THE PAGAN ACADEMIC NETWORK (PAN)

Welcomes you to an educational conference on Saturday July 19 2009, at Rhos Gallt, Llanerfyl, Powys, Wales, SY21 0ER

PAGANISM, EDUCATION AND THE ACADEMY

The conference is about all aspects of paganism and how they are studied and taught in the UK and internationally, particularly but not exclusively in the British Isles .  It is being held in Aberystwyth to enable delegates to hopefully explore the collections of the National Library of Wales and the nearby Institute of Advanced Celtic Studies as well as to enjoy the beautiful scenery and sea air.  Excursions to Bardsey Island and Llanfair Caereinion, home of Taliesin, and other sacred sites connected to Druidry are also to  be arranged.

We are inviting any academics, teachers and educators  in the UK who are either known as practicing pagans, or who have an academic interest in paganism as a field of study, interpreted in the broadest sense of the term. Topics addressed could include the study and practice of : Druidry, Wicca, shamanism, prehistoric religions, Classical Greek and Roman religions, Egyptian,  Slavonic, Germanic, Norse and Anglo-Saxon religions, Amerindian religion, African, Polynesian, Indian and Asian religions  etc. It is the purpose of the conference to advance scholarship and study into all aspects of paganism and to promote a healthy debate about the contributions of paganism to world civilisation and culture.  In a world where religion is too often a force for polarization and conflict, we are keen to understand the creative overlap between faith communities and to explore the way that ancient oral pagan traditions often underlie the more recent revealed religions.  Teachers interested in paganism and in reviewing the status of paganism on the national curriculum and in the statutory provision for Religious Education are also welcome and invited to attend.

One possible outcome might be to investigate the idea of establishing a Pagan School and / or College somewhere in the British Isles, and to explore the legality of so doing.  Certainly the conference is open to all pagan educators already working either within official education systems, or those working within other educational structures and projects outside the mainstream educational world.

Several distinguished educators, and pagan thinkers have been invited to speak and to submit their views on the conference theme. In addition we are issuing a call for the submission of papers from practicing academics and educators throughout Britain and abroad interested in advancing knowledge and research into any aspect of a paganism and education in the broadest senses of the term. Students and scholars from all departments and faculties of learning are welcome, not exclusively from the fields of religious  studies scholarship.

An article was published in the Pagan Federation Journal in 2007 concerning the work of PAN, which is reproduced below to give further information on the background to this conference.

For  further information on any aspect of the conference, or to offer a paper, please write to:
PAEN, Castle of the Muses, Craigard, Carrick Castle, Cairndow, Argyll and Bute, Scotland PA24 6AH.
Telephone: 01301 703053 - Mobile: 07500 238523. Email: iipsgp@educationaid.net

PAGAN ACADEMIC NETWORK (P.A.N) : A Project in the making.

By Thomas Daffern

This new academic network has been established to fulfil a need long felt to be lacking in educational circles. It will provide an academic forum for interested researchers and teachers involved in all aspects of paganism to network with one another. It will also work to achieve full representation and consultative responsibility for Pagan academics and educators on curriculum governance and planning authorities at local, national and international levels, as a faith tradition of equal status to the other faith traditions sharing our multicultural world.  It will aim to achieve recognition for pagan studies as an important part of the religious education tradition at both school and University level. Similarly in terms of interfaith work,  where we seek to restore official recognition to indigenous traditions and pagan faiths of all regions worldwide, including European  and ancient pagan  traditions native to the British Isles and Ireland.  One of the long term aims of the Pagan Academic Network is to see the eventual establishment of an officially recognised Pagan College or school within the education sector in the U.K. We are pleased to work with other colleagues and organisations towards this long term end. We also act as a contact point for international scholarship in the field of Pagan Studies and welcome the work of  members who can take on board the correspondence with pagan scholars in other cultures and traditions overseas. Our vision is that the work of PAN can assist the redefinition and reclamation of a purified and responsible form of pagan spirituality, in harmony with nature and other spiritual and religious paths, helping to bridge the gap between scientific and spiritual learning, and to restore harmony between masculine and feminine modes of knowing.
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WHAT IS PAGANISM ?

Semantically speaking, anyone who lives in the countryside, or who has an interest in rural matters and a love of nature qualifies as a Pagan (which comes from the Latin word for a country-dweller)! The definition of what exactly constitutes paganism is itself evolving, but for a working definition we mean those original spiritual and philosophical teachings and traditions which constitute the primal faiths of all humanity, descended from Palaeolithic times, through the Neolithic revolution and the beginnings of urban communities. There is no such thing as a central  "dogma" or revealed code of belief which unites all pagans into a central belief; rather, there are certain general clusters of belief and practice: such as the inherent dignity and value of all life; a belief in the spiritual integrity of individual human beings, and the right of freedom of worship and spiritual practice; a love of the female and male equally, as both worthy of  reverence and love; a pluralism and tolerance of different philosophical positions without needing to discover a centralising totalitarian "truth".  Pagan communities were also the first to develop most of the characteristics we associate with "civilisation":  agriculture, temples, houses, communications, writing systems, metallurgy, pottery, animal husbandry, language, hunting, prayer and spiritual worship, painting, music, dance, erotica and the arts of beauty, education and learning, schools and colleges etc.  Among cultures and traditions which have their essence and origin in pagan thought are the following: Latin, Greek, Celtic, Scandinavian and Germanic, Phoenician, Canaanite,  Ancient Semitic,  Sumerian, Egyptian, African,  Arabian, Indian, Amerindian, Shamanic Central Asian, Tibetan, Polynesian, Melanesian, Japanese (Shinto), Traditional Chinese (Taoist). Many of the great philosophical and spiritual traditions of humanity evolved out of  pagan roots, and in more modern religions such as Islam, Christianity, Buddhism,  Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Bahai etc. it is often possible to catch glimpses of their more ancient  heritage. In relative terms, the "revealed" textual religions of humanity are all very recent, none older than a few thousand years of direct transmission, with their texts all dating from within this time, although traditionally they see their own origins as far older in a blurred mythological past. The relationship between paganism and revealed religions, and textual and oral traditions,  is therefore of great interest to P.A.N. as modern scholarship tends to see far less a distinction in belief and practice than once was the case, in the times of persecution. All revealed religions have an esoteric core component which often shows greater affinity to pagan belief and practices, including a greater respect for the divine feminine, for oral transmission in addition to textual transmission of knowledge, and for the principles of peace, tolerance and spiritual harmony, than is the case in fundamentalist and literalist schools of thought. Indeed, it is the rise of the literalist and traditionalist schools of fundamentalist religion which always spells particularly bad news for Pagan scholars. After all it was the “founder” of pagan academia, Plato, who understood that allegory, symbols and metaphor are at the foundations of religions, and thus those allegories, symbols and metaphors are about discovering the truth behind religious scriptures rather than about the literal truth of the text.

WHO IS  P.A.N. DESIGNED FOR ?

People who are following a particular modern Pagan or pagan influenced tradition,  and are involved  in academic study, at whatever level, whether studying or teaching at University, or whether engaged in private research and writing - such paths could include, some or several of the following: the Goddess path,  Shamanism, mysticism,  Wicca & Witchcraft, .Runes and oracles; Egyptian religion, Celtic religion, Druidry, neo-Classical traditions (Greek, Latin, Etruscan, Cretan, Scythian etc.),  Indo-European studies, Semitic traditions, alchemy, Gnosticism, Rosicrucianism and  esoteric Christianity, Freemasonry, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Magic, Taoism, Yoga and  Hinduism,  Kabbalah and Judaism, Sufism and Islam, Zoroastrianism, Shinto,  Spiritualism, Channelling, New Age beliefs,  Amerindian religion, Bon, Tantra in Buddhism and Hinduism and its links with Taoism, new religious traditions etc. PAN will be relevant in all such fields of study. Similarly with the social and natural sciences, humanities, education, history, archaeology and philology and philosophy in general. Many modern  pagans also have a close affinity with the environmental movement, and may be working in horticulture, gardening, animals, farming and  rural  pursuits. Many Pagans also work in the healing professions,  in  counselling, psychotherapy, massage, midwifery, nursing,  and the various  alternative therapies. Others work in the fields of  the arts, beauty and design, or in the media, or computers and information technology. Some may already be involved in teaching or research in Pagan Academic institutions, such as the Avalon College of Druidry based in the USA indeed a whole plethora of interesting Pagan educational initiatives are springing up at present all over the place, including in cyberspace. Also, some people might want to get involved with PAN, who are working in professional careers which outwardly may seem to have little to do with their Paganism. In all such areas, P.A.N. is hoping to be able to offer valuable contacts and advice on how to reconcile one's professional activities with ancient spiritual teachings, while encouraging members to develop the highest levels  of  academic research skills relevant to their professional career.  The Network is therefore open to all people who are studying any aspect of Paganism and who wish to join with other colleagues in open-minded debate as to the true meaning and significance of paganism and related spiritual traditions. Members may be people who have received or are studying for a higher educational qualification  or  a degree from a  University, or alternatively may be independent scholars researching into the principles and practices of paganism. Whilst in the long term we hope to publish an International Journal of Pagan Studies, for the time being PAN has a regular entry in the Muses Journal which is the annual publication of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy, and is available on subscription.

NETWORKING:

Individual members of PAN may also be active in other relevant organisations, like the PF,  and we maintain friendly relations with a wide ranging body of educational groups worldwide. The enormous range of pagan organisations worldwide shows that this is an important area for research and study - PAN however is the only group which takes an eclectic overview of the whole field of pagan studies from an academic point of view.

PAN is a project of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy – You can find out all about us on our website: www.educationaid.net  or you can email our International Co-ordinator Sheena at sheena.mcdonagh@ntlworld.com alternatively you can write to Thomas Daffern, IIPSGP, Castle of the Muses, Craigard, Carrick Castle, Cairndow, Argyll and Bute, Scotland PA24 6AH. Telephone: 01301 703053 - Mobile: 07500 238523. Email: iipsgp@educationaid.net

(Thomas Daffern B.A. (Hons.) D.Sc. (Hon) PGCE has taught peace studies, history and philosophy for many years, is head of Philosophy and Religious Studies at a busy secondary school, has worked for the Universities of London and Oxford, ran 30 seminars on peace and ethics in Parliament, has travelled and taught in some 30 countries worldwide, directs the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy from a base in Wales,  runs the Order of Peace Poets, Bards and Druids and is Peace Officer to the British Council of Druid Orders)

It is worth remembering that Plato and Aristotle, for instance, both of whom accepted in principle the wisdom within Ancient Greek Paganism, nevertheless would not have called themselves “pagan” simply because the term did not as yet exist. They simply were people of Thriskia, Sophia, and the Mysteries. So too some people on a modern mystical or esoteric path may find it difficult to resonate with the term pagan, yet on deeper study and reflection may realise that the source of many of their spiritual aspirations can most comprehensively be so designated, along with the term Primal Religions.