Catherine Noble Beyer is an educator, illustrator and web author, as well as a practicing Wiccan.
Experience:
Catherine has taught "Religion in America" at Lakeland College in Wisconsin, in which she stressed the breadth of religious alternatives available in today's world. She is currently teaching "Intro to Humanities I" at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay.
Constantly challenging herself to learn more about alternative beliefs, Catherine chose to write her thesis on Renaissance occult philosophy, a magical worldview heavily influenced by heterodox Christian beliefs.
She has also been published in The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies.
Finally, Catherine has also been running the Wicca for the Rest of Us website since 2002. This tool is commonly used by newcomers looking for beginning information, established practitioners looking for additional perspectives, and non-Wiccans simply seeking a better understanding of the faith.
Education:
Kalamazoo College, BA in History, 1997
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, MA in History, 2005
From Catherine Beyer:
Several students once asked in frustration how anyone could seriously believe God came to earth in a spaceship. Such a claim was so clearly in the realm of fiction as to not even command serious attention. Yet many of these same students had no problem believing that God could speak through a burning bush or, if they didn't believe in the literal event, they at least accepted it as a reasonable religious belief.
The world's religions each give a unique perspective on the universe, and it's important to remember that "weird" is relative. Alternative religions may be unfamiliar to many of us, but that doesn't diminish their importance and meaning nor the thought and care that went into their development. Moreover, as the world continues to change, religion will change with it, as is aptly shown in the explosion of new religious movements.