Nature Religion Today

Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World is an academic anthology edited by the British religious studies scholars Joanne Pearson, Richard H. Roberts and Geoffrey Samuel which was published by Edinburgh University Press in 1998.

[1][2] The conference's organisers later described its original intentions, remarking that through it they "sought to explore the innovations in practice and belief which constitute contemporary Paganism, and which appear to be a part of a widespread cultural response to the decay of main-line religions and to a widely felt awareness of ecological crisis.

"[2] The anthology's opening paper was written by Peter Beyer, then an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada, and the author of the book Religion and Globalization (1994).

In this manner they emphasise the idea that spiritual authenticity is stronger among the oppressed, such as those indigenous communities who adhere to nature religionist beliefs.

[4] Beyer's paper was followed by that provided by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, then a research associate at the University of Utrecht and the author of New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mind of Secular Thought (1996).