Paganisms: Influences of Modernity on Modern Religion
Paganisms today include several pre-Christian philosophies and practices that have been reborn in the modern world. Notwithstanding it’s ancient origins, Paganism is considered in many respects to be a new religion. While there is no clear agreement on the origins of Paganism, it was in the mid-twentieth century that measurable numbers of people began to confess their Pagan beliefs to the world. (Woodhead, 358). The question is, what impact, if any, that modernity has had on Paganism as a modern religion.
By way of background there is no clear definition of what is or is not Pagan. Pagans are more than just witchcraft, although outsiders may not see a distinction. In the most general terms, the Paganisms are religions of nature. Some Pagans see nature as a deity, while other Pagans do not believe in any deity. Nature is however usually at the core of Pagan beliefs and rituals. I will use Paganism and Paganisms interchangeably to reflect the wide range of Pagan beliefs, practices, and classifications. Where appropriate I will provide contrasts between different Pagan beliefs and practices.
Modernity, according to Woodhead, is typified by “...Western industrial societies....” (Woodhead, 2). Thus, to evaluate what effects modernity has had on Paganism we much first consider the institutions of Western industrial societies and how those institutions have impacted Paganism. The focus here will be on capitalism, human rights and equality, secularization, globalization, and other religions, and how these institutions have impacted Paganism.
Capitalism
Capitalism is, at first blush, at odds with the Pagan concepts of preservation of and co-existence with nature. In fact, a large number of Pagans view themselves as eco-pagans (Woodhead, 368). The Pagan respect for nature and conservationism is a sharp contrast to modern capitalism. Capitalism has removed forests, moved or dried up rivers, and built up dense urban cities. Many Pagans view this industrialization and consumption of resources as invasive of their holding that the earth is sacred. This belief is not far removed from non-religious ecological movements to protect the earth. Yet Pagans consume a substantial amount of products which are produced and market to them, such as books, music, incense, novelty signs and bumper stickers, and other consumables. Additionally, there is a substantial market for ritual items such as costumes, jewelry, and other implements used in Pagan rituals. There are tarot cards, runes, and other divination tools that are associated with witchcraft and other Pagan categories.
There can be no doubt that Pagans are market participants in the modern industrial world, and that there is such a large market directed at Pagans is evidence capitalization at work - finding a consumer need and filling that need for a profit. Pagans are consumers of capitalism whether or not they oppose the effects on nature from capitalism.
Human Rights and Equality
Human rights and equality includes several concepts. In particular I will discuss issues of gender, and individualism and how these relate to Paganism.
Much of the pre-modern world can be characterized by male domination over women. Gender issues in modernity deal with ways that institutions approach and resolve these historical gender roles. Paganism takes a radical approach to gender issues by feminizing the world and the deities.
Pagans today speak of “The Goddess,” as an expression of the combined deities. While there is a maleness among nature and the deities, many Pagans view the female Goddess as superior to any other form of deity. (Woodhead, 366). Heymeyer discusses one form of Paganism as “feminist Wicca.” She points out that with growing equality in America, some women left male dominated faith communities in favor of the feminist spirituality in Wicca.
The historical story of male domination seems to have influenced Paganism to the extent that the female is emphasized over the male. There is no set division of roles among men and women in the Pagan religions and followers are accepted without regard to sex. Instead, the great diversity in life is ritualistically celebrated and embraced. Equality and respect for human rights, a modern construct, is alive and well in Paganism.
Secularization
Secularization has been a necessary prerequisite to the return of the Paganisms in the modern world. Secularization for our purposes here is the decline of religion as an institution that exercises social control, either politically, or judicially. So long as religion, and in particular Christianity, had power to govern, people were not free to openly practice as Pagans. History documents the Christian assault on old Pagan rituals and practices from mediaeval through early modern times (Woodhead, 360). With the risk of being tried for worshipping the Christian devil, and the certain death penalty that followed, pre-modern Pagans would have been forced underground, or perhaps even wiped out altogether.
As secularization grew in Europe and Christianity declined, would-be Pagans began a renewed interest in the ancient rituals and practices. In the United States, secularization has not occurred to the same degree as has occurred in Europe. However, religious freedoms were guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, essentially removing the ability of the Christian establishment to seek out and destroy the practices that would become the foundation for the new Paganism. Therefore, without secularization, and Constitutionally protected religious freedoms, Paganism would not have had the ability to rebirth in either Europe or the Americas.
Secularization is also associated with an increasing reliance in science and the scientific method. Religion often offers responses to questions about the world that science has not been able to answer. Such secularization might be in conflict with Pagans who worship deities that are seen as divine, since science tends to exclude the divine or deities as objects that have no proof of existence. However, not all Pagans worship or believe in deities, and for these Pagans there would be little conflict between science and their religion based on observable nature and the changing seasons. So for some Pagans secularization and science might be at odds with their beliefs, while other Pagans may be in close alignment with scientific processes and knowledge. Regardless of whether or not some Pagans are in conflict with secularization, Paganism would arguably not have had its rebirth in the absence of secularization.
Globalization
Paganisms are global religions. Paganism has no central authority and the Pagan religions typically occur as small local groups, decentralized, and independent. Some Pagans are more organized however, such as European Wiccans, who are initiated into a coven that is governed by a priest or priestess who has direct lineage to the founders of Wicca; Gerald Gardner, and Alex Saunders and Maxine Saunders. (Woodhead, 364). But not all witches who identify as Wiccan are initiated into such groups and in the United States such covens might not qualify as Wicca according to the United Kingdom initiatory requirements. Furthermore, other witches that identify as Wiccan might not be part of a coven at all. Modern Celtic druids have revived the beliefs and practices of pre-Roman Celts (including cultures from Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, and Scotland, (Woodhead, 265)). Several countries in Eastern and Central Europe have seen revivals of the pre-Christian ethnic practices (Woodhead, 366). Iceland, Scandinavia, German, and Anglo-Saxon Britain have also seen unique versions of Paganisms referred to as “heathen rather than Pagan,” according to Graham Harvey (Woodhead, 367). There is also a movement among younger people who are identifying themselves as witches, that Harvey calls “Teen Witchcraft.” (Woodhead, 365).
This diversity within the Paganisms, and the diversity found across the globe, demonstrates that the Pagan religions have thrived in the modern global world. The information instantly available across the internet, together with internationally available books, magazines, and other media, makes sharing ideas across the variety of Pagan religions easy. With the decentralized and local nature of Paganism, even the individual Pagan can obtain the full body of knowledge available on Paganism and the various ways these religions are expressed.
Other Institutions
The most obvious impact on Paganism in the modern world is drawn from its interactions with Christianity. While the decline in political and judicial influence of Christianity was a condition precedent to the rise of Paganism (discussed supra), modern Christianity continues to influence how Paganism interacts with the world.
Many people who are unread in the traditions and history of Paganism might simply think that Paganism, particularly Wicca, is “devil worship.” However, according to Hemeyer, “witches do not worship satan or the devil.” (Hemeyer, 299). Many Pagans do not believe in the Christian God, or Satan, and as previously mentioned, some Pagans do not even believe in deities. Perhaps the remaining Christian influence in American government can account for the instances where Pagan religions have been denied tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. (Hemeyer, 300). Additionally, Hemeyer reports that Wiccans cannot be commissioned as military chaplains (Hemeyer, 301). She does, however, indicate that after some time the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has now allowed the headstones of veterans who are interred in National Cemeteries to be inscribed with the pentacle, a five-pointed star, which has symbolic meanings to Wiccans.
Not all of modern Christianity is so adverse to Pagan religions. Hemeyer points out that there is a Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans that is “...formally acknowledged and supported by the denomination....” (Hemeyer, 300). Similarly, there are numerous celebrations of the solstice and equinox, renaissance faires and festivals, and Scottish/Irish festivals, all of which include some aspects of various modern expressions of Paganisms.
Conclusion
Paganism as it exists today is certainly modern, being itself a product of modernity. As a modern development of ancient traditions, pagan religions enjoy a communion with the modern world that many other religions (i.e., the Abrahamic religions) do not have. While there are remnants of resistance to Paganism by fundamental Christianity, I believe that Paganism is positioned to see tremendous growth as an alternative to approaching spirituality, in conjunction with such diverse philosophical constructs as atheism, agnosticism, pure science, and a secular, global, modern world.
References
Hemeyer, J. Religion in America: 6 ed. Prentice Hall. 2010.
Woodhead, L., Kawanami, H., Partridge, C. Religions in The Modern World: Transitions and Transformations: 2 ed. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 2009.
