Trends in Pagan Publishing

Witchvox tips me off to a new book by Brendan “Cathbad” Myers that tackles the issue of Paganism and social/environmental activism.

“‘Dangerous Religion’ is a thought-opera of spiritual contemplations on Pagan and environmental themes, and simultaneously a manual for environmental activists and other participants in the anti-globalization movement.”

Activism, specifically environmental activism and related global justice issue have been popping up in more Pagan books lately. For instance T. Thorn Coyle’s latest book Evolutionary Witchcraft.

“We need to connect, to find the sacred in our lives right now, rather than on some future day of transcendence and redemption. In a time of global and environmental crises, a religion that firmly connects us to the earth is not only appealing, but crucial.”

Join these with Starhawk’s ongoing work and recent book on her global justice activism “Webs of Power” and it looks like there is an emergent voice in the Pagan publishing market.

All this along with the recent growth in books and journals by Pagan academics sends positive signals of a faith evolving away from it’s adolescence and into a mature religious movement.

Quote of the Day

“The book concludes that what has caused our nation to spiral down into our present moral bankruptcy has been the gradual acceptance of moral relativism, secular humanism, atheism and neo-paganism, augmented by the un-constitutional actions of a US Supreme Court which has usurped its authority and has acted as legislators not interpreters of the Constitution.” – Arlene Sawicki (endorsing the book “Legislating Morality”)

Dewitch?

For my Christian friends in the audience, let us pretend that a large Pagan publisher put out a book called, lets say, “DeChristing Our Youth”, in it the author who has had no direct experience with Christianity (he has, say, a friend who is Christian and knows a couple others who have “dabbled” in it) spends some 240 pages talking about the “dangers” of youth following Christ and how “hollow” the faith is. Perhaps the author also includes a story narrative which goes even further and implies that Christians kill people and mutilate animals during their rites.

Can you imagine what would happen? The editorials, the endless blog tirades, the holding up of this book as representative of the depraved “secular left”. No doubt national leaders of the Christian faith would denounce it and the publisher would endure a hailstorm of criticism that could conceivably put it under.

Now imagine that such a book *has* been published only it’s about Wicca.

In this book (with a cover design that could have come from an occult publisher) youth minister and author Tim Baker purports to give people curious about Wicca everything they need!

“Dewitched is the must-have resource for any teen, youth pastor, or parent who wants good solid information and advice from a Christian perspective about this popular but dangerous religion.”

So what does the book tell us? Well, it compares and links Wicca to Satanism.

“Although he makes sure to present the different belief systems of Wicca and Satanism, such as Wicca being earth-based while Satanism is not, he also connects Wicca and Satanism through their founders and certain aspects of their beliefs.” – Ruth Robinson

Which certain aspects? Certain aspects link Buddhism to Christianity but that doesn’t make them the same or even “linked” as this author is trying to do with Wicca and modern Satanism.

But wait, there is more. In the one review of the book on Amazon.com a rather upset Wiccan clues us in to the “narrative” portion of the book.

“It does say that Wiccans don’t cast spells to harm another or practice animal sacrifice, yet the fictional (but supposedly educational) story in the book features a so-called “Wiccan” who details the people she’s harmed through spellcasting in her diary, and is part of a coven that is portrayed mutilating a cow during a Sabbat ceremony, and even sacrificing a human in a perversion of a traditional first-degree initiation.” – “Cunning Woman”

Ah, sometimes the old slanders are the best! Wiccans engage in human sacrifice! Wiccans recruit and corrupt the young! Wiccans tell people to turn away from the true faith! Wiccans engage in child abuse! The irony of course is that all these slanders were said about the early Christians.

This book tries to have it both ways. It wants to present itself as modern and informed and dare I say “hip”? Sadly the book also wants to dabble in all the old slurs that have been thrown at modern Pagans since we grew large enough to worry the conservative Christians. In the end it is just another piece of garbage laced with the same ignorance only prettied up a bit.

Framing The Issue

Check out this link to see how the Religious Right frames an issue to make it seem like the “secular left” and “activist judges” are trying to “ban God”. Several bloggers are on the case and trying to deflect the spin.