Paganism Persisting – Robin Douglas - Zoom

The Return of the Ancient World

For more than 250 years, individuals and groups of people in Britain have sought to reanimate the philosophies, symbols and myths of the pre-Christian past so as to revive ancient paganism in modern times. For those who are disillusioned with Christianity but repelled by secular rationalism, the old pagan traditions have continued to serve as a viable source of aesthetics, ethics and spirituality.

This talk lays out the strange and under-appreciated history of British pagan revivals. It traces the origins of modern paganism from eighteenth-century hellraisers and imperialists through nineteenth-century poets and occultists to the breakthrough of paganism as a mass movement after World War II. We will meet a cast of characters ranging from colourful eccentrics like Aleister Crowley to nationally and internationally famous figures like Percy Shelley, John Keats, Algernon Swinburne and Kenneth Grahame.

Bio:
Robin Douglas is a writer and researcher based in London. His academic background is in history (PhD Cambridge) and he specialises in the history of pagan and esoteric religious movements. His most recent book is Paganism Persisting: A History of European Paganisms since Antiquity (Exeter University Press).

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