Listening People, Speaking Earth: Contemporary Paganism.

Published simultaneously by Hurst & Co. (London); and : Wakefield Press (Adelaide), 1997.  

Also published by New York University Press under the title Contemporary Paganism: Listening People, Speaking Earth.

Reprinted in 2000.

The revised and updated second edition is now (2007) available (from the UK at least).

Italian translation: Credenti della nuova èra: I pagani contemporanei, Rome: Editore Feltrinelli, 2000

Synopsis
A broad-based introduction to the main trends of contemporary Paganism, discussing Druidry, Witchcraft, Heathenry, Goddess Spirituality, Magic, Shamanism, Geomancy, Environmentalism, Thealogy (or is it Theoilogy?), Ethics, and more. Making use of both traditional history and the movement's more imaginative sources, the book reveals how Paganism and its central focus on the celebration of nature is evolving and how this new religion perceives and relates to more traditional ones.

Synopsis of Italian translation:
L’autore scandaglia gli aspetti politici e i rituali del movimento pagano contemporaneo, che dedica attenzione a tutto ciò che mette in pericolo la vita nelle sue varie manifestazioni (il cibo, gli alberi, la salute, il lavoro, il tempo libero).

Review
"Graham Harvey has written the best book yet published upon an important complex of contemporary religions, of which most people know only through hearsay and sensational journalism. His account is exciting, revealing, objective and just; the whole kaleidoscope of Paganism is here in all its vivid colours: witches, Druids, Odinists, eco-mystics and many others."
--Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol

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Animism: Respecting the Living World.

published simultaneously by C.Hurst & Co. (London); Columbia University Press (New York); and Wakefield Press (Adelaide), 2005.

See Animism.org.uk for more information about this book and for ever expanding discussion of the issues it raises and the communities, worldviews and lifeways it discusses. The website is also new and in need of a lot of work, so keep visiting!

Reviews:
"The strengths of this book are its fluid and engaging ... writing; its openly committed stand on the central question, i.e., whether or not animals, plants, rivers, etc. are people, and its use of major ethnographic sources as evidence, together with conversations with indigenous peoples."
—Stewart Guthrie, Fordham University

"Harvey's insightful and balanced study challenges both earlier studies of animism and more recent critics who argue that scholars should throw out the term altogether. This is a fascinating and passionate study of lifeworlds in which things are 'very much alive' and in which relation to non-human others is considered central."
—Sarah M. Pike, California State University, Chico, author of Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community.

The cover of Animism: Respecting the Living World uses the excellent painting, “Kunka Women’s Dreaming’ by Gladys Yawentyne — with the permission of the artist and of Ngurratjuta Art Centre, Alice Springs, Australia.

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What do Pagans believe?

published by Granta in their "What do we believe?" series

Cover blurb:

Paganism is among the fastest growing religions in the world. It is most commonly expressed in the celebration of seasonal festivals such as the solstices, and through the use of magic: attempts to make changes in the world or in individual consciousness.

Among the different ways of being Pagan are Druidry, Goddess Spirituality, Heathenry, Wicca, and a host of ‘ethnic Paganisms’. The Pagan paths all share common ground in celebrating human belonging in nature.

Drawing on ancient sources, Paganism engages with some of the chief concerns of this age including ecology and feminism. While in some contexts celebrating nature can be romantic, it has also led many Pagans to get involved in radical action. Paganism stresses personal choice while acting in harmony with the widest possible community of life.

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Words Remembered, Texts Renewed: Festschrift for Prof. John F.A. Sawyer.

Co-edited with Jon Davies and Wilfred Watson;

published by Sheffield Academic Press, 1995.

Synopsis
To mark the retirement of John F. A. Sawyer, Professor of Religious Studies in the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, colleagues and former students from around the world have contributed studies on his areas of interest: the study of Hebrew, the books of the Jewish Bible, and the culture and traditions of Judaism. The essayists consider not simply the origin of the meaning of word and text, but also the many ways in which word and text become transposed, re-oriented and often enough traduced by later interests and purposes. They engage with the broadest issues of the relationship between sacred texts and private and public lives. The roll call of scholars reads: Philip Alexander, Francis Andersen, Graeme Auld, Calvin Carmichael, Robert Carroll, David Clines, Richard Coggins, Jon Davies, Philip Davies, James Dunn, John Elwolde, John Gibson, Graham Harvey, Peter Hayman, Dermot Killingley, Jonathan Magonet, Robert Morgan, Takamitsu Muraoka, Christopher Rowland, Deborah Sawyer, Clyde Curry Smith, Max Sussman, William Telford, Marc Vervenne, Wilfred Watson, Keith Whitelam and Isabel Wollaston.

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Paganism Today: Ancient Earth Traditions for the 21^st Century.

Co-edited with Charlotte Hardman;

Published by London: Thorsons, 1996.

Reprinted as Pagan Pathways: a Guide to the Ancient Earth Traditions, 2000

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Shamanism: A Reader.

published by Routledge, 2003.

Synopsis:
Shamanism has been practised amongst communities all over the world for millennia, and continues to survive and sometimes thrive today in both modern and traditional forms. Shamanism: A Reader unites perspectives from disciplines including anthropology, psychology, musicology, and botany to provide an unique overview of recent and contemporary writing on shamanism. Juxtaposing the traditional practices of indigenous peoples with their new and often radically urban reinterpretations, experts including Michael Harner, Milhály Hoppál, Marjorie M Balzer and Piers Vitebsky raise questions about constructions of shamanism, its efficacy, its use and misuse as a cultural symbol, and its various natures.
Locating its material in the encounter between traditional and contemporary, and within many forms of response to the image of the shaman, Shamanism: A Reader is an essential tribute to the vitality and breadth of shamanic tradition both among its original practitioners of Europe, the Americas and Asia, and within seemingly familiar aspects of the modern west. Representing the best of classic and current scholarship, and highlighting the diversity of approaches to shamanism in an accessible and user-friendly way, this clearly introduced and organized collection sets a new standard for shamanic study in terms of the breadth and depth of its coverage.

Reviews:
'Graham Harvey's compilation stands out ... for the ambition and range of his vision ... it is a mark of the care and respect with which Harvey approaches his material that he recognises the existence of no fewer than five different phenomena with the category broadly labelled shamanism ...'
- Ronald Hutton, Times Higher Education Supplement

'A very interesting anthology of shamanic and neo-shamanic thought ... for anyone wanting to understand shamanism form a wider point of view ... it is an excellent and enjoyable read.'
- Sacred Hoop

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The Paganism Reader.

Co-edited with Chas S. Clifton;

published by Routledge, 2004

Synopsis:
Paganism is one of the world's fastest-growing religions, practised in a huge variety of ways. The Paganism Reader provides a definitive collection of key sources in Paganism, ranging from its ancient origins to its twentieth-century reconstruction and revival. Chronologically organized sections include extracts from ancient Greek, Norse and Celtic literature, inspirational texts from the early twentieth-century, writings by leaders of the Pagan revival, and newer perspectives showing the diversity of Paganism today. Witchcraft, nature religion, shamanism and goddess worship are considered, as is the influence of environmental and feminist movements. Fully introduced, with editors' prefaces to all extracts and suggestions for further reading, this comprehensive book is an invaluable guide to Paganism and critical issues in its study.

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Researching Paganisms.

Co-edited with Jenny Blain and Doug Ezzy;

published by Altamira (New York), 2004.

Synopsis
Should researchers of spirituality and religion be distantly "objective," or engaged and active participants? The traditional paradigm of 'methodological agnosticism' is increasingly challenged as researchers emphasize the benefits of direct participation for understanding beliefs and practices. Should academic researchers "go native," participating as "insiders" in engagements with the "supernatural," experiencing altered states of of consciousness? How do academics negotiate the fluid boundaries between worlds and meanings which may change their own beliefs? Should their own experiences be part of academic reports? Researching Paganisms presents reflective and engaging accounts of issues in the academic study of religion confronted by anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, historians and religious studies scholars—as researchers and as humans—as they study contemporary Pagan religions. The insights that contributors gain, with resultant changes to their own lives, will fascinate not only other scholars of Pagan religions, but scholars of any religion and indeed anyone who grapples with issues of reflexive research.

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Member of editorial panel of Ecotheology

Becoming Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture in January 2007.

published by Equinox.

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Member of editorial panel of The Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies

published by Equinox.

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Member of editorial panel of Australian Religious Studies Review

published by Equinox.

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Joint Guest Editor with Marion Bowman, issue of Diskus, "Pagan Identities", 2000.

http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/religionswissenschaft/journal/diskus/#6

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Guest Editor issue of Ecotheology 8.1 ‘Nature Constructing Societies’, 2003.

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Associate Editor with particular responsibilities for Paganisms entries, and task force member for European ‘Religions, Nature and Culture’ entries, Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature (general editor: Bron Taylor, University of Florida), London / New York: Continuum, 2005

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Religious Experience in Contemporary Society, Religious Experience Research Centre Occasional Paper 14 (2nd Series). Oxford: RERC, 1997.

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‘Death and Remembrance in Modern Paganism’, in Ritual and Remembrance: Responses to Death in Human Societies (ed.: Davies, J.; Sheffield Academic Press, 1994) 103-22.

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‘The Suffering of Witches and Children: Uses of the Witchcraft Passages in the Bible’, in Words Remembered, Texts Renewed: Festschrift for Prof. John F.A. Sawyer, (eds: Davies, J., Harvey, G., Watson, W.G.E.; Sheffield Academic Press, 1995) 113-134.

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‘Ritual Abuse Allegations, Incitement to Religious Hatred: Pagans and Christians in Court’, in New Religions and the New Europe (ed.: Towler, R.; Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 1995) 154-170.

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‘Heathenism: a North European Pagan tradition’, in Paganism Today (eds: Harvey, G., Hardman, C.; London: Thorsons, 1996) 49-64.

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‘Handfastings, Funerals and other Druid Rites of Passage’ in Philip Carr-Gomm (ed.) The Druid Renaissance. London: Thorsons, 1996. pp. 202-17.

Revised and republished as The Rebirth fo Druidry, London : Element, 2003. pp. 208-23.

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‘Paganism and the Environment’, Faiths and the Environment: Conference Papers. Faith in Dialogue 1 (1996) (Centre for Inter-Faith Dialogue, Middlesex University) 71-85.

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‘Coming Home and Coming Out Pagan but not Converting’ in Religious Conversion: Contemporary Practices and Controversies (Issues in Contemporary Religion; eds: Christopher Lamb and Darrol Bryant; London: Cassell, 1999): 233-46.

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‘Boggarts and Books: towards an appreciation of Pagan Spirituality’ in Beyond New Age: Exploring Alternative Spirituality (eds: Steven Sutcliffe and Marion Bowman; Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000). pp.155-68.

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‘Comments on “The Permeability of Boundaries debate: alternative archaeology — has it happened?”’ in R.J. Wallis and K. Lymer (eds) A Permeability of Boundaries? New Approaches to the Archaeology of Art, Religion and Folklore, Oxford, BAR International Series 936; 2001. pp. 121-3.

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‘Pagan Studies or the Study of Paganisms? A case study in the study of religions’ in Jenny Blain,  Doug Ezzy and Graham Harvey (eds). Researching Paganisms. New York: Altamira, 2004. pp.241-55.

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‘Performing and Constructing Research as Guesthood’ in Lynne Hume and Jane Mulcock (eds), Anthropologists in the Field. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. pp.168-82.

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‘Finding your Path" in Kristin Madden and friends (co-authors), Exploring the Pagan Path, Franklin Lakes: New Page, 2005. pp. 43-55.

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'Foreword' in Ly de Angeles, Emma Restall Orr and Thom van Dooren (eds). Pagan Visions for a Sustainable Future. Woodbury: Llewellyn, 2005. pp. xi-xv.

Click here for the book's website - including my foreword.

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‘Becoming Pagan having been Christian’ in Christopher Partridge and Helen Reid (eds), Finding and Losing Faith: Studies in Conversion,  Paternoster Press ‘Studies in Religion and Culture’ series. pp. 56-69.

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Harvey, G. (2007) ‘Inventing Paganism’ in James Lewis and Olav Hammer (eds) The Invention of Sacred Traditions. Cambridge University Press. pp. 277-90.

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‘Current Research on Paganism and Witchcraft in Britain’, co-authored with Susan Greenwood, Amy Simes and Malory Nye, Journal of Contemporary Religion 10 (1995): 185-92.

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‘The Authority of Intimacy in Paganism and Goddess Spirituality’, Diskus 4.1 (1996) 34-48.

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'Shamanism in Britain Today’, On Ritual (ed. Günter Berghaus; London: Routledge, 1998) Performance Research 3.3: 15-23.

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‘Endo-cannibalism in the making of a recent British Ancestor’, Mortality 9.3 (2004): 255-67.

Click here for Ingenta's copy of the abstract

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‘Avalon from the Mists: the contemporary teaching of Goddess Spirituality’, Religion Today 8.2 (1993) 10-13.

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‘Gods and Hedgehogs in the Greenwood: the Cosmology of Contemporary Paganism’, in Mapping Invisible Worlds, Cosmos 9 (ed.: Gavin Flood; Edinburgh University Press, 1993) 89-94.

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‘The Roots of Pagan Ecology’, Religion Today, 9.3 (1994) 38-41.

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‘Animism: Pagan Ecology, Ethics and Etiquette’, in ‘Scholars Speak’, Circle Magazine: Nature Spirituality Quarterly 85 (2002): 24-6.

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‘Fantasy in the Study of Religions: Paganism as observed and enhanced by Terry Pratchett’ in Graham Harvey and Marion Bowman (eds), Pagan Identities, special issue of Diskus, 6, 2000.

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‘Druidry’, ‘Heathenism’ and ‘Covenant of the Goddess’ in Chris Partridge (ed.), Encyclopaedia of New Religions, Lion, 2004.

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