Modern Paganism in World Cultures ABC-CLIO Religion in Contemporary Cultures Series
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Modern Paganism in World Cultures ABC-CLIO Religion in Contemporary Cultures Series Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, R. Michael Feener, Editor Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, Michael F. Strmiska, Editor Forthcoming Buddhism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, Stephen C. Berkwitz, Editor Modern Paganism in World Cultures Comparative Perspectives Edited by MICHAEL F. STRMISKA Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado Oxford, England Copyright © 2005 by Michael Strmiska All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Modern paganism in world cultures : comparative perspectives / Michael Strmiska, editor. p. cm.—(Religion in contemporary cultures) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-85109-608-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 1-85109-613-2 (ebook) 1. Neopaganism. 2. Religion and culture. I. Strmiska, Michael. II. Series. BP605.N46M63 2005 299'.94—dc22 2005025963 070605 10987654321 This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an e-book. Visit http://www.abc-clio.com for details. ABC-CLIO, Inc. 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116–1911 Acquisitions Editor: Steven Danver Production Editor: Laura Esterman Editorial Assistant: Alisha Martinez Media Editor: Giulia Rossi Production Coordinator: Ellen Brenna Dougherty Manufacturing Coordinator: George Smyser This book is printed on acid-free paper. Manufactured in the United States of America Contents Contributors, vii Preface, ix Modern Paganism in World Cultures Comparative Perspectives Chapter One Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives Michael F. Strmiska, 1 Chapter Two Italian American Stregheria and Wicca: Ethnic Ambivalence in American Neopaganism Sabina Magliocco, 55 Chapter Three Druidry in Contemporary Ireland Jenny Butler, 87 Chapter Four Asatru: Nordic Paganism in Iceland and America Michael F. Strmiska and Baldur A. Sigurvinsson, 127 v vi Contents Chapter Five Heathenry, the Past, and Sacred Sites in Today’s Britain Jenny Blain, 181 Chapter Six The Revival of Ukrainian Native Faith Adrian Ivakhiv, 209 Chapter Seven Romuva: Lithuanian Paganism in Lithuania and America Michael F. Strmiska and Vilius Rudra Dundzila, 241 Chapter Eight Onward Pagan Soldiers: Paganism in the U.S. Military Stephanie Urquhart, 299 Glossary of Terms, 349 Bibliography, 363 Index, 367 Contributors Jenny Blain is Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Science and Law at Sheffield Hallam University, where she leads the Master of Arts program in Social Science Research Methods. She is co-project director of the Sacred Sites, Contested Rights/Rites project in the United Kingdom. Dr. Blain has conducted extensive research on Heathenry, and her publica- tions include Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and Neo-Shamanism in North European Paganism (2002) and, as co-editor, Researching Paganisms (2004). Jenny Butler is nearing completion of her PhD titled “Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in Contemporary Ireland” at the Department of Folklore and Ethnology, University College, Cork, Ireland. She is part of the editorial team of Béascna: Journal of Folklore and Ethnology, and her research interests include contemporary Paganism, new religious movements, and alternative healing practices. Vilius Rudra Dundzila has an MA in Baltic and Slavic studies from the Uni- versity of Illinois–Chicago, an MPS in Pastoral Studies from Loyola Univer- sity, and a PhD in Comparative Literature and German from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is currently completing the Doctor of Ministry program at Meadville-Lombard Theological College. Dr. Dundzila is the Associate Professor of Humanities at Harry S. Truman College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago, and is Seniunas of Romuva Chicago. Adrian Ivakhiv holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from York University in Canada. He is an assistant professor at the Rubenstein School of Environ- ment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, where he coordinates a new graduate program in Environmental Thought and Culture. Dr. Ivakhiv is the author of Claiming Sacred Ground: Pilgrims and Politics at Glastonbury and Sedona (2001) and numerous articles in such journals as Culture and Re- ligion, Topia, Nova Religio, Social Compass, Ethnic Forum, and Ecotheology. Sabina Magliocco received her BA from Brown University and her MA and PhD from Indiana University–Bloomington. She is Associate Professor of Anthropology at California State University–Northridge. Dr. Magliocco has published on the ritual year, gender, narrative, sacred art, and religious folklore in Sardinia, Italy, and among North American Neo-Pagans. Her vii viii Contributors most recent work is Witching Culture: Folklore and Neo-Paganism in America (2004). Baldur A. Sigurvinsson has an MA in anthropology from the University of Iceland and is a member of the Icelandic Asatruarfelagid. He is currently working as a project manager for various European Union educational pro- grams in Iceland. Michael F. Strmiska holds an MA in Religions of India from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a PhD in Religious Studies from Boston Univer- sity in the United States. He has taught Comparative Religion and World History at universities in the United States, Japan, and Lithuania. Dr. Str- miska has published articles on Scandinavian and Baltic Paganism in the journal Nova Religio and elsewhere. He is a founding member of the World Congress for Ethnic Religions and serves on the editorial board of The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. Dr. Strmiska now teaches World History at Central Connecticut State University. Stephanie Urquhart has a BA in Humanities. She is a U.S. Navy veteran and Director of Operations for the Military Pagan Network. Preface This book is a collaboration between a large number of people both in and out of academia who contributed their knowledge, time, and energy to- ward the shared goal of providing a three-dimensional picture of modern Pagan religions as they now exist in Europe, the British Isles, and North America. Many of the authors are themselves personally involved in the Pa- gan religions they write about, and they consulted extensively with Pagan religious leaders and practitioners whom they know in a personal way. It is hoped that this gives the book an intimate feeling and an insider perspec- tive that accurately reflects the living reality of the Pagan traditions dis- cussed in its pages. The editor and contributing authors have endeavored to ensure that the information presented in these pages is as accurate and reliable as possible at the time of writing. Those who come to a book on this subject hoping to find a fierce denunci- ation of weird and dangerous cults will likely leave disappointed, but those who come seeking a glimpse into new religious movements with very old roots will, it is hoped, find these essays to be a valuable introduction. ix Chapter One Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives M ICHAEL F. S TRMISKA An Overview Modern Paganism is among the fastest-growing religions in the United States. According to the American Religious Identity Survey (ARIS) carried out by sociologists at the City University of New York in 2001, an estimated 307,000 Americans identify their religious affiliation as “Wicca, Pagan, or Druid,” making this one of the twenty largest religious categories in the United States, anticipated at the time of the survey to grow to some 433,000 by 2004. A similar survey carried out in 1990 did not even mention Wic- cans, Pagans, or Druids, which underlines how fast modern Paganism, in its different forms, has been growing in recent years. (See Adherents.com Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001.) This volume of essays addresses the development in both Europe and North America of religious movements dedicated to reviving the polytheis- tic, nature-worshipping Pagan religions of pre-Christian Europe and adapt- ing them for the use of people in modern societies. It should be under- stood that Europe and North America are by no means the only regions in which such Pagan revivals are taking place. Lynne Hume (1997) and Dou- glas Ezzy (2003) have published important works on Neopaganism and modern Witchcraft in Australia, for example. The current volume is organ- ized around a European-American axis in the belief that this regional focus provides a coherent frame of discussion with a number of intriguing com- monalities and contrasts without degenerating into a global encyclopedia. 1 2 Modern Paganism in World Cultures Efforts to revive traditional, indigenous, or native religions are occurring around the world; modern European-based Paganism is but one variant of a much larger phenomenon. The revived Paganism of modern times has sometimes been referred to as Neopaganism or Neo-paganism, with neo denoting the new and contempo- rary nature of these religious movements and paganism identifying the past religious traditions that the modern movements see themselves as building on. In the title of this volume and several of the essays, the simpler term Pa- ganism will be used, in keeping with the wishes of some modern followers of such religions to be known as Pagans