York, Michael (Otto) 1939-

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YORK, Michael (Otto) 1939-

PERSONAL:

Born September 15, 1939, in Buffalo, NY; son of Otto and Myrth (Brooks) York; married Nancy Williams, June 3, 1966. Education: University of California, Berkeley, B.A., 1961; San Francisco State University, M.A., 1970; King's College, London, Ph.D. (theology).

ADDRESSES:

Office—Sophia Centre, School of Historical and Cultural Studies, Bath Spa University College, Newton Park Campus, Newton St. Loe, Bath BA2 9BN, England.

CAREER:

Bath Spa University College, Bath, England, director of Sophia Centre for the Study of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, coordinator of Bath archive for contemporary religious affairs, and director of new age and pagan studies program. Amsterdam Center for Eurindic Studies, Amsterdam, Netherlands, director; Academy for Cultural and Educational Studies, London, England, co-director.

MEMBER:

International Society for the Sociology of Religions, Association for the Study of Religions, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, American Academy of Religion, American Sociological Association, British Association for the Study of Religions, British Sociological Association.

WRITINGS:

The Roman Festival Calendar of Numa Pompilius, P. Lang (New York, NY), 1986.

The Emerging Network: A Sociology of the New Age Neo-Pagan Movements, Rowan & Littlefield (Lanham, MD), 1995.

The Divine versus the Asurian: An Interpretation of Indo-European Cult and Myth, International Scholars Publications (Bethesda, MD), 1996.

Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion, New York University Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Historical Dictionary of New Age Movements, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 2004.

Contributor to books, including Pilgrimage, edited by William H. Swatos, Sr., and L. Tomasi, Praeger (London, England), 2002. Contributor to scholarly journals, including Journal of Contemporary Religion.

SIDELIGHTS:

Michael York is the author of such works as The Emerging Network: A Sociology of the New Age Neo-Pagan Movements and Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion. York's goal in The Emerging Network, according to Cultic Studies Review contributor Frank MacHovec, is to "increase understanding of New Age and neo-pagan movements, the human potential movement, and the occult metaphysical tradition." In Pagan Theology York "endeavors to demonstrate that paganism in its many varieties has an underlying unity," wrote Library Journal contributor William P. Collins.