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Technopagans: Neopagans on the Internet and the Emergence of Virtual Communities by Leslie Erin Prest a Thesis Submitted To Technopagans: NeoPagans on the Internet and the Emergence of Virtual Communities By Leslie Erin Prest A thesis submitted to The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology and Anthropology Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario March 2006 © Leslie Erin Prest 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-22129-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-22129-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce,Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve,sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet,distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform,et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be includedBien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors, Brian Given and Blair Rutherford, for all of their advice and guidance during this process. A special thanks to Blair for being a dedicated professor and one of my favourite teachers these past five years, and to Brian, for giving some of the most interesting lectures I have had at Carleton and for supporting me throughout the thesis process. I would also like to thank my brother, Chris Prest, for his assistance with formatting and for designing the cover to this thesis. My greatest thanks go to my parents, Rick and Cathy, for their tremendous support and encouragement throughout my life and especially with regards to my education. I could not have come this far without them. I would also like to thank Fritz Wren and Jung Walker, the moderators of Witchvox.com, for allowing me to contact participants through their website, and to everyone at Witchvox who participated in this study. A special thanks to my key informants, who shall remain nameless, for all of your insight and the time you dedicated to this project. I would also like to thank a fellow student, Jason Boudreau, for inspiring me to undertake this Internet study and for his tips on Internet research. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Title Page ................................................................ .....................................i Abstract ................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements...............................................................................................iii Table of Contents ...................................................................................................iv Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Background ....................................................................................5 Common Characteristics of NeoPaganism ............................................5 NeoPaganism: A Brief History..................................................................11 Chapter Two: Literature Review ........................................................................... 19 Defining Religion: Is NeoPaganism a Religion?.....................................19 NeoPagan Communities ...........................................................................24 Solitaries: A Hidden Population .............................................................. 28 NeoPagans Online.................................................................................... 35 Chapter Three: Theory and Methods ................................................................. 40 Methodology........................................................................................... 40 Ethical Issues ................................................................................ 44 Theoretical Approach ................................................................... 48 Theoretical Concepts ................................................................................ 50 Theories of Community................................................................50 Virtual Community.......................................................................55 Religious Community Online...................................................... 64 Chapter Four: NeoPagan Conceptions of Community ....................................... 68 The Solitary-Group Debate .......................................................................71 A Marginalized Community.....................................................................88 The Marginal of the Marginalized: Fluffy Bunnies and Fundies 93 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter Five: Solitaries and Virtual Community ................................................106 Networking.............................................................. 107 Generation Gap: Youth and the Internet ..................................................112 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 115 Appendix A: Witchvox Survey 1997 and 1999 .................................................. 119 Appendix B: Witchvox Posting............................................................................... 121 Appendix C: Interview Questions.........................................................................123 Appendix D: NeoPagan Glossary.......................................................... 124 Appendix E: Interview with Darla W ynne...........................................................126 References..............................................................................................................134 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 Introduction NeoPaganism is a new form of religious practice which emerged in the 1950s in Europe, and subsequently came to North America in the 1960s. When NeoPaganism gained popularity in North America in the late 1960s and 1970s, this new religion underwent numerous changes, losing much of the structure and hierarchical elements which had existed in the British form, and becoming more individualistic and flexible. Since the 1990s, NeoPaganism has seen dramatic increases in numbers due to the popularity of NeoPaganism on the Internet. With the numerous websites on NeoPaganism available to individuals, this new religion became more accessible, and this enabled the emergence of widespread solitary practice. Individuals could now gain access to the information without the necessity of joining a NeoPagan group in order to learn about NeoPaganism. It was at this time that solitary practitioners began to emerge as a group, creating a community of individuals who each maintained their own form of practice. This community of solitaries maintain contact with other members through the Internet, forming virtual communities at hub sites such as WitchVox (www.witchvox.com). Although the term "community" is commonly associated with face-to-face interactions and geographic proximity, virtual communities do not rely on in-person communications. New communications technology, such as the Internet, allow members to communicate and form social bonds without ever meeting in-person. In the last fifteen years, solitary NeoPagans have formed virtual communities online and have revolutionized NeoPagan practice. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 In Chapter One, background information will be provided to the reader about the nature of NeoPaganism and its roots in British Wicca. Common characteristics of NeoPagans will be provided along with the basic tenets of their religious beliefs and practices. A brief history
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