Friday, October 25, 2019
Drawing Down The Moon Essay -- essays research papers
Introduction      I chose to read the book Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today, by Margot Adler, because I myself am a practicing Wiccan.      I began following this religion the summer before I entered high school. I have read many books on my religion, and I thought that this one would compliment the knowledge that I have on the subject.      I was raised a Roman Catholic, but I never felt truly comfortable with the teachings of the Catholic church. It always seemed a little off to me and I never felt like I belonged there. After I received the Sacrament of Confirmation, my parents stopped enforcing that I attend mass every Sunday. It made the transition a lot easier for me. Although, they did not and still do not approve of my religion, they understand that Catholicism is not for me.      When people hear that I am a â€Å"witch,†they automatically assume that I am either crazy, or a â€Å"devil worshipper.†Books such as Alder’s Drawing Down the Moon, are the only way to allow other people to realize that there are many facets to the term â€Å"Pagan.†They also make people realize that not all Pagan religions revolve around curses, crystal balls and sacrifices.      Although, I did not agree with everything that Margot Adler had to say, or with some of the interviews she chose to include in Drawing Down the Moon, I am happy that I chose to read it for my final paper. I do not feel that we cover enough about Pagan religions in our class, and this assignment gave me the opportunity to learn more about Pagan religions other than my own. Brief Summary      In America today, there are a myriad of â€Å"occult†or â€Å"magickal†groups. Some of these groups are small with maybe only 5 or 6 members, some have hundreds. The groups that I am referring to call themselves Pagans or Neo-Pagans. There are a wide variety of Pagans and Neo-Pagans. They can be animists, polytheists, pantheists, monotheists, or a combination of any of these. There are also many different classifications of Witches, such as: Gothic, Classical, Familial, Immigrant, Ethnic and Feminist. Each group is very distinct and different from the next. They do however share a common set of values.   ... ...h to be able to answer in the future, are:  ·Ã‚     What makes Pagan religions so unappealing to people when the basis of the religion relies solely on however the practitioner interprets it?  ·Ã‚     Why isn’t there more information available on them considering these religions are so old?  ·Ã‚     Why don’t these religions have any solid dogma?      I think that this assignment was a very good learning experience. It gave us the chance to explore any area of religion that we wanted to know about or learn more about. We weren’t restrained to the more common religions that we discuss in depth in class. I enjoyed the fact that we had a large amount of freedom when choosing our topic. It is not good to always be told what to write about. Freedom of topics is always beneficial for the most creative fulfillment of any assignment. It gives the student a chance to work on something that they are truly interested in. This assignment definitely allowed me to further my knowledge in the areas of religion that I am interested in, rather than solely what is in a syllabus.      Drawing Down The Moon Essay -- essays research papers Introduction      I chose to read the book Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today, by Margot Adler, because I myself am a practicing Wiccan.      I began following this religion the summer before I entered high school. I have read many books on my religion, and I thought that this one would compliment the knowledge that I have on the subject.      I was raised a Roman Catholic, but I never felt truly comfortable with the teachings of the Catholic church. It always seemed a little off to me and I never felt like I belonged there. After I received the Sacrament of Confirmation, my parents stopped enforcing that I attend mass every Sunday. It made the transition a lot easier for me. Although, they did not and still do not approve of my religion, they understand that Catholicism is not for me.      When people hear that I am a â€Å"witch,†they automatically assume that I am either crazy, or a â€Å"devil worshipper.†Books such as Alder’s Drawing Down the Moon, are the only way to allow other people to realize that there are many facets to the term â€Å"Pagan.†They also make people realize that not all Pagan religions revolve around curses, crystal balls and sacrifices.      Although, I did not agree with everything that Margot Adler had to say, or with some of the interviews she chose to include in Drawing Down the Moon, I am happy that I chose to read it for my final paper. I do not feel that we cover enough about Pagan religions in our class, and this assignment gave me the opportunity to learn more about Pagan religions other than my own. Brief Summary      In America today, there are a myriad of â€Å"occult†or â€Å"magickal†groups. Some of these groups are small with maybe only 5 or 6 members, some have hundreds. The groups that I am referring to call themselves Pagans or Neo-Pagans. There are a wide variety of Pagans and Neo-Pagans. They can be animists, polytheists, pantheists, monotheists, or a combination of any of these. There are also many different classifications of Witches, such as: Gothic, Classical, Familial, Immigrant, Ethnic and Feminist. Each group is very distinct and different from the next. They do however share a common set of values.   ... ...h to be able to answer in the future, are:  ·Ã‚     What makes Pagan religions so unappealing to people when the basis of the religion relies solely on however the practitioner interprets it?  ·Ã‚     Why isn’t there more information available on them considering these religions are so old?  ·Ã‚     Why don’t these religions have any solid dogma?      I think that this assignment was a very good learning experience. It gave us the chance to explore any area of religion that we wanted to know about or learn more about. We weren’t restrained to the more common religions that we discuss in depth in class. I enjoyed the fact that we had a large amount of freedom when choosing our topic. It is not good to always be told what to write about. Freedom of topics is always beneficial for the most creative fulfillment of any assignment. It gives the student a chance to work on something that they are truly interested in. This assignment definitely allowed me to further my knowledge in the areas of religion that I am interested in, rather than solely what is in a syllabus.     Â
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