Before going into suspense for a few days while I swop e-Mail addresses, can I
bring the 'pagans' discussion back on to the original track, please.
Whether or not the word 'pagan' is perjorative is not what concerns me. Nor the
appropriateness or otherwise of some people's description of themselves as
'pagan'.
What irks is the use of 'pagan' in scholarly discourse. It sets up a dichotomy
as between one religious belief system and all others which I find difficult
to justify in pursuit of objective historical and cultural analysis. It fails to
distinguish between one non-Christian belief system and another, and thus not
only clouds our understanding, but in fact hinders research. It appears to
privilege one set of characters in an event or process, or one point of view.
Intellectually it is lazy.
Looking for an alternative term doesn't solve my problem.
Best wishes to all
Graham Jones
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