Primary Text
Donald Michael Kraig, Modern Tantra: Living One of the World’s Oldest, Continuously Practiced Forms of Pagan Spirituality in the New Millennium.
Course Description
This seminar investigates Tantra as an evolving theological tradition through the lens of modern Paganism, comparative religion, feminist theology, depth psychology, ritual studies, and embodied spirituality. Students critically examine Donald Michael Kraig’s interpretation of Tantra while engaging classical Hindu and Buddhist sources, contemporary scholarship, and modern Pagan theological developments.
Special attention is given to:
- Religious pluralism
- Embodied spirituality
- Sacred sexuality
- Goddess theology
- Ritual consciousness
- Comparative mysticism
- Interfaith dialogue
- Ethics of appropriation
- Decolonizing Tantra
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Critically analyze Kraig’s reconstruction of Tantra.
- Compare classical and modern Tantric traditions.
- Evaluate Pagan theology within contemporary religious studies.
- Develop an informed pluralist theology.
- Practice phenomenological analysis of ritual.
- Produce original graduate research.
Professor’s Note
This course treats Kraig’s Modern Tantra neither as authoritative scripture nor as mere Orientalist fantasy, but as a complex cultural artifact that reveals the anxieties, aspirations, and creativity of contemporary Western Paganism. We will practice “deep pluralism”—taking Kraig’s spiritual claims seriously while maintaining critical distance. The goal is not to produce devotees or debunkers, but theologians who can navigate the liminal space between academic rigor and religious commitment.