American Academy of Religion

Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion by Michael York

Review by: Vilius Rudra Dundzila
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Jun., 2005), pp. 591-594
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4139832 .
Accessed: 21/11/2014 06:26
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Oxford University Press and American Academy of Religion are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve
and extend access to Journal of the American Academy of Religion.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.223 on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 06:26:23 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

BookReviews

591

If one accepts Treat'saccount on its face, one might be tempted to believe

that Indian radicals,Indianwomen, and die-hardanti-ChristianIndianreligious
leaderswere insignificantto the Red Powermovement. Though it is true that the
less sensationalaspectsof Indianpolitics have been historicallyovershadowedby
media-savvyactivists and reactionarypress, the Indian ecumenical movement
shouldbe seen asjust one of severalvenuesfor Indianactivismin the 1960sand 70s.
EveryNative activist, whether radicalor not, contributed the "red,"but it was
Indian unity that gave them the "power"that led to self-determination.
This is an interestingread, though not a quick or easy one. (A complete list
of workscitedwould havebeen helpful.)Treatdoes shed light on NativeAmerican
religious issues in the Red Power era, but his story is a remote one. The reader
does not learn much about Native religion from this examinationof the conferences, but the evidence of disagreementis clear.
Finally,Treat enlivens the book with biographicalinformation on many of
the religious movement's founding members. His portrayalalone of the enigmatic CherokeeanthropologistBob Thomas,who playeda majorrole in the initial movement, should tempt those who might normally dismiss the subject
matter.
doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfi069

VictoriaSmith
of
Nebraska-Lincoln
University

PaganTheology:
Paganismas a WorldReligion.By MichaelYork.New York
University Press, 2003. 238 pages. $38.00.
Michael York postulates that pagan religious expression is not limited to
pre-ChristianEuropeanreligions, that is, the ones typicallyassociatedwith the
term "pagan."Paganismsharesa "naturalkinship"with the following religions
from around the world:tribalreligion, shamanism,Shinto, spiritism,American
Indianspirituality,Afro-Latinand Afro-Americanspirituality,WesternPaganism,
and Chinesefolk or traditionalreligion(6). These religionsgenerallydo not easily
fit establishedreligiousmodels. Extrapolatingfrom varioussociologicalreligious
demographics,York concludes that 5-6% of the world's population practices
some form of paganism(10).
Greco-Roman religions serve as the basis for the paradigm of paganism.
York relies on Roman religion to define that paradigmbecause it is one of his
areasof expertiseand publication (he published TheRomanFestivalCalendarof
Numa Pompiliusin 1986 [Peter Lang]). Paganismfocuses on "cult acts"rather
than formulariessuch as dogmas and creeds (12). It is a religion of action rather
than belief. It reflectslocal culturaland ethnographiccharacteristics.Its rituals
revolve around the life cycle of birth, death, and regeneration,thus making it
a humanistic religion. Additional essential elements of paganism are multiple
deities of two genders, magic, ceremony, supernaturalimmanence, and an
anthropomorphicaffinitybetweenthe divine and the human (14). Yorkexplains

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.223 on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 06:26:23 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

592

Journalof theAmericanAcademyof 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 summarizespaganism
with two traits:a "this-worldattitude"and acceptanceof spiritin matter(65).
The three chaptersof the book study paganismas religion,practice,and theology. The first and longest chapter searchesfor pagan elements present in the
religions mentioned previously.York does not apply the entire paganparadigm
to each of these examples,althoughhe does point out correspondencesbetween
each religion and the prescribedparadigm.For example, he makes it clear that
Chinese folk religion and JapaneseShinto sharetraits,but he does not precisely
clarifyhow either of these religions reflectsthe largerpagan model. In a similar
vein, the similarities and differences between tribal animistic spirits and the
Greekgods are not elucidated.Such discrepanciesprobablyindicate that correspondencesbetween individualexamplesand the paganparadigmexist in broad
terms, but not in the details.Readersneed to evaluatethe materialYorkpresents
and drawtheir own conclusions.
The section on "American Indians" is interesting and controversial. It
includes spiritualityin the title but immediatelydiscussesreligionwithout distinguishingit from spirituality.York'scategoriesbecome quite fluid in this section:
Native Americanreligions include Shamanism,which should be considered an
indigenous tribalreligion. Since they survivein western society and also oppose
the dominant religion,Yorkgives them their own section. Moreover,westerners
commonly consider Native American religion as pagan, although practitioners
reject this label (45). The discussion very quickly incorporatesthe autochthonous religions of the American continents in general, including the extinct
Aztecs,Mayas,and Incas.It concludeswith Christianadoptionof NativeAmerican
elements.The presenceof paganelementssurvivingas folk ritualsor counterculture becomes a thematic focus of the book.
The presentation of contemporarywestern paganism is important because
York has done extensive researchin this area and published previously on the
subject (The EmergingNetworkin 1995 [Rowmanand Littlefield]and Historical
Dictionaryof New Age Movementsin 2003 [ScarecrowPress]). Some of my own
post-doctoral work has been in this area, including discussions via correspondence with York. York provides a simplified frameworkfor categorizingmodern paganism. Neopaganism is an identifiable religion with a Celtic heritage,
propagated by Gerald Gardner:simply put, it is Wicca and all its variants.
Recopaganism (reconstructedpaganism) consciously revives older pagan religions and typicallyincludesethnic culturalelements.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 beginningof the second chaptercuriouslyclaims the first chapter,titled
"Paganismas Religion,"is about theology, although the third chapter is called

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.223 on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 06:26:23 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

BookReviews

593

"Paganismas Theology." The first chapter examines beliefs, practices, social

structures,and manifestationsof ultimate reality. In the second chapter York
arguesthe "humanurge to expresshonor and homage"is essentiallypagan (66).
He distinguishes cultic behavior from magic. The former is ritual veneration,
whereasthe latterattemptsto reorderrealityby barteringwith (or coercing) the
supernaturalto conform it to human will, typicallyvia some form of sacrifice.
Worship, York claims, is alwayspagan, whereasmagic is found in many forms
and religions (68). He examines pagan practicesin Hinduism, Theravadaand
MahayanaBuddhism, Christianity(and Judaism,under the heading of Christianity), and Islam,as well as in modern westernsociety.
York reintroduces two old Latin terms, animus and anima, as important
concepts for the study of pagantraits.He does not mean the Jungiandefinitions.
Animus representsthe "rationalsoul, reason, intellect, mind, consciousness, or
will power,"whereasamina 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 hierarchybetween them. Interaction between
both forms is, in fact, a prerequisitefor pagan religiousexpression. In practical
terms, this means paganism in all its varietiesexperienceslife as affirmingjoy,
acceptsthe materialworld as animated,and does not rejectthe earth (94).
This chapter contains a wealth of accounts from York's Asian travels of
1981-82. First-handdescriptionsof Hindu and Buddhistdailyand seasonalrituals
in their native context include interpretationabout their tenuous relationshipto
official religious systems. York'sposition is that popular beliefs and rituals are
pagan,havinglittle to do with the dominant religion.Paganelementsinimical to
the prevailing religion are not only tolerated but also incorporated into the
governing religious tradition. Thailand,for example, practicesBuddhism with
significantHindu and aboriginalanimistic substrata,whereasTantrais a widespreadcounter-Buddhistpracticein Tibet,China,and Japan.The Himalayancountries practicelocal shamanismincorporatedinto either Buddhismor Hinduism.
The Catholicand OrthodoxChristiantraditionsintegratepaganpractices,festivals,
and deities under Christianguise. Pagan theophagy,the eating of God, has, of
course,becomeChristiancommunion.Islampraysfacinga paganshrine,the Kaaba.
The section on agnosticism, atheism, and secularismlooks for vestiges of
paganismin the secularWest. Protestantismpaved the way for secularismin its
rejection of Catholic paganism. Modern humanism continues the pagan
humanistic focus, albeit rejecting the supernatural.York sees various expressions of paganismin the following phenomena:drugs,alcohol, the theater,concerts, movies, cinema stars, sports, hero worship, Haight-Ashbury,and New
OrleansJazz.The operaticprima donnas or Hollywood stars,both as goddesses,
and such quasi-Christianfestivalsas MardiGrasrevivethe paganemotionalritual
traditionlost in a secularsociety. Noteworthyare the Roman pagan roots of the
fundamentalwesterndevotionalobservations.
The very brief final chapter, "Paganismas Theology,"serves as the titular
chapterof the book. Yorkprovidesthe concludingdefinitionof an ideal, absolute
paganism:"anaffirmationof interactiveand polymorphicsacredrelationshipby the
individual or community with the tangible, sentient and nonempirical"(162).

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.223 on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 06:26:23 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

594

Journalof theAmericanAcademyof Religion

Paganismis polymorphic, adaptingto individual human and local community

needs in many differentforms. Its breadthincludeshumanistic,naturalistic,and
theistic sensibilities.York categorizesreligions based on a dichotomous continuum from life-affirmingpaganismto world-denyinggnosticism.All religionsfall
somewhere in this spectrum. He also addressesmodern misconceptions about
and negative appearancesof paganism, namely, Satanism,fascism, and racism.
In concluding the book he once again redefines paganism:it is a root human
religion of celebration and service with the sacred values of honor, trust, and
friendship(168). All religionshave inheritedsomethingfrom the primalhuman
source of paganism.An extensivebibliographyand index complete the book.
Yorkhas collecteda greatdiversityof globalreligiousinformationto compare
and contrast the fundamental and universal religious elements they contain.
This appearsto be his life work. He offers many ideas to consider, some of them
controversial.The study of religion usually focuses on the "official"forms of
religions,whereasanthropologyexamines the behavior of the people, generally
avoiding significantinterpretation.Yorkcombines the two approaches.He provides a bold and daringanswerto the proverb,"Tellme how you pray,and I will
tell you what you believe."
doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfi070

Vilius RudraDundzila
S.
Truman
Harry
College (City Collegesof Chicago)

This content downloaded from 200.130.19.223 on Fri, 21 Nov 2014 06:26:23 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions