Paganistan: Contemporary Pagan Community in Minnesota’s Twin Cities

Anthropologist Murphy Pizza crafts a compelling ethnography of Paganistan, a moniker adopted by a vibrant, urban Pagan community in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Pizza’s book, the first-ever study of this long-lived group, explores what it means to be a part of this community and how that identity connects with other identities, particularly that of being Minnesotan. She also ties it to the larger structural elements of the Pagan movement, including the various avenues of entry, oral storytelling traditions, connections to current events, and seasonally based rituals. “This ethnography is intended to be a starting point, not a final destination, on the journey of documenting this community.” Pizza specializes in religious studies, visual culture, and ethnic studies. She lives in the Twin Cities.