Paganism Persisting: A History of European Paganisms since Antiquity

Paganism in Europe was not defeated by Christianity: it never went away. From the fourth century to the twentieth, against the backdrop of a largely Christian culture, people repeatedly attempted to revive various kinds of pre-Christian religion – beliefs and practices that we have come to label as ‘paganism’.

The Persistence of Paganism

Ancient paganism did not survive the Middle Ages in its original form. However, this book tells the fascinating story of the persistence of elements of paganism and the pagan idea through Europe’s pagan revivals. These revivals span:

• Byzantine Greece
• Medieval Eastern Europe
• Renaissance Florence
• Eighteenth-century Norwich
• Revolutionary Paris
• Edwardian England

While some of these revivals are well known and others are almost entirely forgotten, they all reveal the rich diversity of interpretations of paganism – and how those interpretations have been shaped by the surrounding culture.

Diverse Revivals of Paganism

Revived paganisms ranged widely, including:

• Austerely rational approaches
• Earnestly romantic interpretations
• Mystical and occult practices
• Stridently nationalistic movements

Paganism Persisting uncovers European paganism’s long afterlife, culminating in the emergence of modern paganism as a mass movement in the twentieth century.

Written by Experts

The authors, both historians of religion, bring their expertise to this work:

• One specializes in the intellectual history of the idea of paganism.
• The other focuses on the development of popular religion and folklore.

This book is a treasure trove for anyone interested in:

• European cultural history
• The history of ideas
• Religious studies