Neopaganism is the fastest growing new religion in the West. Between the World: Readings in Contemporary Neopaganism provides an engaging and well-rounded introduction to this often misunderstood spiritual tradition.
This provocative new volume breaks away from the negative doomsday cult focus of existing books on new religious movements and provides a clear focus on feminist spirituality, women and religion, and goddess worship. It offers a spiritual context for paganism and introduces the "language" of paganism and earth religions. This book examines contemporary paganism — not just the "streams" from the 1970s and 1980s, but also the increasingly important "streams" of Druidry and Heathenry.
For the first time ever, this book unites essential readings by leading academics and well-known practitioners from all over the world, including Canada. It features the work of Starhawk, Ronald Hutton, Michael York, Graham Harvey, Helen A. Berger, and Wendy Griffith, alongside contemporary Canadian scholars including Lucie Marie-Mai DuFresne, Lori G. Beaman, and Barbara Jane Davy.
IntroductionPart I: The Voices That InspiredChapter 1: Charge of the Goddess – Doreen ValienteChapter 2: Sacred Narratives – StarhawkChapter 3: I Am a Pagan – Selena FoxChapter 4: A Religion without Converts – Margot AdlerChapter 5: Why Women Need the Goddess: Phenomenological, Psychological, and Political Reflections – Carol P. ChristPart II: Introduction to Nature or Earth ReligionsChapter 6: We Cast Our Circles Where the Earth Mother Meets the Sky Father – Sarah PikeChapter 7: Definitions and Expressions of Nature Religion in Shamanic Traditions and Contemporary Paganism – Barbara Jane DavyChapter 8: Paganism as a World Religion – Michael YorkPart III: Contemporary Neopaganism and WitchcraftChapter 9: Druidry – Graham HarveyChapter 10: To the Tribe Let There Be Children Born – Helen A. BergerChapter 11: Wicked Witches of the West: Exploring Court Treatments of Wicca as a Religion – Lori G. BeamanChapter 12: In Defence of Magic: Philosophical and Theological Rationalization – Tanya LuhrmannChapter 13: Witch Wars: Factors Contributing to Conflict in Canadian Witchcraft Communities – Sian RiedChapter 14: Constructing Identity and Divinity: Creating Community in an Elder Religion within a Postmodern World – Jenny BlainChapter 15: Weaving a Tangled Web? Pagan Ethics and Issues of History, “Race,” and Ethnicity in Pagan Identity – Ann-Marie GallagherPart IV: Feminist Spirituality and Goddess WorshipChapter 16: Mother and Goddess: The Ideological Force of Symbols – Lucie Marie-Mai DuFresneChapter 17: The Embodied Goddess: Feminist Witchcraft and Female Divinity – Wendy GriffinChapter 18: Finding a Goddess – Ronald HuttonChapter 19: The Roots of Feminist Spirituality – Cynthia EllerChapter 20: The Colonial Mythology of Feminist Witchcraft – Chris Klassen
Biography
Dr. Sian Reid is a lecturer in the Sociology and Anthropology department at Carleton University. She is currently the lead researcher with the Canadian Pagan Survey Project.
"This is an exciting new book that unites both classic and new work on the growing Neopagan movement. I would use this book. The editor is clearly knowledgeable of the field."
Helen A. Berger, author of Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States
"There is a need for such a publication. This book will be useful as a complement to a conventional sociology of religion textbook."
Saroj Chawla, York University
"The collection highlights some of the leading voices in Pagan studies. It also includes some previously unpublished work on comtemporary Paganism in Canada, which has been under surveyed."
Chas S. Clifton, editor of The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies
"This is a very important anthology to publish. No other anthology addresses Canadian Paganism to this extent. This volume certainly reflects the need to address the growing popularity of Paganism as a new religious movement in Canada."
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