Kemetic Orthodoxy: Ancient Egyptian Religion on the Internet: A Research Note

Marilyn C. Krogh; Brooke Ashley Pillifant

Sociology of Religion, Vol. 65, No. 2. (Summer, 2004), pp. 167-175.

Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1069-4404%28200422%2965%3A2%3C167%3AKOAERO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T

Sociology of Religion is currently published by Association for the Sociology of Religion, Inc..

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained
prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in
the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/journals/asr.html.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.

The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic
journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers,
and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take
advantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

http://www.jstor.org
Wed Feb 27 03:39:46 2008
 Socidogy of Religion 2004,6.5:2 1 67.1 75

Kemetic Orthodoxy: Ancient Egyptian

Religion on the Internet - A Research Note

Marilyn C. ~ r o ~ h *
Lopro Univmiiy Chicago

Brooke Ashley Pillifant

Loyda Univmity Chrcago

ln a recent essay, Dawson (2000) has calkd for empirical studies of religion in cyberspace. This
article m ' b u t e s one care study toward this larger project, an examination of Kemetic Orrhodoxy,
an Egyptian revival religion that has developed a fobwing largely through communicaaon on the
Internet. Most ofthe people who become members of Kemetic Orthodoxy learn about this faith, meet
other believers, amvert and worship online. As Dawson (1 998) expects of religions compatible with
the lntemet , Kemetic O r W x y is monistic, tolerant, organirationally open, and experientially
d, but contrary
w his expectations, Kemetic Orthodoxy is based on ritual authority and stresses
tradition more than indioidrcalism. Like Wicca, Kemetic Orhdoxy is a religion of late modernity .

To date, the Internet has been a largely unregulated media (Hamelink

2003), part of an "alternative cultural milieu" that allows New Religious Move-
ments to emerge and grow (Neitz 1994:131). As neo-pagans of all kinds have
been particularly active and visible on the Internet, some observers have specu-
lated that there may be an elective affinity between neo-pagan religions and the
Internet (O'Leary 1996). Dawson suggests that the Internet is especially
compatible with religions that feature a monistic worldview, tolerance for other
faiths, a pragmatic attitude toward authority, organizational openness, an
emphasis on experience and a pronounced individualism (1998:163-165). But to
move out of the realm of "theoretical possibilities and educated hunches," he
calls for empirical studies of religion in cyberspace (2000:49). This article
contributes one case study toward this larger agenda, an examination of Kemetic
Orthodoxy, an Egyptian revival religion that has developed a following largely
through the Internet. We compare Kemetic Othodoxy to Wicca, the largest and

* Direct mecgondence w Mn+ Krogh, Depnm~ntof Socidogy and Andvopokgy, Layola Uniwnity Chicago, e-
d:
mk+luc.edu
168 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

best-known neo-pagan religion in America, as well as to Dawson's expectations

of religion on the Internet.

AN OVERVIEW OF KEMETIC ORTHODOXY

Kemetic Orthodoxy is a reconstruction of the religion of Egypt circa 4500

B.C.E. to 500 C.E. The name Kemetic Orthodoxy reflects the indigenous name
of the Nile River region, Kemet, and the intention of this group to practice an
authentic form of ancient Egyptian religion. The contemporary practice of this
religion began in Chicago in 1988, when Tamara Siuda, seeking initiation as a
Wiccan priestess at the age of eighteen, felt contacted by Egyptian gods and
goddesses who told her to revive their ancient forms of worship. Siuda left the
Wiccans and tried to recover as much as she could of ancient Egyptian religion.
She attracted a small group of people who met together for study and worship,
worked as an adviser and interfaith manager for the Spirituality Forum of
America On Line, and earned a master's degree in Egyptology in 2000. In 1996,
through ceremonies held in Egypt, Siuda assumed leadership as the 196th Nisut
of the Kemetic Orthodoxy. Nisut means "The Incarnation" or "Authority."
The temple and seminary for Kemetic Orthodoxy, the House of Netjer, was
legally recognized by the State of Illinois in 1993 and given tax-exempt status by
the federal government in 1999. While some people meet together in Chicago
or in regional groups, most people learn about Kemetic Orthodoxy, meet other
believers, convert, and worship online. By 2002, Kemetic Orthodoxy had grown
to almost 300 members and opened a retreat center in Harbor County,
Michigan. In the fall of 2003, the group purchased a building to replace rented
facilities in Chicago.
To date, the House of Netjer has established two official web sites, one in
January 1996 and one in 1999. By August 2000, they had received over 100,000
hits, averaging 20,000 hits per year. (A hit is the number of times the site is
visited by a different Internet Service Provider.) The original web site, keme-
t.org, presents essays about this religion, a glossary of gods and goddesses, an
image library, devotional writings, and a virtual ancestor shrine. This public
presentation of information is similar in purpose to that of many other religious
web sites.
The more recently established web site, netjer.org, is more unusual. While it
provides publicly accessible event calendars, reports and live discussion boards, it
also offers a range of more private interactions. For inquirers, Kemetic
Orthodoxy conducts a free, online Probationers Group, and for members, it
offers online courses in Kemetic spirituality, as well as discussion groups, coun-
seling, and a bi-weekly distance worship service. Classes, conversation and
worship occur through synchronous, password-protected Internet Relay Chat
discussions, supplemented by listserv email correspondence and postings on the
password-protected side of the web site.
DATA AND METHODS

This research began as a student project that grew into a student-faculty

collaboration. It is based on sixteen weeks of participation in an online Proba-
tioner's Group, as well as face to face, phone and email interviews with the
founder, a priest, two priests in training and one lay member. It is also based on
material from the kemet.org and netjer.org web sites. The Probationer's Group
met from January to April 2000, and the interviews were conducted in the
spring of 2000 and 2001. All the research proceeded with the informed consent
of the leadership and people involved. As non-members we were not allowed to
observe any rituals or other member-only events.
The overall membership of Kemetic Orthodoxy, including the people
contacted for this research, fits the general profile of people in New Religious
Movements (Dawson 1998). Statistics compiled in 1999 indicate that 53
percent of the members of Kemetic Orthodoxy are female and 47 percent are
male. More than half of the members, 64 percent, are between 25 to 44 years
old. Most live in America, scattered throughout thirty-eight states, but 10
percent live in other countries. The most colnmon occupations of the members
are in education and communications. O f the members, 56 percent report a prior
Christian affiliation, 10 percent report no previous religious background, and the
rest report a variety of non-Christian backgrounds. Only about 5 percent of the
members report prior affiliation with New Age, Wicca or other neo-pagan
religions.

WICCA AND KEMETIC OTHODOXY

Beliefs

While Wiccans believe their religion is a return to a pre-Christian, pan-

European faith where nature is revered (Berger 1999:l I ) , members of Kemetic
Orthodoxy believe their religion is a recovery of the indigenous faith of ancient
Egypt. Consequently, while Wiccans appropriate language, symbols and rituals
from many sources, followers of Kemetic Orthodoxy try to use only material from
ancient Egypt. For both groups, however, "the practices of ancient cultures are
disembedded from the original social relationships in which they grew" (Berger
1999:16).
Like Wicca, Kemetic Othodoxy is monistic. According to Wicca, since all of
nature is interrelated, people can bend or reshape their reality through "raising
energy" in ritual and other practices (Berger 1999:ll). According to Kemetic
Orthodoxy, there is a divine unity in nature that can be perceived as either a
singularity or a plurality, or sometimes both at once (Hornung 1982).The name
of this divine unity is Netjer and the manifestations of this unity are called the
Names or Faces of New. The goal of Kemetic Orthodoxy is to experience the
Divine through "correct living, correct actions and the practice of liturgy, hymns
and rites."l
Among Wiccans, gods and goddesses may be considered real entities, the
personification of natural forces, or metaphors for ideals (Berger 1999:33).
According to Kemetic Orthodoxy, the gods and goddesses are "actual spiritual
beings" as well as abstract concepts (Siuda-Legan 1994:4). For example, the
most important Name of Netjer, Ma'at, "is both a Nejeret (goddess) and the
abstract concept of order, justice, truth and 'what is rightU'2
In Gardnerian Wicca, people see themselves as part of nature, and
consequently, as gods and goddesses with power (Berger 1999:19, 37-42). By
contrast, in Kemetic Orthodoxy, people see themselves as servants of the Netjer
who seek to hear and obey this deity. Netjer is understood to communicate with
people in a variety of ways, including through their dreams. For example, one
woman found Kemetic Orthodoxy while "surfing the web" for sites on Egypt and
religion. She recalls, 'When I first started searching on the Internet, I had a
dream where a beautiful goddess came to me . . . dressed in Egyptian finery. She
told me not to give up on my searching, that if I was diligent I would find where
I belonged. She put her arms around me and held me."
Netjer communicates with people not only through dreams, but also through
divination performed by priests. For instance, when a person wants to convert
and commit him or herself to the service of a particular Name of Netjer, the
Nisut undertakes divination to discover the Parent Name given to that person at
birth. Similarly, when a person seems called to enter the priesthood, the Nisut
undertakes divination to ascertain the will of Netjer on the matter.
Divination by oracle, known as saq, is the climatic form of collective ritual
in Kemetic Orthodoxy. Saq is a form of full trance possession where Netjer is
understood to give messages and answer questions through the body of a priest.
According to the Nisut, possession in Kemetic Orthodoxy is very similar to
possession in Voudou (Brown 19911, but not the same as "drawing down the
moon" in Wicca (Adler 1986:109-110; 169). In the words of one Kemetic
Orthodox priest, "In this reiigion, God shows up."
While W iccans commonly believe in reincarnation (Berger 1999: 17, 89),
Kemetic Orthodoxy teaches that judgment and the possibility of an afterlife fol-
lows death. When a person dies, his or her heart is weighed upon the scale
against Ma'at's feather of truth. The impure are consumed by Am-mit,the Dead-
Swallower, the pure are allowed to live in the realm of Wesir, the Ruler of the
Blessed Dead (Siuda-Legan 1994:70).
 KEMETIC ORTHODOXY: A RESEARCH NOTE 171
Ethics and Proselytizing

Like Wicca (Berger 1999:19), Kemetic Orthodoxy posits a moral universe in

which the actions of individuals work to their benefit or detriment.3 Conse-
quently, both Wicca (Berger 1999:8, 10) and Kemetic Orthodoxy emphasize
ethical autonomy and tolerance. According to the Nisut, "We do not believe our
faith is the one and only path to spiritual success and Kemetic Orthodoxy may
not be for everyone." Nonetheless, in her view, "Those who are called to this
faith cannot help but find it, since everyone who does Ma'at will end up exactly
where they belong."
Like most Wiccans (Kelly 1992:139), members of Kemetic Orthodoxy do
not seek converts, but they do welcome inquirers and offer free classes. And like
some Wiccans (Adler 1997:14), they are cautious about who is admitted. People
who want to join Kemetic Orthodoxy have to take a class, fill out an applica-
tion, and obtain the consent of their family or guardian if they are under
eighteen, married, or have a caregiver.

Authority

Although witchcraft is an anti-authoritarian religion "that celebrates lack of

central authority that determines orthodoxy" (Berger 1999:37), Kemetic Ortho-
doxy is a hierarchical religion with a central authority. Moreover, the authority
of the Nisut is not pragmatically based; instead, it is based on signs of divine
validation in rituals and oracles. As a "bridge between Netjer and the faithful"
the Nisut has a semi-divine status.4 Consequently, authority flows downward
from the Nisut, to the priests, to the followers of Kemetic Orthodoxy.
Nonetheless, there is a parallel between the implicit group authority under-
lying neo-Gardnerian Wicca rituals and explicit authority of the Nisut in
Kemetic Orthodox rituals. Neo-Gardnerian rituals are "based largely in the
nineteenth-century male secret societies, [and] represent learning discipline and
mastering Gnostic wisdom through submission to a group which views itself as
outside of the dominant culture" (Neitz 1994:140). Similarly, Kemetic Orthodox
rituals are secrets that initiates learn through instruction from the Nisut, and
members see themselves as outside of Christianity.

Roks and Rehtimships

Among Wiccans, membership and leadership roles in the Craft are con-
tested. Many are solo practitioners, while others belong to covens (Berger
1999:50), but they see each other as co-celebrants, rather than as a congregation
led by clergy (Neitz 1994:135). By contrast, Kemetic Orthodoxy has a range of
roles that allow for gradations of involvement, from inquirer, to affiliated
member, to convert, to priest. In Dawson's terms (1998:163-165), Kemetic
Orthodoxy is "organizationally open."
Although relationships among Wiccans are often fluid, some people in
covens develop intimacy that encompasses both the mundane and the spiritual
aspects of life (Berger 199954-60).Analogously, participants in a Probationer's
Group devoted time to the group and shared their experiences of Netjer. By the
end of the group, people wrote comments such as, "It feels good to belong to this
community," and "This community of believers has given me a sense of
belonging and 1 cherish it with all my heart."
Like Wiccan magic, Kemetic Orthodox experiences of Neger function as a
"technology of the self' (Berger 1999:xiii) through which people transform their
spiritual, emotional or social sensibilities. Some participants in the Probationer's
Group reported visions of the Names of Netjer in which they felt inspired or awe
struck. Others reported dreams that brought them peace when they were anxious
and afraid. One woman described how the Names of Netjer helped her renew her
marriage.

When we got to [our vacation spot] James, my husband, had to go to his work's office there
and I had the day to myself. I started out on a shopping spree *G[rin]* but ended up buying
some [food] and going down to the beach to eat it. I sat down and did my heku over the food
and then ate it. I spent about three hours sitting on that beach and pondered over the change
my life had taken in the last two months. I must have had 'silent' conversations with about
six Names of Netjer and I swear, when I turned my attention to Shu, the wind nearly howled
me off the beach!!! But I felt so wonderful and I ended up watching the sun set on the beach.
I got up, walked to the water's edge and did a full prostrate henuon the beach (got sandy but
cared not a jot! ).

I felt an enormous weight lift off my shoulders and had the most romantic, fun weekend with
my husband for the first time in about 18 months. I know that in being so open and honest
with Netjer, that my life is being enriched in ways I never thought could possibly happen. 1
have been having a lot of 'down' times marriage-wise and thought that things would never
improve, but when I was prostrated out on the beach, I bared my soul to Netjer about the one
thing that I would give anything to improve and it just happened!!!

Worship

In both Wicca and Kemetic Orthodoxy, worship emphasizes personal experi-

ence rather than doctrine or prophetic critique. In Wicca, rituals observe the
seasonal cycles and the phases of the moon, as well as commemorating
individual rites of passage (Berger 1999:16-18). By contrast, in Kemetic
Orthodoxy, rituals honor various Names of Netjer as well as mark changes in the
lives of individuals. Moreover, while Wicca encourages innovation, Kemetic
Orthodoxy stresses tradition. There are three types of rituals: personal devotion
 KEMETIC ORTHODOXY: A RESEARCH NOTE 173
at a household shrine, ancestor veneration, and temple liturgies. In worship, the
Internet is used extensively, but not exclusively.
Daily prayer at a household shrine is the most common rite of Kemetic
Orthodoxy. Known as Senut, this solitary meditation with Netjer is the foun-
dation of all ritual practice in Kemetic Orthodoxy. The shrine, in a quiet area of
the home, contains a table, a small lamp or candle, an incense burner and a dish
in which to place offerings. Senut begins with a ritual cleansing and concludes
with prayers and offerings.
Personal ancestral devotion takes place both at the household shrine and
online. A worshipper may seek contact with the "Blessed Dead" during medita-
tion at a household shrine, and provide offerings of their favorite food and drink.
Moreover, as the ancients put notes to the dead in clay pots and left them near
the mountains in Egypt, a worshipper today may leave a note in a virtual clay
pot on the kemet.org web site.
Temple ritual must be led by at least one priest and follow a prescribed
liturgy. There are several different kinds of temple rituals, including daily litur-
gies, bi-weekly worship, festival and procession days, namings, dedications and
ordinations, and spiritual consultations and divinations by oracle. With the
exception of the daily liturgies, the other temple rituals are forms of collective
worship.
Most of the collective temple rituals for Kemetic Orthodoxy are conducted
simultaneously offline and online. Worshippers participate at the temple in
Chicago or online through a password protected Internet Relay Channel con-
trolled by a priest at a computer in the temple. The ritual elements of physical
co-presence, coordinated voices and gestures and sacred objects (Schroeder,
Heather and Lee 1998) are translated from the temple into online temporal co-
presence, coordinated text messages, and the manipulation of ritual objects by
individuals sitting in front of their computers.
During temple rituals, participants may wear ordinary clothes, or a variety of
Egyptian-style robes, headdresses, and jewelry such as ankh pendants or scarab
rings. The liturgy is drawn from original sources and presented in Kemetic and
English. It usually includes readings, prayers, and chants and sometimes includes
music or dance. Processions of icons and statues, drama or a communal meal may
be added to liturgies for festivals and other special occasions. The Kemetic New
Year celebration is observed during an annual three-day gathering in Chicago,
and people can also attend workshops and other events at the retreat center in
Michigan.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Only fifteen years have elapsed since Tamara Siuda had the vision that led
to Kemetic Orthodoxy. With ten priests, a hundred converts and two hundred
affiliated members, Kemetic Orthodoxy now surpasses the membership of any of
174 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

the four Egyptian revival religions listed in the Encyclopedia of American

Religions (Melton 1996). In several ways, Kemetic Orthodoxy is the kind of
religion that Dawson expects to be compatible with the Internet (1998:163-
165). Kemetic Orthodoxy is monistic, tolerant, organizationally open, and
experientially oriented. Contrary to Dawson's expectations, however, Kemetic
Orthodoxy is based on ritual authority, not pragmatic authority, and it stresses
tradition more than individualism. Nonetheless, like Wicca (Berger 1999:123-
127), Kemetic Orthodoxy is religion of late modernity.
As a tiny, fledgling religion, Kemetic Orthodoxy seems likely to face many
of the difficulties encountered by other New Religious Movements with a mix of
liabilities and assets (Stark 1987). O n the one hand, Kemetic Orthodoxy relies
largely on volunteer labor, lacks significant membership by families, and does
not mobilize aggressively to find new recruits. O n the other hand, Kemetic
Orthodoxy benefits from a benign environment, internal networks, active
leadership, and developed rituals.
While this research brings to light a religion that has not been studied
before, our understanding of Kemetic Orthodoxy would be improved by further
research that incorporated more comparative analyses, longitudinal data,
multiple sources, and more attention to the organizational side of this religion
(Hadden and Bromley 1993:44-45).

REFERENCES

Adler, M. 1997. Drawing d m the moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-worshippers and other pagans in
America today. Revised and Expanded Edition. Arkana: Penguin Group.
Berger, H. 1999. A community of witches: Contemporary Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft in the United
States. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
Brown, K., M. McCarthy. 1991. Mama Lola: A Vodou priestess in Brooklyn. Berkeley: Univers~tyof
California Press.
Dawson, L. 2000. Researching relig~onin cyberspace: issues and strategies. In Keligiun on the
Internet: Research prospects and promises, edited by J.K. Hadden and D. E. Cowan, 25-54. Vol.
8 in Religion and the Social Order. New York: JAI.
- . 1998. Comprehending cults: The sociology of new religious movements. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Hadden, J. K. and D. G. Bromley. 1993. Exploring the significance of cults and sects in America:
Perspectives, issues and agendas. In The handbook on d t s and seas in America, edited by J. K.
Hadden and D. G. Bromley, 1-48. Vol. 3 (Part B) in Religion and the Social Order.
Greenwich: JAI.
Hamelink, C. 2003. The decent soclety and cyberspace. In Mediating Religion: Conversation in
Media, Religion and Culture, edited by J. Mitchell and S. Marriage, 241-256. New York: T & T
Clark.
Hornung, E. 1982. Conceptions of God in ancient Egypt: The one and h e many. (translated by John
Baines.) Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Kelly, A. A. 1992. An update on Neopagan Witchcraft in America. in Perspectives on the new age,
edited by J. R. Lewis and J. G. Melton, 136.151. Albany: State llniversity of New York Press.
Melton, J. G. 1996.Encycl0pd.u of American Religions. 5& ed. Detroit: Gale.
Neitz, M. J. 1994. Quasi-religion and cultural movements: Contemporary Witchcraft as a
churchless religion. In Between w e d and secular: Research and theory on quasi-religion, edited
by A. L. Greil and T.Robbins, 127-149.Vol. 4 in Religion a d the Social Order. Greenwich:
JAI.
O'Leary, S. D. 1996.Cyberspace as sacred space: Communicating religion on computer networks.
J o u d of the American Academy of Religion 64:781-808.
Schroeder, R., N. Heather, and R. M. Lee. 1998.The sacred and the virtual: religion in multi-user
virtual reality. J o u d of Computer-Mediated Communicadon 4(2).
[~line].http://www.ascu~~.org/jcmc/vol4/issue2/schrer.html[2003,
Jan 101
Siuda-Legan, T. 1994.The Netem of Kemet: An introduction. Chicago: Eschaton Productions, Inc.
Stark, R. 1987.How new religions succeed: A theoretical model. In The future of new religious
rnouements, edited by D. G. Bromley and P. H. Hammond, 11-29.Macon: Mercer University.
http://www.jstor.org

LINKED CITATIONS
- Page 1 of 1 -

You have printed the following article:

Kemetic Orthodoxy: Ancient Egyptian Religion on the Internet: A Research Note
Marilyn C. Krogh; Brooke Ashley Pillifant
Sociology of Religion, Vol. 65, No. 2. (Summer, 2004), pp. 167-175.
Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1069-4404%28200422%2965%3A2%3C167%3AKOAERO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T

This article references the following linked citations. If you are trying to access articles from an
off-campus location, you may be required to first logon via your library web site to access JSTOR. Please
visit your library's website or contact a librarian to learn about options for remote access to JSTOR.

References

Cyberspace as Sacred Space: Communicating Religion on Computer Networks

Stephen D. O'Leary
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 64, No. 4, Thematic Issue on "Religion and
American Popular Culture". (Winter, 1996), pp. 781-808.
Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7189%28199624%2964%3A4%3C781%3ACASSCR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1