For most of its history, contemporary Paganism has been a religion of
converts. Yet as it enters its fifth decade, it is incorporating growing
numbers of second-generation Pagans for whom Paganism is a family
tradition, not a religious worldview arrived at via a spiritual quest.
In Pagan Family Values, S. Zohreh Kermani explores the ways in which
North American Pagan families pass on their beliefs to their children,
and how the effort to socialize children influences this new religious
movement.
The first ethnographic study of the everyday lives of contemporary Pagan
families, this volume brings their experiences into conversation with
contemporary issues in American religion. Through formal interviews with
Pagan families, participant observation at various pagan events, and
data collected via online surveys, Kermani traces the ways in which
Pagan parents transmit their religious values to their children. Rather
than seeking to pass along specific religious beliefs, Pagan parents
tend to seek to instill values, such as religious tolerance and
spiritual independence, that will remain with their children throughout
their lives, regardless of these children's ultimate religious
identifications.
Pagan parents tend to construct an idealized, magical childhood for
their children that mirrors their ideal childhoods. The socialization of
children thus becomes a means by which adults construct and make
meaningful their own identities as Pagans. Kermani's meticulous
fieldwork and clear, engaging writing provide an illuminating look at
parenting and religious expression in Pagan households and at how new
religions pass on their beliefs to a new generation.
