“Nothing short of a treasure trove.” Eric Loefflad’s review of ‘Paganism Persisting’ by me and @robincdouglas.bsky.social in the Ecclesiastical Law Journal www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Yes.

Sunrise this morning here in Glastonbury.

Paganism Persisting: A History of European Paganisms Since Antiquity (Exeter New Approaches to Legend, Folklore and Popular Belief) Paganism Persisting: A History of European Paganisms Since Antiquity (Exeter New Approaches to Legend, Folklore and Popular Belief) [Douglas, Robin, Young, Francis] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Paganism Persisting: A History of European Paganisms Since Antiquity (Exeter New Approaches to Legend, Folklore and Popular Belief)

UK: www.exeterpress.co.uk/products/pag...

US: www.amazon.com/Paganism-Persisting-Paganisms-Antiquity-Approaches/dp/1804132411

Reviews:

"a fresh way of looking at this complex subject" - Owen Davies

"fascinating" - Ethan Doyle White

"a readable, intelligent account" - Mattias Gassman

"a masterful exploration" - Carmen M. Márquez García

"written in a refreshing and engaging style" - Stephen Miller

"Revived paganisms ranged from the austerely rational to the earnestly romantic, from the mystical and occult to the stridently nationalistic. Paganism Persisting uncovers European paganism’s long afterlife, up to and including the emergence of modern paganism as a mass movement"

Summary:

"Paganism in Europe was not defeated by Christianity: it never went away. From the fourth century to the twentieth, against the background of a largely Christian culture, people repeatedly attempted to revive various kinds of pre-Christian religion"

🚨NEW OUT IN PAPERBACK TODAY!🚨

The story of pagan revivals through history

"PAGANISM PERSISTING: A History of European Paganisms since Antiquity"

By myself and @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social

Ronald Hutton: "written in an admirably lucid and accessible style"

Only £24.99!

People should not be allowed to treat electoral politics as their spectator sport unless they follow at least one or two other actual sports. Like 99% of the unhelpful and overwrought takes out there come from people who watch Politics and Entertainment only.

Invoking the Gods: The Baffling Orphic Hymns ROBIN DOUGLAS What were the Orphic Hymns?

I have a new article out about the Orphic Hymns!

The Hymns are an enigmatic text which has repeatedly caught the interest of both scholars and esotericists over the years.

antigonejournal.com/2026/04/orph...

Invoking the Gods: The Baffling Orphic Hymns ROBIN DOUGLAS What were the Orphic Hymns?

I have a new article out about the Orphic Hymns!

The Hymns are an enigmatic text which has repeatedly caught the interest of both scholars and esotericists over the years.

antigonejournal.com/2026/04/orph...

Two socialist rituals from 1924 I’ve uploaded the text of two rites of passage intended for use by British socialists: a child’s naming ceremony and a wedding ceremony. We meet in this public manner in order to testif…

Two socialist rituals from 1924 - a marriage ritual and a child naming ceremony.

"We meet in this public manner in order to testify our conviction that every child born to our race, of whatever nation or colour, should be honoured as a new member of Humanity"

robindouglas.org/2025/09/08/t...

Two socialist rituals from 1924 I’ve uploaded the text of two rites of passage intended for use by British socialists: a child’s naming ceremony and a wedding ceremony. We meet in this public manner in order to testif…

Two socialist rituals from 1924 - a marriage ritual and a child naming ceremony.

"We meet in this public manner in order to testify our conviction that every child born to our race, of whatever nation or colour, should be honoured as a new member of Humanity"

robindouglas.org/2025/09/08/t...

Bin Laden had a personal copy of the esoteric classic Manly P. Hall's Secret Teachings of All Ages.

(Probably because of his interest in conspiracies.)

Matt Goodwin’s good book Before he went mad, Matthew Goodwin wrote quite a good book: Revolt on the Right (2014), which was co-authored with his fellow academic…

Before he went mad, Matt Goodwin wrote quite a good book about the radical right in Britain. It had some interesting insights about what was then UKIP.

Here is a review of it that I wrote a few years ago:

medium.com/@lettersfrom...

Hall of fame FT correction

"How many divisions has the Pope?"

Christopher Hitchens had it right: "More than you think."

Ken Barlow in Coronation Street.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate! 🙂

The Harrowing of Hell What Jesus did between Good Friday and Easter Sunday Christians believe that Jesus Christ died on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. What did he do in the time in between? This qu…

== The Harrowing of Hell ==

What did Jesus do between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

Back in history, Christians came up with surprisingly detailed answers to this question.

robindouglas.org/2026/04/04/t...

The Harrowing of Hell What Jesus did between Good Friday and Easter Sunday Christians believe that Jesus Christ died on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. What did he do in the time in between? This qu…

== The Harrowing of Hell ==

What did Jesus do between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

Back in history, Christians came up with surprisingly detailed answers to this question.

robindouglas.org/2026/04/04/t...

I can't emphasise enough how dangerous this trend of converting because Christianity evokes past securities is to the Church.

Faith becomes an expression not of God's love (in which we participate), but of anxieties channelled into identitarian antagonism against the people privileged by that love

British Good Friday traditions From the Evening Standard, 14 April 1865: The English people do not observe many anniversaries, but they are faithful to the few. They never forget Christmas, or Eastertide, or Good Friday. This mo…

British Good Friday customs.... Creeping to the cross, hot cross buns, and cramp-rings.

robindouglas.org/2025/09/08/b...

While David Frost explains why he has turned to Rome, historian David Starkey argues for seeing the value of the history of anti-Catholic legislation not as intolerance or discrimination but as a relevant model for dealing with what he calls Islamist supremacism today. He says this may offend some.

British Good Friday traditions From the Evening Standard, 14 April 1865: The English people do not observe many anniversaries, but they are faithful to the few. They never forget Christmas, or Eastertide, or Good Friday. This mo…

British Good Friday customs.... Creeping to the cross, hot cross buns, and cramp-rings.

robindouglas.org/2025/09/08/b...

"good English beef" and ale

Charity on Maundy Thursday – Some old reports Here are some old newspaper reports – from 1735, 1790 and 1833 – of the customs observed by the British monarch on Maundy Thursday. The day was traditionally an occasion for the king or…

Maundy Thursday in Britain - a time for royal charity.

Some old reports of the customs and rituals associated with the day.

robindouglas.org/2025/09/08/c...

....As a result, he argued that those who are attending services do so for the ritualistic elements—to kiss an icon, anoint themselves with oil, acquire holy water, or feel the mystery of God—not to learn the finer points of Orthodox doctrine."

Hello, based department?

"One Russian Orthodox priest noted that, at least in Russia, the continued insistence on performing religious services in medieval Slavonic, a language almost no one but clergy understands, has resulted in an extremely ignorant and ill-informed laity....

This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.