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merican cademy of Religion

Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion by Michael YorkReview by: Vilius Rudra DundzilaJournal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Jun., 2005), pp. 591-594Published by: Oxford University Press

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2/5


3/5

592

Journal

of

the

American

Academyof Religion

some of

these criteriaat the

outset and

defines the

rest

as

they

are introduced

throughout

the book. At the end

of the

first

chapter

he summarizes

paganism

with two

traits:a this-world

attitude and

acceptance

of

spirit

in matter

(65).

The

three

chapters

of

the book

study paganism

as

religion,

practice,

and

the-

ology.

The

first and

longest

chapter

searches

for

pagan

elements

present

in the

religions

mentioned

previously.

York

does

not

apply

the entire

pagan

paradigm

to each of

these

examples,

although

he does

point

out

correspondences

between

each

religion

and the

prescribed

paradigm.

For

example,

he

makes

it

clear

that

Chinese folk

religion

and

Japanese

Shinto

share

traits,

but he

does

not

precisely

clarify

how

either

of these

religions

reflects

the

largerpagan

model.

In a

similar

vein,

the

similarities and

differences between

tribal

animistic

spirits

and

the

Greek

gods

are not elucidated.

Such

discrepancies

probably

ndicate

that corre-

spondencesbetween individualexamplesand the paganparadigmexist in broad

terms,

but

not in the details.

Readersneed

to evaluate

he material

York

presents

and draw

their own conclusions.

The

section on American

Indians

is

interesting

and

controversial.

It

includes

spirituality

n

the title but

immediately

discusses

religion

without distin-

guishing

it from

spirituality.

York's

categories

become

quite

fluid

in

this section:

Native

American

religions

include

Shamanism,

which should

be considered

an

indigenous

tribal

religion.

Since

they

survive

in western

society

and also

oppose

the

dominant

religion,

York

gives

them

their

own section.

Moreover,

westerners

commonly

consider Native

American

religion

as

pagan,

although

practitioners

reject this label (45). The discussion

very quickly

incorporates he autochtho-

nous

religions

of

the

American

continents

in

general,

including

the

extinct

Aztecs,

Mayas,

and Incas.It

concludeswith

Christian

doption

of

Native

American

elements.

The

presence

of

pagan

elements

surviving

as

folk

rituals

or countercul-

ture

becomes a thematic focus of

the book.

The

presentation

of

contemporary

western

paganism

is

important

because

York has

done extensive research n

this

area

and

published

previously

on

the

subject

(The

Emerging

Network

n

1995

[Rowman

and

Littlefield]

and

Historical

Dictionary

of

New

Age

Movements n

2003

[ScarecrowPress]).

Some

of

my

own

post-doctoral work has been in this area,including discussions

via

correspon-

dence

with York.

York

provides

a

simplified

framework

for

categorizing

mod-

ern

paganism. Neopaganism

is

an

identifiable

religion

with

a Celtic

heritage,

propagated

by

Gerald Gardner:

simply

put,

it is

Wicca and

all

its variants.

Recopaganism

(reconstructed

paganism)

consciously

revives

older

pagan

reli-

gions

and

typically

ncludesethnic

cultural

elements.

British,

Germanic,

Hellenic,

and

Egyptian religions

belong

to this

category.

Geopaganism

refers

to the

pagan

elements that have

survived

in western

culture

as

popular

religion

and

practice,

either deliberate or

unconscious.

Examples

would

include

toasts

or

tossing

a coin

into a

fountain.

York

also includes such

greetings

as

good

morning and the like in this category, although similar greetings exist in

many

cultures around the

globe

(60).

York describes

modern

paganism

with

lucid

detail.

The

beginning

of

the second

chapter

curiously

claims the

first

chapter,

itled

Paganism

as

Religion,

s about

theology, although

the

third

chapter

is called

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4/5

BookReviews

593

Paganism

as

Theology.

The

first

chapter

examines

beliefs,

practices,

social

structures,

and

manifestations of ultimate

reality.

In

the second

chapter

York

argues

he

human

urge

to

express

honor and

homage

s

essentiallypagan(66).

He

distinguishes

cultic

behavior from

magic.

The former is

ritual

veneration,

whereas

he latter

attempts

to

reorder

realityby

bartering

with

(or

coercing)

the

supernatural

o conform

it

to human

will,

typically

via some

form

of sacrifice.

Worship,

York

claims,

is

always

pagan,

whereas

magic

is found

in

many

forms

and

religions

(68).

He

examines

pagan

practices

in

Hinduism,

Theravada

and

Mahayana

Buddhism,

Christianity

(and

Judaism,

under the

heading

of Chris-

tianity),

and

Islam,

as well

as in

modern western

society.

York

reintroduces two

old Latin

terms,

animus

and

anima,

as

important

concepts

for the

study

of

pagan

traits.He does

not

mean the

Jungian

definitions.

Animusrepresents he rational oul, reason, intellect, mind, consciousness,or

will

power,

whereas amina

is

the vital

principle,

the breath of

life,

the

animal

principle

or

life,

or even

life itself'

(94).

Pagan religious expression

embraces

both

forms

equally;

there is

no

hierarchy

between them. Interaction between

both

forms

is,

in

fact,

a

prerequisite

or

pagan religious

expression.

In

practical

terms,

this

means

paganism

in

all its varieties

experiences

ife as

affirming

oy,

accepts

the

material

world

as

animated,

and

does not

reject

he earth

(94).

This

chapter

contains

a

wealth of accounts from York's Asian travels

of

1981-82.

First-hand

descriptions

of

Hindu

and

Buddhist

daily

and

seasonal

rituals

in

their

native

context

include

interpretation

about their tenuous

relationship

o

official religious systems.York's

position

is that

popular

beliefs and ritualsare

pagan,

having

ittle to do

with

the dominant

religion.

Pagan

elements

nimical to

the

prevailing religion

are

not

only

tolerated

but

also

incorporated

into

the

governing

religious

tradition.

Thailand,

for

example, practices

Buddhism

with

significant

Hindu

and

aboriginal

animistic

substrata,

whereasTantra

s a wide-

spread

ounter-Buddhist

ractice

n

Tibet,

China,

and

Japan.

The

Himalayan

oun-

tries

practice

ocal

shamanism

ncorporated

nto

either Buddhismor

Hinduism.

The

Catholicand

Orthodox

Christian raditions

ntegratepagan

practices,

estivals,

and

deities under

Christian

guise.

Pagan theophagy,

he

eating

of

God, has,

of

course,

becomeChristian

ommunion.

Islam

prays acing

a

pagan hrine,

he Kaaba.

The

section on

agnosticism,

atheism,

and

secularism

ooks

for

vestiges

of

paganism

n

the secular

West. Protestantism

paved

the

way

for

secularism

n

its

rejection

of

Catholic

paganism.

Modern humanism continues

the

pagan

humanistic

focus,

albeit

rejecting

the

supernatural.

York sees

various

expres-

sions of

paganism

n

the

following

phenomena:

drugs,

alcohol,

the

theater,

con-

certs,

movies,

cinema

stars,

sports,

hero

worship, Haight-Ashbury,

and

New

Orleans

Jazz.

The

operatic

prima

donnas

or

Hollywood

stars,

both as

goddesses,

and

such

quasi-Christian

estivalsas Mardi

Gras

revive he

pagan

emotional

ritual

tradition

ost

in

a

secular

society. Noteworthy

are the

Roman

pagan

roots of

the

fundamentalwesterndevotionalobservations.

The

very

brief final

chapter,

Paganism

as

Theology,

serves as

the titular

chapter

of the book.

York

provides

he

concluding

definition

of

an

ideal,

absolute

paganism:

an

affirmation f

interactive

nd

polymorphic

acred

elationship y

the

individual

or

community

with the

tangible,

sentient and

nonempirical

(162).



5/5

594

Journal

of

the

American

Academy

of

Religion

Paganism

s

polymorphic,

adapting

to individual

human and

local

community

needs

in

many

different

orms. Its breadth ncludes

humanistic,

naturalistic,

and

theistic sensibilities.

York

categorizesreligions

based

on a

dichotomous

contin-

uum

from

life-affirming

aganism

o

world-denying

nosticism.

All

religions

all

somewhere

in

this

spectrum.

He also

addresses

modern

misconceptions

about

and

negative appearances

of

paganism,

namely,

Satanism,

fascism,

and racism.

In

concluding

the

book he

once

again

redefines

paganism:

t

is a

root human

religion

of

celebration and

service with

the

sacred values

of

honor, trust,

and

friendship

168).

All

religions

have

inherited

something

from

the

primal

human

source of

paganism.

An

extensive

bibliography

and

index

complete

the book.

York

has

collected

a

greatdiversity

of

global

religious

nformation

o

compare

and contrast the

fundamental and universal

religious

elements

they

contain.

Thisappears o be his life work. He offersmanyideasto consider,some of them

controversial.The

study

of

religion

usually

focuses

on the official

orms of

religions,

whereas

anthropology

examines

the

behavior of the

people,

generally

avoiding

significant

nterpretation.

York

combines

the two

approaches.

He

pro-

vides a

bold

and

daring

answer

to the

proverb,

Tell

me how

you

pray,

and

I will

tell

you

what

you

believe.

doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfi070

Vilius

Rudra

Dundzila

Harry

S. Truman

College

(City Colleges

of

Chicago)


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