Column: Pagan Studies at the American Academy of Religion 2016

[Today The Wild Hunt welcomes back religious studies scholar, author and instructor Christine Hoff Kraemer. In November, she, along with other Pagans, attended the American Academy of Religion’s 2016 meeting in Texas, and she has joined us to share her impressions. ]

The American Academy of Religion held its annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas from November 19-22. The meeting is held concurrently with the Society of Biblical Literature, and the two organizations combined bring together nearly 10,000 educators and scholars of religion for a packed weekend of lectures, workshops, and events. AAR’s Contemporary Pagan Studies Group has been in existence since 2005.

Nikki Bado 1954 – 2016

“The casting of the Circle is complete. You are led to the edge of the Circle, where Death, your challenge, is waiting for you.” – Nikki Bado, excerpt from Coming to the Edge of the Circle

After a long illness and sudden heart attack, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Iowa State University Nikki Bado died April 22. A noted scholar and Wiccan Priestess with over 40 years in the Craft, Ms. Bado was perhaps most well known for her book Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiation Ritual. The book was written as a “challenge to the commonly accepted model of ‘rites of passage.’ Rather than a single linear event, initiation is deeply embedded within a total process of becoming a Witch in practice and in community with others.” Bado straddled the difficult line between being an academic and a practitioner.

Pagan Community Notes: The Green Album, Witches at COP21, Scott Walters and more

This fall, a new music project was officially launched called “The Green Album.” The project will result in a single album featuring many popular Pagan music talents sharing songs “themed toward celebrating and drawing awareness to the World that nurtures us.” It is “a collaborative concept album featuring Tuatha Dea, Wendy Elizabeth Rule, Sj Tucker, Sharon Knight, Winter JP Sichelschmidt, Celia Farran, Bekah Kelso, Ginger Doss, Damh The Bard, Kellianna Girouard, Spiral Dance, Spiral Rhythm, Murphey’s Midnight Rounders, Brian Henke and Mama Gina LaMonte.” On the project’s Facebook page, Mama Gina wrote, “I am so excited to be part of this amazing collaboration! I have a brand new song that I’ll be recording […] – but it’s still a secret.” Each of the contributors will be sharing one song, either new or old, for that is inspired by the theme.