Comments on: Book Review: Her Hidden Children

By: The Wild Hunt » The Free Things I Receive

The Wild Hunt » The Free Things I Receive — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:54:50 +0000

[...] a link to purchase it, it isn’t compensation. But if I get a book, post a link to Amazon, and give it a good review, I’m being “compensated” because the publisher has the “expectation of a [...]

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:15:00 +0000

I’m getting tired of feeling like I’m being told, “You’ll come around to our view some day.” Makes me dig in my heels.

I don’t think that is what he meant from that passage. I think his words should be taken a face value, that some reconstructionist faiths “may yet” willingly adopt the term “nature religion” as it grows in popularity. Not that recon faiths “should” or “will” do so. Clifton in his history as an academic (and in this book) has always been very respectful of the recon Pagan faiths.

By: branruadh

branruadh — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 05:31:00 +0000

Clifton’s argument for why reconstructionist faiths may not like the term “nature religion” makes no sense at all to me as such a pagan. I don’t adopt it because I don’t see a cultural religion as nature-oriented per se. It has nothing to do with how accepted it is, and I’m getting tired of feeling like I’m being told, “You’ll come around to our view some day.” Makes me dig in my heels.

By: Inanna

Inanna — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:35:00 +0000

Thanks for the review, Jason. I’m really looking forward to reading the book. Clifton’s reasons for not spending a lot of space on feminist Wicca make sense. At the same time, my own impression is that feminist Wicca is largely segregated from other kinds of Wicca in the U.S., and I puzzle over that. I attribute the segregation in part to some separatist tendencies in feminist Wicca (Dianic witchcraft, in particular, defines itself as inclusive of only women, although the much larger Reclaiming community certainly hasn’t). But I think sexism – failure to recognize or appreciate the work of feminist Witches and thealogians – in the larger Pagan community is also to blame.

I should be clear that I don’t think Clifton is being sexist for choosing to place his focus where he has – not at all. But it may be that his book perpetuates the idea that there is a huge gap between feminist Wicca and other kinds of Wicca. That’s not Clifton’s problem, necessarily – and, good heavens, I haven’t even read the book yet! I’m just curious about whether other Pagans, including Clifton, see the same segregation or split I do.