, and persecution throughout the world."[272]Further, there is a common belief in the pagan community that Christianity and paganism are opposing belief systems.[272]This animosity is flamed by historical conflicts between Christian and pre-Christian religions, as well as the perceived ongoing Christian disdain from Christians.[272]Some pagans have claimed that Christian authorities have never apologized for the religious displacement of Europe's pre-Christian belief systems, particularly following theRoman Catholic Church's apology for pastantisemitismin itsA Reflection on the Shoah.[273]They also express disapproval of Christianity's continued missionary efforts around the globe at the expense of indigenous and other polytheistic faiths.[274]
Some Christian authors have published books criticizing modern paganism,[35]while other Christian critics have equated paganism withSatanism,which is often portrayed as such in mainstream entertainment industry.[275]
In areas such as the USBible Belt,where conservative Christian dominance is strong, pagans have faced continued religious persecution.[274]For instance, Strmiska highlighted instances in both the US and UK in which school teachers were fired when their employers discovered that they were pagan.[274]Thus, many pagans keep their religion private to avoiddiscriminationand ostracism.[276]
Pagan studies
editThe earliest academic studies of contemporary paganism were published in the late 1970s and 1980s by scholars likeMargot Adler,Marcello TruzziandTanya Luhrmann,although it would not be until the 1990s that the actual multidisciplinary academic field of pagan studies properly developed, pioneered by academics such as Graham Harvey andChas S. Clifton.Increasing academic interest in paganism has been attributed to the new religious movement's increasing public visibility, as it began interacting with theinterfaith movementand holding large public celebrations at sites likeStonehenge.[277]
The first international academic conference on the subject of pagan studies was held at theUniversity of Newcastle upon Tyne,North-East England in 1993. It was organised by two British religious studies scholars, Graham Harvey and Charlotte Hardman.[278]In April 1996 a larger conference dealing with contemporary paganism took place atAmblesidein theLake District.Organised by the Department of Religious Studies at theUniversity of Lancaster,North-West England, it was entitled "Nature Religion Today: Western Paganism, Shamanism and Esotericism in the 1990s", and led to the publication of an academic anthology, entitledNature Religion Today:Paganism in the Modern World.[278]In 2004, the firstpeer-reviewed,academic journaldevoted to pagan studies began publication.The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studieswas edited by Clifton, while the academic publishers AltaMira Press began release of the Pagan Studies Series.[279]From 2008 onward, conferences have been held bringing together scholars specialising in the study of paganism in Central and Eastern Europe.[280]
The relationship between pagan studies scholars and some practising pagans has at times been strained. The Australian academic and practising pagan Caroline Jane Tully argues that many pagans can react negatively to new scholarship regarding historical pre-Christian societies, believing that it is a threat to the structure of their beliefs and to their "sense of identity". She furthermore argues that some of those dissatisfied pagans lashed out against academics as a result, particularly on the Internet.[281]
Criticism
editNeopaganism has been criticized on a variety of fronts, ranging from pseudohistory to racial issues to institutional issues. As neopaganism is not a unified religion, it means that the criticisms of certain groups often do not apply to other groups. Criticisms of specific neopagan groups range from criticisms of their belief ingender essentialism[282]to criticisms of their belief innationalism[283]to criticisms of the worldly focuses of pagan organizations.[265]
See also
editReferences
editThis articlehas an unclearcitation style.(March 2023) |
Notes
edit- ^The very persons who would most writhe and wail at their surroundings if transported back into early Greece, would, I think, be the neo-pagans and Hellas worshipers of today. "(W. James,letter of 5 April 1868, cited after OED); "The neopagan impulse of the classical revival". (J. A. Symonds,Renaissance in Italy,1877, iv. 193); "Pre-Raphaelitism [...] has got mixed up with æstheticism, neo-paganism, and other such fantasies." (J. McCarthy,A History of Our Own Times,1880 iv. 542).
- ^Carpenter 1996.p. 47. Paganism, as I use the term, refers broadly to an emerging spiritual movement comprised of overlapping forms of spirituality referred to by many names (e.g. 'neo-paganism,' 'paganism,' 'neo-pagan witchcraft,' 'witchcraft,' 'the craft,' 'Wiccan spirituality,' 'Wicca,' 'Wicce,' 'Wiccan religion,' 'the old religion,' 'Goddess spirituality,' 'nature spirituality,' 'nature religion,' 'earth-based spirituality,' 'earth religion,' 'ecofeminist spirituality,' and 'Euro-American shamanism'
- ^Arena – Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in RussiaArchived12 June 2018 at theWayback Machine.Sreda.org; 29% "adhere to a traditional religion of their ancestors, worship gods and the forces of nature". (исповедую традиционную религию своих предковпоклоняюсь богам и силам природы). This figure compares to 1.2% adherents of ethnic religions in all of the Russian Federation.
- ^Pagan Awareness Network Inc. Australia (2011)."Australian Census Pagan Dash".Facebook Public Event.Australia.Archivedfrom the original on 29 April 2021.Retrieved13 March2013.
The aim is to get Pagans of all persuasions (Wiccan, Druid, Asatru, Hellenic, Egyptian, Heathen etc.) to put themselves on the census form as 'Pagan' or 'Pagan, *your path*'.... Paganism is included in the Australian Standard Classification of Religious Groups (ASCRG), as a separate output category.... The classification structure of this group is: 613 Nature Religions 6130 Nature Religions, nfd (not further defined) 6131 Animism 6132 Druidism 6133 Paganism 6134 Pantheism 6135 Wiccan/Witchcraft 6139 Nature Religions, nec (not elsewhere classified) If a response of Pagan is qualified with additional information such as Druid or Wiccan, this additional information will be used in classifying the response. For example, Pagan Wiccan would be classified as 6135 and Pagan Celtic would be 6133. Pagan alone would be classified as 6133.
Citations
edit- ^abcdDoyle White 2016,p. 6.
- ^Adler 2006,p. xiii.
- ^Carpenter 1996,p. 40.
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- ^York 1999.
- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 13.
- ^Doyle White 2012,p. 15.
- ^Doyle White 2012,pp. 16–17.
- ^Doyle White 2012,p. 17.
- ^abDoyle White 2012,p. 16.
- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 1.
- ^Hanegraaff 1996,p. 77.
- ^abAitamurto & Simpson 2013,p. 3.
- ^abcDoyle White 2016,p. 7.
- ^abAitamurto & Simpson 2013,p. 2.
- ^Rountree 2015,p. 1.
- ^Strmiska 2005,pp. 15–16;Harvey 2005,pp. 84–85.
- ^abcdStrmiska 2005,p. 9.
- ^abcdRountree 2015,p. 8.
- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 14;Simpson & Filip 2013,pp. 34–35.
- ^Simpson & Filip 2013,p. 27.
- ^Simpson & Filip 2013,p. 38.
- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 11;Doyle White 2012,pp. 12–13.
- ^Doyle White 2012,p. 13.
- ^Doyle White 2012,p. 14.
- ^Strmiska 2005,pp. 11–12.
- ^abSimpson & Filip 2013,p. 32.
- ^Simpson & Filip 2013,p. 32;Rountree 2015,p. 8.
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- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 7.
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- ^abStrmiska 2005,p. 17.
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- ^abcAdler 2006,p. 23.
- ^Adler 2006,pp. 94–5 (Sanders), 78 (Anderson), 83 (Gardner), 87 (Fitch), 90 (Pendderwen).
- ^abStrmiska 2005,p. 2.
- ^abcAdler 2006,p. 22.
- ^abcHarvey 2007,p. 1.
- ^abStrmiska 2005,p. 35.
- ^abStrmiska 2005,p. 36.
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- ^abcStrmiska 2005,p. 37.
- ^Adler 2006,pp. 26–28.
- ^Adler 2006,pp. 31–32.
- ^Carpenter 1996,p. 61.
- ^Clifton, Chas S. (Fall 1988). "A Goddess Arrives: The Novels of Dion Fortune and the Development of Gardnerian Witchcraft".Gnosis.Vol. 9. pp. 20–28.
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- ^abcdStrmiska 2005,p. 38.
- ^abCarpenter 1996,p. 50.
- ^Starhawk 1989,p. 10.
- ^Greenwood 2000,p. 23.
- ^Carpenter 1996,p. 54.
- ^Adler 2006,pp. 22–23.
- ^"Animism".Encyclopaedia Britannica.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2019.Retrieved18 December2019.
- ^Moreton, Cole (22 June 2009)."Everyone's A Pagan Now".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 18 December 2019.Retrieved18 December2019.
- ^Carpenter 1996,p. 55.
- ^abCarpenter 1996,p. 66.
- ^Magliocco 2004,p. 9.
- ^Adler 2006,pp. 335–354.
- ^abcdeStrmiska 2005,p. 40.
- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 41.
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- ^Stuckrad 2007,pp. 296–297.
- ^abcStuckrad 2007,p. 297.
- ^Marré, Davide (2008)."Tradizione Romana"[Roman tradition]. In Marré, Davide (ed.).L'Essenza del Neopaganesimo[The essence of neopaganism] (in Italian). Milan: Circolo dei Trivi. pp. 35–37.
- ^Raphael Volaterranus, in his Commentaries presented toJulius II,declared that the enthusiasms of these initiates were "the first step towards doing away with the Faith" (Pastor IV 1894:44).
- ^"La 'conguira' degli umanisti: Platina e Pomponio Leto".Castel Sant'Angelo(in Italian). Rome: castelsantangelo.com. Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2013.Retrieved25 November2013.
- ^Merkin 2014,pp. 257, 270.
- ^abStrmiska 2005,p. 42.
- ^abcStrmiska 2005,p. 43.
- ^Wawn, Andrew."The Viking Revival".BBC Homepage.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2017.Retrieved23 December2019.
- ^Hutton 1999,p. 22.
- ^Strmiska 2005,pp. 44–45.
- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 44.
- ^Bonnin, Gertrude."Why I Am A Pagan".Bucknell.edu.The Online Archive of Nineteenth-Century U.S. Women's Writings. Archived fromthe originalon 17 October 2017.Retrieved5 September2015.
- ^Hutton 1999,pp. 194–201.
- ^Sandro Consolato (18 October 2017)."La Grande Guerra degli esoteristi".Tempi.
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- ^Adler 2006,p. ix.
- ^abAdler 2006,pp. 429–456.
- ^Strmiska 2005,Ch. "Religion in Contemporary Cultures".
- ^Strmiska 2005,p. 45.
- ^Davy, Barbara Jane (2007) "Introduction to pagan studies". Rowman AltamiraISBN0-7591-0818-8.p.97: "Some pagans embrace the idea of a pan-European Celtic culture, but some practice regionally specific reconstructionist traditions."
- ^McColman, Carl (2003)Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom.Alpha PressISBN0-02-864417-4.p.12: "Some groups have gone even further, trying to use archaeology, religious history,comparative mythology,and even the study of non-CelticIndo-Europeanreligions in an effort to create a well-researched and scholarly 'reconstruction' of the ancient Celts. "
- ^Gallagher, Eugene V.; Ashcraft, W. Michael (2006).Introduction to new and alternative religions in America.Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p.178.ISBN978-0-275-98713-8.
- ^Harvey 2007,p. 53.
- ^Harvey 2007,p. 54-58.
- ^Lewis 2000,p. 162.
- ^abChuvash faith and beliefsArchived15 August 2009 at theWayback Machine.Chuvash Culture Portal.
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- ^Sergei Filatov, Aleksandr Shchipkov.Religious Developments among the Volga Nations as a Model for the Russian Federation.Religion, State & Society, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1995. pp. 239–243
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- ^Wise, Constance (2008).Hidden Circles in the Web: Feminist Wicca, Occult Knowledge, and Process Thought.Rowman Altamira.
- ^Berger & Ezzy 2007.
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- ^Harvey 2007,p. 70.
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- Tully, Caroline Jane (2011). "Researching the Past is a Foreign Country: Cognitive Dissonance as a Response by Practitioner Pagans to Academic Research on the History of Pagan Religions".The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies.13(1).
- Verkhovsky, Alexander;Pribylovsky, Vladimir;Mikhailovskaya, Ye. (1998). "Neopagans".Nationalism and xenophobia in Russian society(in Russian). Moscow: Panorama. pp. 39–41.
- Yashin, Vladimir (2014)."Russian neopaganism in the context of the problem of religious and political extremism".Scientific Bulletin of the Omsk Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia(in Russian).1(52): 37–40.
- York, Michael(1999)."Invented Culture/Invented Religion: The Fictional Origins of Contemporary Paganism".Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.3(1): 135–146.doi:10.1525/nr.1999.3.1.135.JSTOR10.1525/nr.1999.3.1.135.Archivedfrom the original on 20 February 2021.
- ———(2016).Pagan Ethics: Paganism as a World Religion.Cham: Springer.doi:10.1007/978-3-319-18923-9.ISBN978-3-319-18923-9.
Web sources
edit- Results of the 2011 Census.PAGANdash.com(Technical report). Australia: Pagan Awareness Network Inc. Australia. 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 15 March 2013.Retrieved13 March2013.
- "Chapter 1: The Religious Composition of the United States".The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey: Religious Affiliation(PDF).Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life(Technical report). Washington D.C.: Pew Forum Web Publishing and Communications;Pew Research Center.February 2008. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 January 2015.
- Religious affiliation.Census of Population and Dwellings(Technical report).Statistics New Zealand.2006. Archived fromthe originalon 15 November 2013.Retrieved13 March2013.
- "QuickStats About New Zealand's Population and Dwellings".Census of Population and Dwellings.Statistics New Zealand.2006. Archived fromthe originalon 1 November 2009.Retrieved13 March2013.
Further reading
edit- Blain, Jenny; Ezzy, Douglas;Harvey, Graham(2004).Researching Paganisms.Oxford and Lanham: AltaMira.ISBN978-0-7591-0522-5.
- Davidsen, Markus Altena (2012)."What is Wrong with Pagan Studies?".Method and Theory in the Study of Religion.24(2): 183–199.doi:10.1163/157006812X634881.hdl:1887/3160767.S2CID170576609.
- Doyle White, Ethan (2010). "The Meaning of 'Wicca': A Study in Etymology, History and Pagan Politics".The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies.12(2).
- Lewis, James R. (2004).The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements.London and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-514986-9.
- York, Michael(2010). "Idolatry, Ecology, and the Sacred as Tangible".The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies.12(1).
External links
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- The Pagan Federation(paganfed.org)