For thousands of years, since the very advent of human existence, there has been an evolving trajectory of religious history in Western societies.
The story passes from the earliest animism and ancestor worship to the rise of belief in gods, the consolidation of authoritarian power under monotheisms, and the complete domination of Western societies by Christianity. It continues through the Enlightenment, the steady gains of science shattering the cosmological monopoly of the Abrahamic monotheisms, the increasing tension between orthodoxy and individuality splintering these monotheisms into thousands of sects, and finally, most recently, to the rise of the Nones: those who describe themselves as having no religious affiliation at all, which is well established in most of the rest of the developed world and advancing quickly in the United States.
Just like other religious communities, Pagans experience births and deaths, pains and joys — the full range of human experience. Every week at Cherry Hill Seminary we hear comments like these:
A Priestess, a minister, and a fat white woman walk into a bar…? Nope, it’s not a joke, it is merely I, Catharine Clarenbach, one of the newer bloggers to come onto Witches & Pagans. I have been blogging elsewhere, as well as at my own site (see below), and I welcome the chance to interact with you her at "Deep to on High."
Another Pagan takes a look at the concept of cultural appropriation and how it applies to our community. BBI Media CEO and Witches&Pagans Magazine editor-in-chief Anne Newkirk Niven talks about the future of Pagan publishing. And a journalist checks in with one of Eurasia's indigenous Pagan peoples. It's Watery Wednesday, our segment on news about the Pagan community. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
A Pagan online journal looks for fundraising help. A solitary practitioner talks about his conversion experience. And we take a look at the side effects of "astral bleed-through." It's Watery Wednesday, our weekly segment on news about the Pagan community! All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle!
We take a look at Paganism in Poland. Luthaneal Adams shares an open letter about bigotry within Paganism. And the heartbreaking condition of Pagans in prison is examined. It's Watery Wednesday, our weekly segment for news about the Pagan community around the world. All this and more for the Pagan News Beagle.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...