Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-theistic Pagans by John Halstead

Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-theistic Pagans

by John Halstead

Even in pagan antiquity, there were those who, while participating in the community's religious life, did not believe in literal gods. In the centuries that followed the Christian domination of the West, the epithet "godless pagan" was leveled at a wide variety of people. In the 1960s, there emerged a community of people who sought to reclaim the name "pagan" from its history of opprobrium. These Neo-Pagans were interested in nature spirituality and polytheism, and identified with the misunderstood and persecuted pagans of antiquity. While many Pagans today believe in literal gods, there are a growing number of Pagans who are "godless." Today, the diverse assemblage of spiritual paths known as Paganism includes atheist Pagans or Atheopagans, Humanistic and Naturalistic Pagans, Buddho-Pagans, animists, pantheists, Gaians, and other non-theistic Pagans. Here, their voices are gathered together to share what it means to be Pagan and godless.

Reviewed by HekArtemis on

2 of 5 stars

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I am giving Godless Paganism 2 stars because I am a theist, Pagan theist, and have to be honest, it was difficult to read a lot of the time - so 2 stars is entirely based on my personal bias. Nonetheless, I recognise its tremendous value for non-theistic Pagans, I can see it is a great book for those it is aimed at and I definitely recommend it for non-theistic Pagans and old and new Pagans who have trouble connecting with the idea of literal deity.
Full Review on my blog

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  • 24 April, 2016: Reviewed