The Quandary of Contemporary Pagan Archives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v9i2.109Keywords:
Pagan Studies, Paganism,Abstract
Although religious archives as they exist today are a relatively recent development, the need to maintain a collection of materials essential to the administration of a church or other religious body emerges at the moment that body is founded/ This is especially true in the case of contemporary Pagan religious bodies, many of which, whether because they tend to be non-scriptural, or because they are smaller, younger, or less secure than mainline Christian denominations, have neither created nor maintain formal archives. ‘Archival’ materials related to these bodies tend to reside on hard drives or in file cabinets in members’ homes or offices; hardly a dependable setting for long-term preservation. Yet archives are essential to gaining credibility and respectability in the greater American (even global) religious landscape. More importantly, they allow religious bodies to retain control over their own histories, which is essential for small, sometimes threatened, groups like contemporary Pagans.References
Adler, Margot. Drawing down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today (revised and expanded; New York: Penguin Compass, 1986).
Berger, Helen A. A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1999).
Berger, Helen A., Evan A. Leach, and Leigh S. Shaffer. Voices from the Pagan Census: A National Survey of Witches and Neo-Pagans in the United States (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2003).
Cafardi, Nicholas P. “Discovering the Secret Archives: Evidentiary Privileges for Church Records.” Journal of Law and Religion 10.1 (1993–94): 95-120. doi:10.2307/1051170.
Daniels, Maygene F., and Timothy Walch, eds. A Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1984).
Dearstyne, Bruce W. The Archival Enterprise: Modern Archival Principles, Practices, and Management Techniques (Chicago: American Library Association, 1993).
Eilers, Dana D. Pagans and the Law: Understand your Rights (Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books, 2003).
Ham, F. Gerald. “The Archival Edge.” In A Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice, edited by Maygene F. Daniels and Timothy Walch, 326-35 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1984).
Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).
Jimerson, Randall C., ed. American Archival Studies: Readings in Theory and Practice (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2000).
Lukenbill, W. Bernard. “Historical Resources in the Local Church: A Field Report on a Largely Gay and Lesbian Congregation.” American Archivist 61 (1998): 384-99.
Osborne, Thomas. “The Ordinariness of the Archive.” History of the Human Sciences 12:2 (1999): 51-64. doi:10.1177/09526959922120243.
O’Toole, James M. “The Symbolic Significance of Archives.” In American Archival Studies: Readings in Theory and Practice, edited Randall C. Jimerson, 47-72 (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2000).
???. “What’s Different about Religious Archives?” Midwestern Archivist 9.2 (1984): 91-101.
Patkus, Ronald D. “Religious Archives and the Study of History and Religion: An Essay Review of Recent Titles.” American Archivist 60 (1997): 112-23.
Pike, Sarah M. New Age and NeoPagan Religions in America (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004).
Suelflow, August R. Religious Archives: An Introduction (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1980).
Thomas v. Review Board, 450 U.S. 707 (1981).
Wosh, Peter J., and Elizabeth Yakel. “Smaller Archives and Professional Development: Some New York Stories.” American Archivist 55 (1992): 474-82.
Internet Resources
Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, http://www.sacredwheel.org/
Circle Sanctuary, http://www.circlesanctuary.org/
Covenant of the Goddess, http://www.cog.org/
New Alexandria Library and Resource Center, http://www.magusbooks.com /newalexandria/
New Alexandrian Library Project, http://www.sacredwheel.org/nal.html
New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, http://www.nroogd.org/
Reclaiming, http://www.reclaiming.org/
Wiccan Church of Minnesota, http://www.wiccanchurchmn.org/
Witches’ Voice, http://www.witchvox.com/xtwv.html
Berger, Helen A. A Community of Witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United States (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1999).
Berger, Helen A., Evan A. Leach, and Leigh S. Shaffer. Voices from the Pagan Census: A National Survey of Witches and Neo-Pagans in the United States (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2003).
Cafardi, Nicholas P. “Discovering the Secret Archives: Evidentiary Privileges for Church Records.” Journal of Law and Religion 10.1 (1993–94): 95-120. doi:10.2307/1051170.
Daniels, Maygene F., and Timothy Walch, eds. A Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1984).
Dearstyne, Bruce W. The Archival Enterprise: Modern Archival Principles, Practices, and Management Techniques (Chicago: American Library Association, 1993).
Eilers, Dana D. Pagans and the Law: Understand your Rights (Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books, 2003).
Ham, F. Gerald. “The Archival Edge.” In A Modern Archives Reader: Basic Readings on Archival Theory and Practice, edited by Maygene F. Daniels and Timothy Walch, 326-35 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1984).
Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).
Jimerson, Randall C., ed. American Archival Studies: Readings in Theory and Practice (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2000).
Lukenbill, W. Bernard. “Historical Resources in the Local Church: A Field Report on a Largely Gay and Lesbian Congregation.” American Archivist 61 (1998): 384-99.
Osborne, Thomas. “The Ordinariness of the Archive.” History of the Human Sciences 12:2 (1999): 51-64. doi:10.1177/09526959922120243.
O’Toole, James M. “The Symbolic Significance of Archives.” In American Archival Studies: Readings in Theory and Practice, edited Randall C. Jimerson, 47-72 (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2000).
???. “What’s Different about Religious Archives?” Midwestern Archivist 9.2 (1984): 91-101.
Patkus, Ronald D. “Religious Archives and the Study of History and Religion: An Essay Review of Recent Titles.” American Archivist 60 (1997): 112-23.
Pike, Sarah M. New Age and NeoPagan Religions in America (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004).
Suelflow, August R. Religious Archives: An Introduction (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1980).
Thomas v. Review Board, 450 U.S. 707 (1981).
Wosh, Peter J., and Elizabeth Yakel. “Smaller Archives and Professional Development: Some New York Stories.” American Archivist 55 (1992): 474-82.
Internet Resources
Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, http://www.sacredwheel.org/
Circle Sanctuary, http://www.circlesanctuary.org/
Covenant of the Goddess, http://www.cog.org/
New Alexandria Library and Resource Center, http://www.magusbooks.com /newalexandria/
New Alexandrian Library Project, http://www.sacredwheel.org/nal.html
New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn, http://www.nroogd.org/
Reclaiming, http://www.reclaiming.org/
Wiccan Church of Minnesota, http://www.wiccanchurchmn.org/
Witches’ Voice, http://www.witchvox.com/xtwv.html
Published
2007-12-17
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Reese, G. (2007). The Quandary of Contemporary Pagan Archives. Pomegranate, 9(2), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v9i2.109
