Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Paganism 101 -- A Complete Curriculum

We joke about "Wicca 101" or "Paganism 101," modeling teaching Pagan religion on a university course syllabus, but such a thing actually exists.

A group of Canadian Pagans affiliated with a Unitarian church in Vancouver have produced a detailed curriculum, which may be purchased on CD for $75 Canadian (about US $61).

The authors are Louise Bunn, Fritz Muntean, and Kara Cunningham, all of whom I know or at least have met. They write,

Paganism 101 is an experiential curriculum that will enable participants to conduct Pagan rituals on their own as aindependent practitioners. It introduces the practices, beliefs, and history of Modern Pagan spirituality, a nature-based worldview that is deeply rooted in Western Esoteric traditions.

Because of the Unitarian connection, they add, "We’re working to develop a religiosity that is entirely compatible with, and complimentary to, modern Unitarian rationality," which sounds like a sop to the humanists, but this is actually a detailed workbook in CD form and worth looking at if you are a teacher.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Yewtree said...

Unitarians have traditionally been keen on the apprehension of the Divine by reason rather than revelation.

3:40 AM  
Blogger Yewtree said...

And come to think of it, so have Pagans - it is possible to argue that the Pagan revival has some of its roots in the Enlightenment. Though many commentators see parallels with the Romantics, the Romantics were frequently about a return to Christian spirituality and architecture in reaction to the classical pagan influences of the Enlightenment. See: The Stroppy Rabbit: the Enlightenment and contemporary Paganism

3:43 AM  
Blogger Kisses said...

Thank you for posting this!

I'm an unaffiliated Pagan who is also interested in UU (which appeals to me more than joining a local group or coven). I don't thin the UU is quite the same as the Unitarians found in Canada (though I may be wrong), but this interests me greatly nonetheless.

8:24 AM  
Anonymous Laura Jean Karr said...

This sounds like a great starting point that would be helpful to many people. Certainly expanding on the influx of the Wicca 101 courses and appealing to a larger base.

I'm glad they developed it and will have to check it out.

2:51 PM  
Anonymous Caliban said...

For only $75 Canadian, too... I am deeply ambivalent.

Now, I am sure this did cost money to produce and distribute, and I understand the world we live in.

On the other hand, I don't know about these authors, but when I learned this stuff, I took a vow not to charge money for teaching it.

Then again, some people really won't value what they can't pay for, I suppose.

4:28 PM  

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