Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion

264 Pages·2003·1.89 MB·English

by  Michael York

Pagan Theology
Pagan Theology
Paganism as a World Religion

Michael York
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
© 2003 by New York University
All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
York, Michael, 1939–
Pagan theology : paganism as a world religion / Michael York.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8147-9702-4 (alk. paper)
1. Religions. 2. Paganism. I. Title.
BL85 .Y67 2003
299—dc21 2002151073
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents

Preface

Introduction

1 Paganism as Religion

2 Paganism as Behavior

3 Paganism as Theology

Notes

References

Index

About the Author
Preface

Witches and neopagans are increasingly becoming fixtures on
American campuses, especially the contemporary liberal university alleged to
foster “destructive experimentation with personal identity.” The associate
provost of Boston University, Peter Wood, for example, does not find neopagans
particularly dangerous but simply confused, deluded, frivolous, and devoid of
intellectual seriousness. “Little inanities that once would have been brushed
aside [by campus clergy] now settle in as opportunistic infections.”1 For critics
like Wood, paganism is little more than a jumble of magical formulas and
invocations to miscellaneous gods and goddesses that should be distinguished
from the ethical guidance offered by Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and
Buddhism. In Wood’s view, contemporary paganism is a movement that disdains
any goal of intellectual coherence, and he questions its position in a university
community.
In a vote at Boston University among “legitimate campus religious groups,
… the witches were cast out,” allowing Wood to feel that in this case simple
piety triumphed over the “idol of Diversity” that is otherwise increasingly
becoming the prevailing politically correct ideology.2 But despite the Boston
University clergy’s retroaction, paganism is frequently cited as one of the fastest-
growing spiritual orientations, at least in the West. While many reasons may be
furnished as to why this is so (the ecological threat to the planet, a popular
emergence of antiauthoritarian spirituality, or part of the information revolution
itself), the question remains whether paganism can be in any way considered
serious religion.
The answer to this question is the purpose of this book. Part of the answer is
to situate paganism as a world religion, that is, as a legitimate spiritual
perspective that already exists globally. While the numbers of people who adhere
to pagan religion may not be as numerically significant as those who follow the
teachings of Christ, Muhammad, or Gautama Buddha, their numbers are still
impressive. Although many, if not most, of them do not use the word pagan to
describe their beliefs or practices, I contend that they hold an identifiable
position of common characteristics and understandings for which the label
pagan is feasible and debatably accurate.
Besides examining these particular “pagan” religiosities, I also explore
paganism as a general form of religious behavior. To this end, I survey some of
the other major world religions to identify the kind of spontaneous ritual
veneration that can be interpreted as pagan. My aim is to show the pagan affinity
of spiritual behavior that might be seen as integral to human nature. I then
conclude with a theological analysis that distinguishes between paganism and
gnosticism as essential spiritual ideal types that differentiate most religious
activity. This means that I examine paganism as, successively, a religion,
behavior, and theology.
To situate paganism as a theological religion and a religious behavior, we
must first understand what religion is. This question is a vexing and contentious
one. Despite the complexities and disagreements that the issue raises, it still is a
necessary question to ask when considering whether any spiritual practice or
affirmation is actually religious or whether its expression constitutes a religion.
Here I contend that paganism represents what I term a root religion and that
historically all other religions are offshoots and/or counterdevelopments of the
root religion. Consequently, if we wish to understand any religion, we must also
understand paganism as the root from which it grew. The irony in this
understanding is that it precludes recognizing a root religion as being religious.
In chapter 1, I examine some of the world’s living indigenous religions as
constituents of a pagan religiosity that represents a major world religion. What
are the shared characteristics of these practices and between them and classical
and Indo-European paganisms? After initially concentrating on the “pagan
religions,” in chapter 2 I look at vernacular pagan behavior: the activities of
cultic response found in other, nonpagan religions. Finally, in chapter 3, I
conclude with a delineation of generic paganism from a theological perspective.
I hope in this endeavor to establish the concept of paganism as a useful
designation for an important religious perspective. In so doing, the advantage is
not only the recognition of a marginal position but also the authentication of the
basic differences among the religions themselves. My reason for doing this is not
to create a religious threat to established world religions but to make clearer the
integral self-sufficiency of each religion.
I would like to make clear that this book is in no way meant to be an
encyclopedic presentation of religions. Rather, it is aimed at developing an
understanding of what paganism is or at least could be understood to be. To this
end, the book is part confessional, part apologetic, and part sociological. If I had
to name my own denominational predilection, I would say that I am a
“religionist.” I believe in religion itself and its central role in expanding human
consciousness above and beyond immediate daily concerns. In its overall,
collective sense, I see religion as an ongoing dialogue that questions the purpose
of life and our terrestrial incarnations. In my own pursuit and love of religion as
religion, I have been particularly attracted to paganism not only as the source
and origin of all religion but also as an organic alternative to the institutionalized
authority and parochial insularity that much religious expression has become.
With regard to religions more globally, much of my direct experience of
faiths beyond the Judeo-Christian tradition has been in the Far East: in India,
Nepal, Thailand, China, and Japan. It is for this reason that my investigation into
formulating an understanding of paganism draws particularly from these areas.
In regard to other areas on which I have drawn for this book, my direct
observation has been more limited. I recognize that this portends a deficiency
from the start, but here I am searching for salient features that might support my
thesis. These areas are, therefore, supplemental and not intended to be
exhaustive. For tribal religions and especially for an awareness of Islam, I am
more dependent on secondary sources, although I have nevertheless been able to
benefit to some extent from direct experience in Muslim countries through visits
to Morocco, Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, and India (which contains the
world’s second largest Muslim population).
I also have been involved in Native American studies since 1960. But with
regard to sub-Saharan Africa, I am confined at present to two visits to South
Africa, in 1999 and 2000. Consequently, I am particularly indebted to my
colleagues in the Department for the Study of Religions at Bath Spa University
College, namely, Richard Hoskins for suggestions concerning anthropological
studies of African religion and Jo Backus for Aboriginal and Maori studies.
Denise Cush and Mahinda Degale have assisted in the area of Buddhism;
Catherine Robinson, in that of Hinduism. I would also like to acknowledge and
thank my many colleagues who contribute regularly to the Nature Religions
Scholars list: Chas Clifton, Bron Taylor, Jeff Kaplan, Wendy Griffin, Macha
Nightmare, Tanice Folz, Gus diZerega, Barbara A. McGraw, Christiellen White,
Fritz Muntean, Grant Potts, Doug Ezzy, Lucie DuFresne, Vivianne Crowley,
Shawn Arthur, Cat Chapin-Bishop, Kirk White, Sian Reid, Barb Davy, Adrian
Ivakhiv, Adrian Harris, Jenny Blain, MJ Patterson, Jo Pearson, Shelley
Rabinovitch, Eric Jette, Francine Nicholson, Jone Salomonsen, Sheri Morton
Stanley, Laura A. Wildman, Dave Green, Brendan Cathbad Myers, Sarah Pike,
Morgan S. Davis, Craig S. Strobel, Eylon Israeli, Marilyn R. Pukkila, John
Bauman, Grove Harris, Nancy Ramsey Tosh, and Michael Strmiska, to name
only the barest few.
Other people who have rendered assistance or inspiration or both include
Phoebe Wray, Cara-Marguerite-Drusilla, Ian Elliott, Keishin Inaba, Lois Drake,
Kenneth Jay Wilson, Caroline Robertson, Deborah Light, Melinda and Aidan
Kelly, Melissa Ellen Penn, Jonas Trinkunas, Vilius Dundzila, Selena Fox, Dennis
Carpenter, and David Nelson. This enterprise could not have reached completion
without the assistance and suggestions furnished to me by Jennifer Hammer and
Despina Papazoglou Gimbel of New York University Press. Finally, a special
round of thanks are to be extended to my parents Otto H. York and Myrth
Brooks York, to my wife Nancy York, my sister Myrth York, and to my dear
friend Richard Lee Switzler.
Pagan Theology