DISKUS Volume 6 (2000)
http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/religionswissenschaft/journal/diskus

PAGAN IDENTITIES

Editorial

It is now widely recognised, within and beyond the academy, that growing numbers of people are self-identifying as Pagans and that, despite both emic and etic debates concerning its historicity, authenticity and the nature of its spirituality, there is a contemporary religious phenomenon broadly characterised as Paganism.

Study of Paganism (that is, academic study of the phenomena of contemporary Paganism) has become an increasingly popular field within Study of Religions in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.  In addition to the growth of higher education courses relating to Paganism, Pagan Studies in Britain benefited from a series of ground-breaking conferences in the 1990's - New Age and Paganism (Bath Spa University College, 1993), Contemporary Paganism in the British Isles (Newcastle University, 1994); Nature Religion Today (Lancaster University 1996); Re-Enchantment (King Alfred's College, Winchester, 1997) - and publications which resulted from them.  Some of the papers in this collection had their genesis in the Lancaster and Winchester conferences.  A feature of all these conferences was that academics with research interests in contemporary Paganism, Pagans, and Pagan academics were brought together for stimulating (sometimes controversial) papers, and the exchange of opinions and information.  This special issue of DISKUS continues this tradition in exploring the theme of Pagan Identities from a variety of angles and perspectives. We are grateful to the contributors for the clarity, diversity and in some cases candour of their presentations. 

The topic of Pagan identity is examined here through a number of broad, often overlapping, themes: the role of 'Nature' in Pagan identity (York, Letcher, Bowman); identities within Paganism and the articulation of difference, even disapproval, among Pagans (Pearson, Gallagher); Pagan identity and its impact on the individual, both in relation to mainstream society and academia (Foltz, Rabinovitch, Blain) and 'external' representations of Pagans and the extent to which Pagans can or cannot identify with these representations (Harvey, Robinson).  The reader will encounter a range of authorial stances, and some articles may seem more akin to Theology than Religious Studies in both tenor and content. This breadth is fairly typical of Pagan Studies.  

In challenging some of the 'received wisdom' concerning Paganism - for example questioning the centrality of 'Nature' in Pagan identity, or if Pagans undergo what in other traditions would be described as 'conversion', or whether the ideals of individual freedom and personal responsibility can be squared with the desire to express disapproval of fellow Pagans - we hope to fuel further reflection on myriad Pagan identities, expressions of identity and demarcations of identity within Paganism itself.  Moreover, broader methodological issues are raised by these papers, such as the extent to which an academic writer can or should draw upon or 'own' her or his experiences as data, and the emic and etic construction of religious identity. Is Paganism one identifiable phenomenon, albeit with many sub-divisions, or have many different (indeed potentially conflicting) phenomena been lumped together either for academic convenience or for mutual support in the face of mainstream opposition?

This collection of papers reflects the dynamic, plural and sometimes contested nature of both Paganism and Study of Paganism.  By examining Pagan Identities in various ways, we hope not only to disseminate the results of research about a particular contemporary religion, but to contribute to continuing debates about methodology and issues in Study of Religions per se.  


Marion Bowman (Open University)and Graham Harvey (King Alfred's Winchester)
Email: m.i.bowman@open.ac.uk, g.harvey@wkac.ac.uk

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