Theoretical, Terminological, and Taxonomic Trouble in the Academic Study of Contemporary Paganism: A Case for Reform
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v18i1.28457Keywords:
Contemporary Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Pagan Studies, Paganism, TerminologyAbstract
As the academic study of contemporary Paganism approaches its fourth decade, it faces a variety of theoretical, methodological, and terminological challenges, some of which have faced little or no exploration to date. Here, an attempt to tackle some of the most significant will be made. First, I will examine both how academics and practicing Pagans have defined “contemporary Paganism,” criticizing many such definitions and arguing for the scholarly adoption of a classificatory approach rooted in Wittgenstein’s “family resemblance” paradigm. Second, I shall argue for the need of a much clearer definition of what “Pagan studies” actually studies, before challenging the utility of the term “Pagan studies” itself for being too closely associated with Pagan community activism. Third, I present my argument as to why our field is in such dire need of serious reform in order to establish much needed academic respectability.References
Adler, Margot. Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers and Other Pagans in America Today. New York City: Viking Press, 1979.
Aitamurto, Kaarina, and Scott Simpson. “Introduction.” In Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Kaarina Aitamurto and Scott Simpson, 1–9. Durham: Acumen, 2013.
Asprem, Egil, and Kennet Granholm. “Introduction.” In Contemporary Esotericism, edited by Egil Asprem and Kennet Granholm, 1–24. Sheffield: Equinox, 2013.
Bado, Nikki. “Dancing in a Universe of Lights and Shadows.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 15, no. 1–2 (2013): 136–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.122.
Barrett, David V. A Brief Guide to Secret Religions: A Complete Guide to Hermetic, Pagan and Esoteric Beliefs. London: Constable & Robinson, 2011.
Black, Mark. “About Paganism,” The UK Pagan Council. http://www.ukpagancouncil.org/about-paganism/.
Blain, Jenny, and Robert Wallis. Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights: Pagan Engagements with Archaeological Monuments. Eastbourne: Sussex Academic Press, 2007.
Centre for Pagan Studies. “Welcome to the Centre for Pagan Studies.” http://www.centre-for-pagan-studies.com/.
Clark, Mary Ann. “Santería Sacrificial Rituals: A Reconsideration of Religious Violence.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 8, no. 2 (2006): 133–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v8i2.133.
Clifton, Chas S. “The Pomegranate Returns from the Underworld: A Letter from the Editor.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 6, no. 1 (2004): 5–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v6i1.5.
Conference on Current Pagan Studies. “Homepage.” http://paganconference.com/.
——. “Call for Papers.” http://paganconference.com/call-for-papers/.
Covenant of the Goddess. “Definitions.” http://www.cog.org/?page_id=44.
Cowan, Douglas. Cyberhenge: Modern Paganism on the Internet. New York and London: Routledge, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203313459
Davidsen, Markus Altena. “What is Wrong with Pagan Studies?” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 24, no. 2 (2012): 183–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006812X634881.
Davy, Barbara Jane. Introduction to Pagan Studies. Lanham: AltaMira, 2007.
Doyle White, Ethan. “Britain’s Pagan Heritage: A Review of Ronald Hutton’s Pagan Britain and Marion Gibson’s Imagining the Pagan Past.” Journal of Religion and Society 16 (2014): 1–16.
——. “In Defense of Pagan Studies: A Response to Davidsen’s Critique.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 14, no. 1 (2012): 5–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v14i1.5.
——. “The Meaning of “Wicca”: A Study in Etymology, History and Pagan Politics.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 12, no. 2 (2010): 185–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v12i2.185.
——. “The Revived Cultus of Antinous: Hadrian’s Deified Lover and Contemporary Queer Paganism.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 20, no. 2 (2016): forthcoming.
——. Wicca: History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2016.
European Congress of Ethnic Religions. “Declaration.” http://ecer-org.eu/about/declaration/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-4.
Ezzy, Douglas. “Pagan Studies: In Defense of Pluralism.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 16, no. 2 (2014): 135–149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v16i2.27312.
Fitzgerald, Timothy. “Religion, Philosophy, and Family Resemblance.” Religion 26, no. 3 (1996): 215–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/reli.1996.0017.
Granholm, Kennet. “Esoteric Currents as Discursive Complexes.” Religion 43, no. 1 (2013): 46–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2013.742741.
Greene, Heather. “An Overview of the PantheaCon Wiccanite Privilege Discussion.” The Wild Hunt. February 23, 2014. http://wildhunt.org/2014/02/an-overview-of-the-pantheacon-wiccan-privilege-discussion.html.
Hale, Amy. “Navigating Praxis: Pagan Studies vs. Esoteric Studies.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 15, no. 1-2 (2013): 151–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.151.
Hanegraaff, Wouter J. “Beyond the Yates Paradigm: The Study of Western Esotericism Between Counterculture and New Complexity.” Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism 1, no. 1 (2001): 5–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157005901X00020.
——. New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. Leiden and New York: Brill, 1996.
——. “Textbooks and Introductions to Western Esotericism.” Religion 43, no. 2 (2013): 178–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2012.733245.
Hardman, Charlotte. “Introduction.” In Paganism Today: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and Ancient Earth Traditions for the Twenty First Century, edited by Graham Harvey and Charlotte Hardman, ix–xix. London: Thorsons, 1995.
Harvey, Graham. Listening People, Speaking Earth: Contemporary Paganism, second ed. London: Hurst & Company, 2007.
——. “Pagan Studies of the Study of Paganisms? A Case Study in the Study of Religions.” In Researching Paganisms, edited by Jenny Blain, Douglas Ezzy, and Graham Harvey, 241–55. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, 2004.
Hutton, Ronald. “Afterword.” In Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon: Academic Approaches to Studying Magic and the Occult, edited by Dave Evans and Dave Green, 215–27. N.p.: Hidden Publishing, 2009.
——. Witches, Druids and King Arthur. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
Jones, Prudence, and Nigel Pennick. A History of Pagan Europe. London: Routledge, 1995.
Kraemer, Christine Hoff. Seeking the Mystery: An Introduction to Pagan Theologies. Englewood: Patheos Press, 2012.
Lassander, Mika T. Post-Materialist Religion: Pagan Identities and Value Change in Modern Europe. London: Bloomsbury, 2015.
Leshy, Nikarev. “Native Faith—Not Wicca.” April 14, 2012. http://nikarevleshy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/native-faith-not-wicca.html.
Lesiv, Mariya. The Return of Ancestral Gods: Modern Ukrainian Paganism as an Alternative Vision for a Nation. Montreal: McGill–Queen’s University Press, 2013.
Lincoln, Bruce. “Theses on Method.” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 8, no. 3 (1996): 225–227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006896X00323.
Luhrmann, Tania M. Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989.
MacKian, Sara. Everyday Spirituality: Social and Spatial Worlds of Enchantment. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230365308
McCutcheon, Russell T. Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996.
McDermott, Robert. “The Religion Game: Some Family Resemblances.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 38, no. 4 (1970): 390–400. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2012.733245.
Pagan Federation International. “Introduction to Paganism.” http://www.paganfederation.org/what-is-paganism/.
Pagan Federation UK. “Introduction to Paganism.” http://www.paganfed.org/index.php/paganism/introduction-to-paganism.
Partridge, Christopher. “Esoterrorism and the Wrecking of Civilization: Genesis P-Orridge and the Rise of Industrial Paganism.” In Pop Pagans: Paganism and Popular Music, edited by Donna Weston and Andy Bennett, 189–212. Durham: Acumen, 2013.
Patheos. “Religion Library: Paganism.” http://www.patheos.com/Library/Pagan.html.
Pearson, Jo. ““Going Native in Reverse”: The Insider as Researcher in British Wicca.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 5, no. 1 (2001): 52–63. http://dx.doi.org/0.1525/nr.2001.5.1.52.
——. “Neopaganism.” In Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, edited by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, 828–34. Leiden: Brill, 2005.
Pizza, Murphy, and James R. Lewis, eds. Handbook of Contemporary Paganism. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004163737.i-650
Roberts, Tyler. “Exposure and Explanation: On the New Protectionism in the Study of Religion.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 72, no. 1 (2004): 143–172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfh007.
Rountree, Kathryn. “Localising Neo-Paganism: Integrating Global and Indigenous Traditions in a Mediterranean Catholic Society.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 17, no. 4 (2011): 846–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2011.01722.x.
Saler, Benson. “Family Resemblance and the Definition of Religion.” Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques 25, no. 3 (1999): 391–404.
Simpson, Scott, and Mariusz Filip. “Selected Words for Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe.” In Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Kaarina Aitamurto and Scott Simpson, 27–43. Durham: Acumen, 2013.
Slater, Michael. “Can One be a Critical Caretaker?” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 19 (2007): 332–342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006807794757539.
Snook, Jennifer. American Heathens: The Politics of Identity in a Pagan Religious Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2015.
South African Pagan Rights Alliance. “Paganism in South Africa.” http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/paganism-in-south-africa-2/.
Strmiska, Michael. “Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives,” in Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, edited by Michael Strmiska, 1–53. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2005.
Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical Investigations. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1953.
York, Michael. “An Intersubjective Critique of A Critique of Pagan Scholarship.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 15, no. 1-2 (2013): 136–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.136.
——. “Paganism as Root-Religion.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 6, no. 1 (2004): 11–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v6i1.11.
——. Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion. New York: New York University Press, 2003.
Aitamurto, Kaarina, and Scott Simpson. “Introduction.” In Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Kaarina Aitamurto and Scott Simpson, 1–9. Durham: Acumen, 2013.
Asprem, Egil, and Kennet Granholm. “Introduction.” In Contemporary Esotericism, edited by Egil Asprem and Kennet Granholm, 1–24. Sheffield: Equinox, 2013.
Bado, Nikki. “Dancing in a Universe of Lights and Shadows.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 15, no. 1–2 (2013): 136–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.122.
Barrett, David V. A Brief Guide to Secret Religions: A Complete Guide to Hermetic, Pagan and Esoteric Beliefs. London: Constable & Robinson, 2011.
Black, Mark. “About Paganism,” The UK Pagan Council. http://www.ukpagancouncil.org/about-paganism/.
Blain, Jenny, and Robert Wallis. Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights: Pagan Engagements with Archaeological Monuments. Eastbourne: Sussex Academic Press, 2007.
Centre for Pagan Studies. “Welcome to the Centre for Pagan Studies.” http://www.centre-for-pagan-studies.com/.
Clark, Mary Ann. “Santería Sacrificial Rituals: A Reconsideration of Religious Violence.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 8, no. 2 (2006): 133–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v8i2.133.
Clifton, Chas S. “The Pomegranate Returns from the Underworld: A Letter from the Editor.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 6, no. 1 (2004): 5–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v6i1.5.
Conference on Current Pagan Studies. “Homepage.” http://paganconference.com/.
——. “Call for Papers.” http://paganconference.com/call-for-papers/.
Covenant of the Goddess. “Definitions.” http://www.cog.org/?page_id=44.
Cowan, Douglas. Cyberhenge: Modern Paganism on the Internet. New York and London: Routledge, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203313459
Davidsen, Markus Altena. “What is Wrong with Pagan Studies?” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 24, no. 2 (2012): 183–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006812X634881.
Davy, Barbara Jane. Introduction to Pagan Studies. Lanham: AltaMira, 2007.
Doyle White, Ethan. “Britain’s Pagan Heritage: A Review of Ronald Hutton’s Pagan Britain and Marion Gibson’s Imagining the Pagan Past.” Journal of Religion and Society 16 (2014): 1–16.
——. “In Defense of Pagan Studies: A Response to Davidsen’s Critique.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 14, no. 1 (2012): 5–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v14i1.5.
——. “The Meaning of “Wicca”: A Study in Etymology, History and Pagan Politics.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 12, no. 2 (2010): 185–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v12i2.185.
——. “The Revived Cultus of Antinous: Hadrian’s Deified Lover and Contemporary Queer Paganism.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 20, no. 2 (2016): forthcoming.
——. Wicca: History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2016.
European Congress of Ethnic Religions. “Declaration.” http://ecer-org.eu/about/declaration/?subscribe=success#blog_subscription-4.
Ezzy, Douglas. “Pagan Studies: In Defense of Pluralism.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 16, no. 2 (2014): 135–149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v16i2.27312.
Fitzgerald, Timothy. “Religion, Philosophy, and Family Resemblance.” Religion 26, no. 3 (1996): 215–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/reli.1996.0017.
Granholm, Kennet. “Esoteric Currents as Discursive Complexes.” Religion 43, no. 1 (2013): 46–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2013.742741.
Greene, Heather. “An Overview of the PantheaCon Wiccanite Privilege Discussion.” The Wild Hunt. February 23, 2014. http://wildhunt.org/2014/02/an-overview-of-the-pantheacon-wiccan-privilege-discussion.html.
Hale, Amy. “Navigating Praxis: Pagan Studies vs. Esoteric Studies.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 15, no. 1-2 (2013): 151–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.151.
Hanegraaff, Wouter J. “Beyond the Yates Paradigm: The Study of Western Esotericism Between Counterculture and New Complexity.” Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism 1, no. 1 (2001): 5–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157005901X00020.
——. New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. Leiden and New York: Brill, 1996.
——. “Textbooks and Introductions to Western Esotericism.” Religion 43, no. 2 (2013): 178–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2012.733245.
Hardman, Charlotte. “Introduction.” In Paganism Today: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and Ancient Earth Traditions for the Twenty First Century, edited by Graham Harvey and Charlotte Hardman, ix–xix. London: Thorsons, 1995.
Harvey, Graham. Listening People, Speaking Earth: Contemporary Paganism, second ed. London: Hurst & Company, 2007.
——. “Pagan Studies of the Study of Paganisms? A Case Study in the Study of Religions.” In Researching Paganisms, edited by Jenny Blain, Douglas Ezzy, and Graham Harvey, 241–55. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press, 2004.
Hutton, Ronald. “Afterword.” In Ten Years of Triumph of the Moon: Academic Approaches to Studying Magic and the Occult, edited by Dave Evans and Dave Green, 215–27. N.p.: Hidden Publishing, 2009.
——. Witches, Druids and King Arthur. London: Hambledon and London, 2003.
Jones, Prudence, and Nigel Pennick. A History of Pagan Europe. London: Routledge, 1995.
Kraemer, Christine Hoff. Seeking the Mystery: An Introduction to Pagan Theologies. Englewood: Patheos Press, 2012.
Lassander, Mika T. Post-Materialist Religion: Pagan Identities and Value Change in Modern Europe. London: Bloomsbury, 2015.
Leshy, Nikarev. “Native Faith—Not Wicca.” April 14, 2012. http://nikarevleshy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/native-faith-not-wicca.html.
Lesiv, Mariya. The Return of Ancestral Gods: Modern Ukrainian Paganism as an Alternative Vision for a Nation. Montreal: McGill–Queen’s University Press, 2013.
Lincoln, Bruce. “Theses on Method.” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 8, no. 3 (1996): 225–227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006896X00323.
Luhrmann, Tania M. Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989.
MacKian, Sara. Everyday Spirituality: Social and Spatial Worlds of Enchantment. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230365308
McCutcheon, Russell T. Critics Not Caretakers: Redescribing the Public Study of Religion. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996.
McDermott, Robert. “The Religion Game: Some Family Resemblances.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 38, no. 4 (1970): 390–400. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2012.733245.
Pagan Federation International. “Introduction to Paganism.” http://www.paganfederation.org/what-is-paganism/.
Pagan Federation UK. “Introduction to Paganism.” http://www.paganfed.org/index.php/paganism/introduction-to-paganism.
Partridge, Christopher. “Esoterrorism and the Wrecking of Civilization: Genesis P-Orridge and the Rise of Industrial Paganism.” In Pop Pagans: Paganism and Popular Music, edited by Donna Weston and Andy Bennett, 189–212. Durham: Acumen, 2013.
Patheos. “Religion Library: Paganism.” http://www.patheos.com/Library/Pagan.html.
Pearson, Jo. ““Going Native in Reverse”: The Insider as Researcher in British Wicca.” Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 5, no. 1 (2001): 52–63. http://dx.doi.org/0.1525/nr.2001.5.1.52.
——. “Neopaganism.” In Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, edited by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, 828–34. Leiden: Brill, 2005.
Pizza, Murphy, and James R. Lewis, eds. Handbook of Contemporary Paganism. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004163737.i-650
Roberts, Tyler. “Exposure and Explanation: On the New Protectionism in the Study of Religion.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 72, no. 1 (2004): 143–172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfh007.
Rountree, Kathryn. “Localising Neo-Paganism: Integrating Global and Indigenous Traditions in a Mediterranean Catholic Society.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 17, no. 4 (2011): 846–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2011.01722.x.
Saler, Benson. “Family Resemblance and the Definition of Religion.” Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques 25, no. 3 (1999): 391–404.
Simpson, Scott, and Mariusz Filip. “Selected Words for Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe.” In Modern Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Kaarina Aitamurto and Scott Simpson, 27–43. Durham: Acumen, 2013.
Slater, Michael. “Can One be a Critical Caretaker?” Method and Theory in the Study of Religion 19 (2007): 332–342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006807794757539.
Snook, Jennifer. American Heathens: The Politics of Identity in a Pagan Religious Movement. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2015.
South African Pagan Rights Alliance. “Paganism in South Africa.” http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/paganism-in-south-africa-2/.
Strmiska, Michael. “Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives,” in Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, edited by Michael Strmiska, 1–53. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio, 2005.
Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical Investigations. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1953.
York, Michael. “An Intersubjective Critique of A Critique of Pagan Scholarship.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 15, no. 1-2 (2013): 136–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.136.
——. “Paganism as Root-Religion.” The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 6, no. 1 (2004): 11–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/pome.v6i1.11.
——. Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion. New York: New York University Press, 2003.
Published
2016-08-09
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Doyle White, E. (2016). Theoretical, Terminological, and Taxonomic Trouble in the Academic Study of Contemporary Paganism: A Case for Reform. Pomegranate, 18(1), 31-59. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v18i1.28457
