Tin! u Ottawa L'VmwersM' ranadierme Canada's university FACULTE DES ETUDES SUPERIEURES ISHSI FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND ET POSTOCTORALES U Ottawa POSDOCTORAL STUDIES L'Universit^ canadienne Canada's university Marisol Charbonneau AUTEUR DE LA THESE / AUTHOR OF THESIS M.A. (Religious Studies) GRADE/DEGREE Department of Classics and Religious Studies TAcTDflcoLTlli^™ A Distinct Paganism: The Contemporary Pagan Revival in Montreal at the Turn of the Millennium TITRE DE LA THESE / TITLE OF THESIS Marie-Francoise Guedon WE"CTBJR1D7RECW CO-DIRECTEUR (CO-DIRECTRICE) DE LA THESE / THESIS CO-SUPERVISOR EXAMINATEURS (EXAMINATRICES) DE LA THESE / THESIS EXAMINERS Lucie Dufresne Michel Gardaz Gary W. Slater Le Doyen de la Faculte des etudes superieures et postdoctorales / Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies A DISTINCT PAGANISM The Contemporary Pagan Revival In Montreal At the Turn of the Millennium By Marisol Charbonneau A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Classics and Religious Studies University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario July 2008 © copyright 2008, Marisol Charbonneau Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48438-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48438-8 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 Plntemet, prefer, 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. 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Canada ABSTRACT Contemporary Paganism, including Wicca, is a new religious movement that has taken root in the worldwide Anglophone diaspora, including Canada. Due to the fact that the majority of the population within Quebec is Francophone, several researchers of Paganism have cast doubts as to whether the Pagan movement could ever take root in the province. This research is an ethnographic study of Paganism in Montreal, Quebec's largest city and sole metropolis, using participant-observation, survey questionnaires, and one-on-one interviews in both English and French. This research aims to determine whether there are any significant differences between Anglophone and Francophone Pagans in Montreal, the degree to which Quebec culture has influenced the development of the religion within the province, and how the unique and distinct forms of Paganism in Quebec challenge the hegemony of the American model of Paganism. This research also explores the ways the development of a Pagan identity can be likened to the process of ethnogenesis. 1 CONTENTS Abstract i Contents ii List of Tables iii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 8 1.1 The Pagan Revival in Britain and North America 8 1.2 Literature Review 16 1.3 Theoretical Framework 23 Chapter 2 35 2.1 Paganism in Montreal 35 Chapter 3 47 3.1 Research Data Results - Pagan Affiliation and Personal Religious History 47 3.1.1 Categories of Survey Respondents and Interviewees 48 3.1.1.1 Francophone Qu6becois(es) 48 3.1.1.2 Other Francophones 49 3.1.1.3 Canadian Bilingual 50 3.1.1.4 Foreigner Bilingual 50 3.1.1.5 Canadian Allophone 51 3.1.1.6 Foreigner Allophone 51 3.1.1.7 Foreigner Anglophone 51 3.1.1.8 Canadian Anglophone 52 3.1.2 Pagan Affiliations of Survey Respondents 5 8 3.1.3 Personal Religious Histories of Survey Respondents 65 3.2 Research Data Results - Paganism and Community 83 Chapter 4 106 4.1 Research Data Results - Paganism and the Quebec Cultural Context 106 4.1.1 Paganism and the Aftermath of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec 106 4.1.2 Paganism, Politics, and the "Language Barrier" 114 Chapter 5 157 5.1 Research Data Results - Paganism and Cultural, Historical and Ethnic Affinity 157 5.2 Research Data Results - The Degree of Social Integration of Pagans Within Quebec Society 166 Conclusion - Paganism as Ethnogenesis 196 Bibliography 206 Appendix A - Survey Questionnaire in English and French 215 Appendix B - Interview Questions in English and French 240 Appendix C - Generic Forms of Common Pagan Symbols 247 ii LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Gender of survey respondents, by category 55 Table 2 Age of survey respondents, by category 55 Table 3 Country of origin of survey respondents, by category 55 Table 4 Birth province of Canadian survey respondents, by category 55 Table 5 Current place of residence (borough) of survey respondents, by category 56 Table 6 Length of time survey respondents have resided in Montreal (including all merged boroughs), by category 56 Table 7 Language used predominantly in survey respondents' daily lives, by category 57 Table 8 Survey respondents' linguistic background, by category 57 Table 9 Survey respondents' ethnic backgrounds, by category 57 Table 10 Survey respondents self-described current Pagan religious or spiritual path, by category 62 Table 11 Length of time survey respondents have considered themselves Pagan, by category 63 Table 12 Length of time survey respondents have practiced their current Pagan religion or spiritual path, by category 64 Table 13 Religions in which survey respondents were raised, by category 66 Table 14 How survey respondents' previous religious affiliations were determined, by category 69 Table 15 How survey respondents' Pagan affiliation or identity was determined, by category 70 Table 16 Survey respondents' level of faith and/or intellectual religious involvement before becoming a Pagan, by category 76 Table 17 Survey respondents' previous religious practice before becoming a Pagan, by category 77 Table 18 Whether survey respondents still believe in previous religious affiliations after becoming Pagans, by category 79 Table 19 Length of time survey respondents have been aware of the existence of other contemporary Pagans, by category 84 Table 20 Length of time survey have respondents have been aware of the existence of other Pagans in Montreal, by category 84 Table 21 Length of time survey respondents have been aware of the existence of fellow practitioners of specific Pagan path, by category 85 Table 22 How survey respondents became aware of the existence and nature of contemporary Paganism, by category 87 Table 23 How survey respondents became aware of the existence of other Pagans in the Montreal area, by category 91 Table 24 What has influenced survey respondents most in finding and maintaining current Pagan belief and practice, by category 93 Table 25 Social aspect of survey respondents' Pagan religious / spiritual practice, by category 97 Table 26 Language in which survey respondents practice their Pagan religion or spiritual path, by category 116 Table 27 Language of the majority of survey respondents' Pagan reference material, by category 117 Table 28 On whether survey respondents have difficulty translating some basic concepts of their Pagan religious or spiritual path into their first language, by category 118 Table 29 On whether survey respondents have difficulty accessing Pagan reference texts in their first language, by category 118 Table 30 Survey respondents' political inclinations, by category 127 Table 31 On whether survey respondents' Pagan religious or spiritual paths reflect their political views and inclinations, by category 128 Table 32 On whether survey respondents feel that their Pagan religious / spiritual paths influence their ecological views, by category 131 Table 33 On whether survey respondents think Black Magic has anything to offer Paganism, by category 135 Table 34 On whether survey respondents think White Magic has anything to offer Paganism, by category 139 ill Table 35 On whether survey respondents think the New Age has anything to offer Paganism, by category 141 Table 36 On whether survey respondents feel that their Pagan religious / spiritual paths influence their views on gender, by category 144 Table 37 On whether survey respondents' Pagan religious or spiritual practice are shaped by their gender, by category 152 Table 38 On whether survey respondents believe that a Pagan practice transmitted through a male