Dr Jo Pearson 

Reader in Theology and Religious Studies 

Humanities and Social Sciences 

Email:

Jo.Pearson@winchester.ac.uk 

Phone:

+44 (0)1962 827021 

Fax:

+44 (0)1962 827437 

Address:

Biography

Dr Jo Pearson is Programme Leader Theology and Religious Studies and Head of Academic Development.

Publications

Books

Wicca and the Christian Heritage: Ritual Sex and Magic. London: Routledge, 2007 

Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age, Aldershot: Ashgate  (ed.; co-published text for 'Religion Today: Tradition, Modernity and Change', AD317), 2002

A Popular Dictionary of Paganism. London: Routledge Curzon, 2002

Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World (oo-edited with Richard H. Roberts and Geoffrey Samuel). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998

Articles

'Resisting Rhetorics of Violence: Women, Witches and Wicca', Feminist Theology 2009

'Inappropriate Sexuality?: Sex Magic, S/M, and Wicca', Theology & Sexuality  11(2), pp 31-42, 2005

'Magic, Witchcraft & Occultism in Contemporary Paganism', Nederlands Genootschap voor Godsdienstwetenschap Nieuwsbrief  2004/2, pp 3-16

'Ritual and Religious Experience: William James and the Study of 'Alternative Spiritualities'', Crosscurrents, Fall 2003, Vol 53 (3), pp 413-23

'"Going Native in Reverse": the Insider as Researcher in British Wicca', Nova Religio, 5 (1), pp 52 - 63, 2001

'Demarcating the Field: Paganism, Wicca and Witchcraft', in: Bowman, Marion & Graham Harvey (eds), DISKUS Vol. 6 Special Issue: Pagan Identities, 2000

'"I am the Soul of Nature who gives life to the Universe": Wicca, Esotericism and Living Nature', The Pomegranate: The Journal of Pagan Studies, No14, pp 4-15, 2000

Chapters in Edited Volumes

'Writing Witchcraft: The Historians' History, the Practitioners' Past', in: Davies, Owen & Jonathan Barry (eds), Witchcraft Historiography. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp 225-41, 2007.

‘Islam, Christianity and the Crusades: Rival Monotheisms and Monotheistic Rivals'’, in: Wolffe, John R. (ed.), Religion in History: Conflict, Conversion and Coexistence. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp 42-67 (co-published text for 'Religion in History: Conflict, Conversion and Coexistence', AA307), 2004

'“Witchcraft Will Not Soon Vanish from this Earth”: Wicca in the 21st Century', in: Woodhead, Linda, Grace Davies & Paul Heelas (eds), Predicting Religion: Christian, Secular, & Alternative Futures. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 170-82, 2003

'Wicca, Paganism, and History: Contemporary Witchcraft and the Lancashire Witches', in: Poole, Robert (ed.), The Lancashire Witches: Histories and Stories. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp 188-203, 2003

'"Going Native in Reverse": the Insider as Researcher in British Wicca', in: Arweck, Elisabeth and Martin Stringer (eds), Theorising Faith: The Insider/Outsider Problem. Birmingham: Birmingham University Press, pp 97-113, 2002

'Introduction', in: Pearson, J. (ed.), Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 1-12, 2002

'The History and Development of Wicca and Paganism', in: Pearson, J. (ed.), Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 15-54, 2002

'Witches and Wicca', in: Pearson, J. (ed.), Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 133-72, 2002

'Jesus in Film', in: Beckerlegge, G. (ed.), From Sacred Text to Internet. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 35-56 (co-published text for 'Religion Today: Tradition, Modernity and Change', AD317; with Steven Moyise), 2002

'Assumed Affinities: Wicca and the New Age', in: Pearson et al., Nature Religion Today pp 45-56, 1998

Research Interests

Dr Pearson is interested in the history of Wicca, Paganism and magic. She is currently engaged in research on disability and religion, spirituality and mental health, particularly with regard to ritual and pain management techniques.

Funding Awards and Professional Membership

Membership of Editorial Boards and Referee Work

• Member of the Editorial Board for Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions (2003 - present)
• Member of the Editorial Board for The Pomegranate: A New Journal of NeoPagan Thought (2001- present).
• I review for Routledge, Routledge/Curzon, Liverpool University Press, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, and Literature and Theology

Membership of Professional Associations

• American Academy of Religion (AAR)
• British Association for the Study of Religion (BASR)
• British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS)
• European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE)
• Institute of Historical Research (IHR)
• Research Group on the Body, Health and Religion, Cardiff University (BAHAR)
• Autism Spectrum People and Religion Research Group (ASPARRG)