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 Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:11 am
As Neopaganism becomes more established as a set of religious paths, a need is going to develop for theological studies and more in-depth philosophies that are part of these religious systems. I've read a couple books that have in some way tackeled the issue of Neopagan theology (and a few that have dealt more broadly with Pagan theology stretching back to old times) but there is still a general lack of books on the subject. My question for you guys is...
what sorts of broad philosophical ideas do you find central to Neopagan philosophy (or just yours if you don't feel comfortable generalizing to all of Neopaganism as a whole)? How could these ideas be expanded to create a more enriched theology and powerful spirituality within the movement?
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 11:19 pm
Erm... I don't know much neopagan theology nor am I pagan, but I'd like to learn about it, and then I could give you an opinion on it. =3 The guild doesn't have many book recommendations besides Wicca-centered books. Do you have any suggestions for books on neopagan/pagan theology in general?
I hope this isn't thread hijacking. ^_^;;
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 1:42 pm
I would say that your topic is too broad. Neo-paganism, or paganism in general is a big unbrella catagory. It includes every thing from satanism to santaria to wiccan.What I am doing is reading every thing I can get my hands on, attending as many different churches as possible. I am taking religion classes in college. Infact I am really itching for my Native American Reigions class to start. Always research research research, every new set of information brings new questions to answer. Also always check your sources.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:23 am
I wouldn't put Satanism under the Neopagan umbrella because it isn't Earth-based, it isn't a reconstruction of old Pagan religions, and it doesn't hold to polytheism, pantheism, OR animism (though a particular Satanist could hold these beliefs in deity, as far as I know, the Church of Satan as a whole does NOT hold any of these views of the divine). On the question of is it too broad... perhaps it is, but works have already been published that are outlining underlying patterns to the movement (heck, there's a book I'm working on now that looks at Neopagan and New Age movements together).
To sybex Shark, for a work that looks at Pagan theology, there's a book entitled "Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion" and I forget the author of the top of my head. You should find it on amazon though... that's how I found it and from there I ILL'd the book. Basically it makes the case of why Paganism is a world religion and also presents a sort of defining umbrella for Paganism. For one that covers more Neopaganism, I usually recomend "Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religion" by Joyce and River Higginsbotham. Here's a 101 book that bothers to talk about theology and the deeper philosophies rather than just "this is what we do and how to do it."
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:24 am
Starlock I wouldn't put Satanism under the Neopagan umbrella because it isn't Earth-based, it isn't a reconstruction of old Pagan religions, and it doesn't hold to polytheism, pantheism, OR animism (though a particular Satanist could hold these beliefs in deity, as far as I know, the Church of Satan as a whole does NOT hold any of these views of the divine). On the question of is it too broad... perhaps it is, but works have already been published that are outlining underlying patterns to the movement (heck, there's a book I'm working on now that looks at Neopagan and New Age movements together). To sybex Shark, for a work that looks at Pagan theology, there's a book entitled "Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion" and I forget the author of the top of my head. You should find it on amazon though... that's how I found it and from there I ILL'd the book. Basically it makes the case of why Paganism is a world religion and also presents a sort of defining umbrella for Paganism. For one that covers more Neopaganism, I usually recomend "Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religion" by Joyce and River Higginsbotham. Here's a 101 book that bothers to talk about theology and the deeper philosophies rather than just "this is what we do and how to do it." OH I am not arguing with you, but satanism is under that unbrella word "pagan." That is good that books are trying to come up with a definition to what modern day paganism or neo-paganism is. Untill that definition is widely accepted and acknoloaged we are stuck with paganism just being an unbrella term for basically every thing that is not chritianity, Judaism, or Muslim.
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