(2024) Paganism Persisting: A History of European Paganisms Since Antiquity, Robin Douglas & Francis Young. 23/06/2026 - 12/07/2026
Rating: 6/10
This took me so long to get through, despite being short and also something I am super interested in. I think it is written pretty well, I just found it to be a bit of a slog but that might also be me coming out of a reading phase.
I think this was very male focussed, despite trying to not be. It also rushes some discussions like Wicca isn't really discussed outside of being described as a modern pagan religion. The authors don't follow really interesting side paths that they introduce too, for example there was a SINGLE SENTENCE on the historical ties between paganism in general, gay men and lesbians. This has so much more that could be said and I wish they had done a chapter on it in relation to paganism persisting to modern times.
I will say this book taught me a lot about nationalism and paganism, especially in regards to "newer" countries such as Lithuania. I had never really considered that countries could/would have to develop their own folklore and pagan history. It ended with a look to the future and "ambient paganism" which is people essentially picking and choosing aspects of spirituality from various belief systems (religious or not) to subscribe to without committing to any religious adherence - which I think is how I would describe my own spirituality and how I have seen a lot of other people deal with the spiritual side of life.
