{"id":323,"date":"2010-12-17T23:01:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-17T23:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/12\/pagan-studies\/"},"modified":"2010-12-17T23:01:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-17T23:01:00","slug":"pagan-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/12\/pagan-studies.html","title":{"rendered":"Pagan Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
Chad Clifton has two blog posts titled \u201cWhy We Do Pagan Studies\u201d \u2013 Part 1 is here<\/a> and Part 2 is here<\/a>. They\u2019re brief looks at Pagan scholarship from the perspective of a professional scholar and they make for interesting reading.<\/div>\n
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Jason Pitzl-Waters at The Wild Hunt links to the first post here<\/a>, where he says:<\/div>\n
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I think some of us have fallen into the trap of labeling Pagan Studies works as \u201cadvanced\u201d books for our faiths, when they should instead be seen as an illuminating aid towards deeper understanding of how and why we do what we do. How we got to where we are today, and what that might mean for our future. This should be separated from books that actually seek to deepen our own practices, works on practice and theology from authors like Brendan Myers<\/a> or Thorn Coyle<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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It is this use of Pagan Studies works as advanced guides for Pagan practice that I want to address. I think Jason is right in his assessment of what these books are but wrong to say they don\u2019t make good resources for advanced practice.<\/div>\n
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Clearly, academic studies of Paganism are not theological or devotional works. But they are helpful as advanced books for our faiths precisely because they are \u201can illuminating aid towards deeper understanding of how and why we do what we do.\u201d <\/div>\n
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When it comes to my theological beliefs and spiritual practice, I\u2019m essentially a solitary practitioner. I\u2019ve been trained in OBOD and I\u2019m active in CUUPS, but both of those organizations are big on individual freedom and short on doctrine. I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way, but the result is that I have to figure out things on my own. Academic works on Paganism serve as a map \u2013 they let me know what other Pagans have done and are doing. And the really good academic works explain how those beliefs and practices relate to people of other faiths, other times, and other places \u2013 they connect what I believe and do to universal experiences. <\/div>\n
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When I find myself more or less in alignment with others, it\u2019s reinforcement that I\u2019m on the right track. When I find myself at great variance with others \u2013 especially with other Pagans, it tells me I need to take a deeper look inside. There are times when I look at these variances and say \u201cI may be different, but I\u2019m still convinced I\u2019m right\u201d \u2013 but at least I do the examination.<\/div>\n
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And Clifton references yet another book I\u2019m going to have to read, Niki Bado\u2019s Coming to the Edge of the Circle<\/i><\/a>. It\u2019s now on my to-be-read list \u2013 a list that seems to grow all the time\u2026<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chad Clifton has two blog posts titled \u201cWhy We Do Pagan Studies\u201d \u2013 Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here. They\u2019re brief looks at Pagan scholarship from the perspective of a professional scholar and they make for interesting reading. Jason Pitzl-Waters at The Wild Hunt links to the first post here, where he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPagan Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chad Clifton has two blog posts titled \u201cWhy We Do Pagan Studies\u201d \u2013 Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here. 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