Michael F. Strmiska, ed., Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005, 382 pp., ISBN: 1851096086, hb

Abstract

The essays that make up this edited volume provide a welcome addition to previous surveys of paganism and neopaganism [by Graham Harvey (2000), Joanne Pearson (2002), Shelley Rabinovitch and James Lewis (2002), and Sarah Pike (2004)] that focus mainly on the USA and the British Isles and on Wicca and its variants. Editor Michael Strmiska broadens this focus by including essays on modern pagan movements in Lithuania and Ukraine, Italian-American Stregheria, Asatru in Iceland and America, Heathenry in Great Britain, Druidry in Ireland, and pagans in the US military. This expanded focus remains organized around a European–American axis, allowing for intriguing discussions of parallels and contrasts between the various groups covered, without becoming a superficial “global encyclopedia.” The essays on eastern Europe highlight the “tenacious preservation” of folklore and customs in these more ethnically homogeneous former Soviet states and the ways these deep streams of cultural memory are reemerging in vibrant pagan movements. Strmiska’s opening essay makes several interesting points about the terms “pagan” and “neopagan.” First, Strmiska traces the development of “pagan” as a pejorative term for pre-Christian polytheisms that threatened Christian dominance throughout northern and central Europe. He points out that modern pagans embrace the term precisely because it marks their break from conventional Christian belief and practice. They also are influenced, he maintains, by positive nineteenth-century anthropological, folkloric, and Romantic portrayals of European pagan religion. These portrayals cast pagan religion in a mysterious and alluring light and also showed how these traditions could be used to stimulate national pride and a respect for cultural patrimony among ethnic subcultures. Finally, contemporary pagans hope that by wearing the label proudly they can honor their pagan ancestors who fought to maintain their spiritual practices in the face of hostility and persecution. Strmiska discusses the disagreements within the pagan community over the use of the term “neopagan,” noting that, for many contemporary pagans, the term is Sophia (2007) 46:105–106 DOI 10.1007/s11841-007-0012-9