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<blockquote data-quote="Dire Bare" data-source="post: 9165653" data-attributes="member: 18182">&quot;We&quot; . . . do, &quot;we&quot; as in English-speaking westerners, yes. Do Shinto practitioners in Japan use the term &quot;priest&quot;? When westerners use it, does your average Shinto practitioner get upset or irritated? Do Muslim leaders use the term &quot;cleric&quot;? Do they get irritated when &quot;we&quot; do? I honestly don't know the answers to those questions, but your examples are far from simplistic as you would propose.Aaaanndddd . . . those are western terms used by westerners. &quot;Shaman&quot; is not a western term, it is an indigenous Siberian term. Kindof a big difference. Westerner's appropriation of the term happened in the 1600s, centuries ago, and certainly has become widely used in fantasy, literature, and mystical circles in Western culture. Are those indigenous Siberians still a distinct cultural group? Are they upset how the term &quot;shaman&quot; has been appropriated? Again, don't know. But I do know that many diverse religious practitioners who are labeled by outsiders as &quot;shamans&quot; don't appreciate the term. Our use of the word goes back centuries, but it is still a problematic word. I'm happy to remove it from my gaming, and I'm happy for publishers who make that decision.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dire Bare, post: 9165653, member: 18182"] "We" . . . do, "we" as in English-speaking westerners, yes. Do Shinto practitioners in Japan use the term "priest"? When westerners use it, does your average Shinto practitioner get upset or irritated? Do Muslim leaders use the term "cleric"? Do they get irritated when "we" do? I honestly don't know the answers to those questions, but your examples are far from simplistic as you would propose. Aaaanndddd . . . those are western terms used by westerners. "Shaman" is not a western term, it is an indigenous Siberian term. Kindof a big difference. Westerner's appropriation of the term happened in the 1600s, centuries ago, and certainly has become widely used in fantasy, literature, and mystical circles in Western culture. Are those indigenous Siberians still a distinct cultural group? Are they upset how the term "shaman" has been appropriated? Again, don't know. But I do know that many diverse religious practitioners who are labeled by outsiders as "shamans" don't appreciate the term. Our use of the word goes back centuries, but it is still a problematic word. I'm happy to remove it from my gaming, and I'm happy for publishers who make that decision. [/QUOTE]

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