Have Paganisms Gone Mainstream? A PSPP Workshop with M. Macha NightMare
Have Paganisms Gone Mainstream? The Spiritual Meets the Secular
with M. Macha NightMare
Contemporary American Paganisms arose from the counter-culture of the 1960s and ‘70s, from an oppositional stance to mainstream society and mainstream Abrahamic religions. Today expressions of Paganism flourish in numerous and differing traditions and communities, and the religious landscape in the U.S. has changed. In an effort to promote Pagan solidarity and to foster the work of defining Paganisms from within our communities rather than leaving those definitions to be made by sociologists, anthropologists, and journalists, this talk presents a greater understanding of the growth of the Pagan movement, considers the nature and need for public roles from within different Paganisms, and explores the needs/requirements, establishment and viability of both Pagan ministries and other interfaces with the secular.
M. Macha NightMare (Aline O'Brien, M.Div.(h.c.)) is a ritualist, interfaith activist, and internationally published author who has contributed to anthologies, encyclopedia, textbooks, and periodicals. Much of her work in recent years has been in the liminal realm between the magic and the mundane. She serves on the Advisory Boards of Cherry Hill Seminary and the Sacred Dying Foundation, and represents the Covenant of the Goddess and CHS in the American Academy of Religion, Marin Interfaith Council, Marin Interfaith Climate Action (founding member), and at interfaith symposia throughout the U.S. Currently she serves the inmates of the Wiccan circle at San Quentin State Prison.