Paganism

Goddess Communities in Australia by Patricia Rose

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

Australia has a very diverse and rapidly expanding number of people for whom the Goddess, however She is understood,... more Australia has a very diverse and rapidly expanding number of people for whom the Goddess, however She is understood, is significant. The 2006 census revealed that there were over 30,000 Pagans or followers of other earth-based religious traditions in Australia and, given the way in which religions are classified in the census, this is undoubtedly a serious underestimation. We await the findings of the 2011 census with great interest.

Prior to European settlement in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples followed their own rich spiritual beliefs, which were based on the forces of nature, a reverence for the land and its creatures, and the influence of ancestral spiritual beings. Recently, non-indigenous Australians have become increasingly interested in the indigenous connection to the land and indigenous spirituality.

While it is important not to appropriate indigenous culture, Goddess women and men in Australia are keen to express their spirituality in ways that are relevant to this land and to the Australian culture. We recognize the need to become more attuned to the ways of Australia, to her seasons and her natural cycles, and we can learn from the experiences of indigenous peoples, garnered from millennia of living on and with this land.

What is Wrong With Pagan Studies?

by Markus Altena Davidsen

”What is Wrong with Pagan Studies?, Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 24(2), 183-199.

Review of Pizza Murphy & James Lewis (eds.), Handbook of Contemporary Paganism, in the series Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion 2, Leiden & Boston: Brill.

Published May 2012.

CHRIST AND POST-CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY: An Exploration of the Attraction of the New-Age and Neo-Paganism, with a view to the effective communication of the Christian message in Post- Modernity.

by Steve Hollinghurst

Recenzja: Pogaństwo wiecznie żywe [Marc Augé, Duch pogaństwa, przekład Krzysztof Wakar, Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen, Warszawa 2010, s. 352]

by Mariusz Filip

Literatura Ludowa 6(55)/2011: 85–87

Looking in the Mirror. Christian self-definition in the reign of emperor Julian the Apostate

by Mounir Lahcen

(under contract) Definitional Issues: Contemporary Pagan, Neo-Pagan & Native Faith

by Mariusz Filip

Co-authored with Scott Simpson
K. Aitamurto, S. Simpson (eds.) Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe [Equinox Studies in Contemporary and Historical Paganism]. Equinox Publishing

Polityka tożsamości we wspólnotach neopogańskich. Przykład Zakonu Zadrugi „Północny Wilk”

by Mariusz Filip

W. Dohnal, A. Posern-Zieliński (red.) 2011. Antropologia i polityka. Szkice z badań nad kulturowymi wymiarami władzy. Warszawa: Komitet Nauk Etnologicznych PAN – Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii PAN. 174–188

Coming Home or Drifting Away: Magical Practice in the Twenty-First Century—Ways of Adopting Heterodox Beliefs and Religious Worldviews

by Gerhard Mayer

co-authored with René Gründer; published in "Journal of Contemporary Religion", Vol 25: 3, pp. 395-418

ABSTRACT This article examines the process-related dynamics of becoming a magical
practitioner and an adherent of... more ABSTRACT This article examines the process-related dynamics of becoming a magical
practitioner and an adherent of a Neopagan group, respectively. It analyzes the relation of
the thesis of Interpretive Drift (Luhrmann) and the concept of Coming Home Experience,
which have a big impact on academic discussions and are often seen as mutually
contradictory. Using empirical data from two German interview studies with
contemporary magicians and German heathen (Asatru) groups, the article shows that
the two dynamics can form complementary elements of the process. In addition, it
emphasizes the importance of personal extraordinary experiences containing strong
subjective evidence which are mostly neglected. Taking individual biographical aspects
into account as well as different personal motivations, an immense variety of approaches
to alternative worldviews might become possible. Thus we come to the conclusion that
simple generalizations in characterizing the ‘pathway to magical beliefs and practices’ are
misleading.

The Importance of Extraordinary Experiences for Adopting Heterodox Beliefs or an Alternative Religious Worldview

by Gerhard Mayer

Co-authored with René Gründer; published in "Journal of the Society for Psychical Research", 2011, Vol. 75.1., No 902, pp. 14-25

The importance of extraordinary experiences for the process of adopting a heterodox belief system or an alternative... more The importance of extraordinary experiences for the process of adopting a heterodox belief system or an alternative religious world view is often neglected in the existing research literature. Scholars of religion commonly lay stress on the process of religious conversion characterized by different stages. Extraordinary experiences are, thereby, included as potential internal catalysts (e.g. mystical experiences or near-death experiences), but only among others. The particular quality of the extraordinary experience remains largely unconsidered. In our paper, we emphasise the personal extraordinary experiences of strongly subjective evidence as an important factor in the process of becoming a magical practitioner and adopting a heterodox worldview. Our examination is based on the interview data of three field studies with neoshamans, contemporary magicians, and German heathen (Asatru), conducted in German-speaking countries. First, we outline different functions of extraordinary experiences regarding the process. Second, we reflect on the process of converting the personal extraordinary experience into a narration (framing). Finally, we propose to distinguish between two classes of extraordinary experiences, with regard to their function in the process of adopting a heterodox (religious) worldview. Furthermore we address the methodological problem regarding the possibility of the reconstruction of factual/objective 'paranormal' events as potential catalysts of extraordinary experiences. This gives rise to the question of the validity of narratively embedded and processed extraordinary experiences. In this context, the German differentiation between Erlebnis (experience in the sense of a pure individual impression) and Erfahrung (social form of experience, based on shared knowledge) seems to be a crucial distinction.

Neopogański nacjonalizm jako praktyka. Tożsamość Zakonu Zadrugi "Północny Wilk"

by Mariusz Filip

Państwo i Społeczeństwo 2009, 9(4): 45-57

O etnografię rodzimowierstwa. Wprowadzenie do etnografii Zakonu Zadrugi "Północny Wilk"

by Mariusz Filip

Państwo i Społeczeństwo 2008, 8(4): 107-121

Analiza istniejących opracowań ruchu rodzimowierczego wskazuje, że podstawową strategią opisu doktryn i działalności... more Analiza istniejących opracowań ruchu rodzimowierczego wskazuje, że podstawową strategią opisu doktryn i działalności poszczególnych ugrupowań jest socjografia, a więc taki sposób przedstawiania rzeczywistości, który uniwersalizuje zarówno opisywanych, jak i opisującego. W artykule postuluję o partykularyzację opisu opartego o długotrwałe badania terenowe – etnografię. Posmak tego sposobu pisania o rodzimowierstwie daje opis sytuacji „pierwszego kontaktu” z członkami Zakonu Zadrugi „Północny Wilk”.

Nicholas Peiresc and the Delphic Tripod in the Republic of Letters

by Anthony Ossa-Richardson

El paganismo en el siglo VI

by Geoffrey Greatrex

Paul Vladimir (Pawel Wlodkowic) au concile de Constance: une tradition de tolérance religieuse en Pologne et en Lituanie

by Loïc Chollet

"Master degree" work, University of Neuchâtel, 2010.
All rights reserved.
© Loïc Chollet

Historical documents describe a period of religious turmoil during the Christianization of the last pagan European... more Historical documents describe a period of religious turmoil during the Christianization of the last pagan European state, Lithuania. At the end of 14th century, the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello was crowned King of Poland. He introduced Christianity in his homeland, which was brought under formal Polish sovereignty by personal dynastic union. A feud arose between Poland and the Teutonic Knights, based on different approaches to Christianization: the Polish ideal of a peaceful conversion stood against the Teutonic Order’s hard line. The issue was brought before the Council of Constance, where spokesmen from each side argued the rightfulness of their claim. Countering the Order’s old-fashioned ideology, Cracow University’s rector Paulus Vladimiri (Paul Vladimir/Pawel Wlodkowic) stressed the idea of religious tolerance toward non-Christians. After explaining the historical and ideological context, this paper explores how Vladimiri managed to defend his King’s methods through his speeches. By looking at the ideas he expressed, I discuss whether one should emphasize the modernity of his approach, and how his experience may reflect a specific “Polish” tradition of religious freedom. Finally, my goal is to give modern readers a historically supported insight of the particular religious situation of late medieval North-Eastern Europe.

Does Humor Have a Place in Religion? by Barbara Ardinger

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion Project.

Is there anything funny about the divine? Any joke-telling gods? From the days of Abraham until today, the gods and... more Is there anything funny about the divine? Any joke-telling gods? From the days of Abraham until today, the gods and their preachers are a very earnest lot intent on saving us from our sins and building congregations.

Like it or not, we neopagans are still children of the society we’re endeavoring to change. Some of us seem to want to switch patriarchy to matriarchy, but that’s just swapping Big Daddy for Big Momma. It’s still a hierarchical arrangement with the deity at the top of the mountain. Immediately below the “arch” are angels, men, eagles, lions, and other superior beasts. At the bottom of the mountain are women, mud, and matter. (In case you don’t recognize it, this is the 18th-century Great Chain of Being.)

Any humor in spiritual and religious writing? The Hebrew Bible (which Christians refer to as the Old Testament) is a collection of laws, canonically approved versions of history, prophetical preachings, and poetry. The Christian Bible (aka New Testament) give us different approved versions of history, plus further preaching, plus myth and mysticism. The writings of the medieval Fathers of the Church are famously grim and misogynistic. The Qur’an offers ethical guidance and moral preaching. In the Far East, the Tao is also profound, as are the preachings of the Buddha. The writings of Confucius present instructions for maintaining the correct social order (another version of that Great Chain). The great stories of Hinduism are filled with wonder, adventures, and philosophy. But they’re not very funny.

These are the standard texts of the standard-brand religions, and though I’ve greatly oversimplified them—no offense intended to anyone—I think it’s safe to say that while we can have conversations filled with humor, gentle or ironic, with followers of these religions, we are unlikely to discern anything funny in the holy books. From the beginning, spiritual writing has been unrelentingly and highly serious.

One of the blessings of the Goddess religion—spiritual feminism or feminist spiritualism—is playfulness. I know many neopagans who are extraordinarily creative. I’ve been to some truly inventive rituals. I have read hilarious jokes and postings in the social media.

Creation and Innovation in Australian Paganism

by Lynne HUME

Exporting nature religions: Problems in praxis down under

by Lynne HUME

How to Talk to a Deity* by Barbara Ardinger

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion Project

Originally, when ritual was still part of everyday life and everybody talked to gods and goddesses all the time, we... more Originally, when ritual was still part of everyday life and everybody talked to gods and goddesses all the time, we spoke to them in everyday words. As time went on and priests assumed more power, however, exalted language and fulsome invocations arose, and pretty soon only the High Priest could speak to God Most High. We common folks were allowed to pray, of course, but the important prayers were uttered by the priests.

During the European Renaissance and all the way up to the 19th-century occult revival, it was thought that the gods spoke Hebrew and Latin. Ceremonial magicians wrote rituals in these languages or made up other highly esoteric languages like crypto-Egyptian, quasi-Sanskrit, and Enochian (the “angelic language” of the Elizabethan Dr. Dee). If you read books on high occultism, you’ll see scripts in these languages. Trying to pronounce the words can be like trying to unscrew the inscrutable.

Continue reading: http://feminismandreligion.com/2012/01/01/how-to-talk-to-a-deity-by-barbara-ardinger-ph-d/

The Temple of Flora or Venus in Rome near the Circus Maximus and the new Christian topography: the ‘pagan revival’ in action?

by Michael Mulryan

in The Archaeology of Late Antique Paganism, edd. L. Lavan and M. J. J. Mulryan (Late Antique Archaeology 7) (Leiden and Boston 2011) 209-27.

’Paganism’ in Late Antiquity: regional studies and material culture. A bibliographic essay

by Michael Mulryan

in The Archaeology of Late Antique Paganism, edd. L. Lavan and M. J. J. Mulryan (Late Antique Archaeology 7) (Leiden and Boston 2011) 41-86.