What is Modern Paganism?
Have you ever asked someone about their spirituality or religion and had them answer “I’m a Pagan.” Most people are baffled by that reply. So, what is Paganism? In both past and present times the definitions offered up for this word can be quite contradictory.
The actual word “pagan” is Middle English and comes from the Late Latin paganus meaning country-dweller or civilian. However, when you start to look up meanings in modern dictionaries, you will find that the frequent usage of that term is to denote persons of no religious belief, or those who are purely concerned with frivolous and hedonistic pursuits.
From dictionary.com
1. One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion.
2. One who has no religion.
3. A non-Christian.
4. A hedonist.
5. A Neo-Pagan.
From miriam-webster.com
1. heathen; especially : a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome)
2. one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods : an irreligious or hedonistic person.
Modern Pagans are a much more diverse and highly spiritual group than these historical definitions would lead us to believe. The last thirty years have seen tremendous amounts of growth in this realm of spirituality. Stemming in part from the different human potential movements of the late 1960s, many ideas Eastern beliefs and nature-based principles are flourishing in contemporary culture.
From paganpride.org
A pagan or Neo-Pagan is someone who self-identifies as a Pagan, and whose spiritual or religious practice or belief fits into one or more of the following categories:
1. Honoring, revering, or worshipping a Deity or Deities found in pre-Christian, classical, aboriginal, or tribal mythology; and/or
2. Practicing religion or spirituality based upon shamanism, shamanic, or magickal practices; and/or
3. Creating new religion based on past Pagan religions and/or futuristic views of society, community, and/or ecology; and/or
4. Focusing religious or spiritual attention primarily on the Divine Feminine.
This modern definition is much broader than most dictionaries would have you believe and encompasses multiple faiths. In hosting this site, I would like to help those with such beliefs better educate themselves and others about the rich and varied belief systems that can be included under the vast umbrella of paganism.
Books You Might Enjoy:
Marcus Bottomley - Nine Proven Magical Rites
Alvin Boyd Kuhn - A Modern Revival Of Ancient Wisdom
Anonymous - The Urantia Papers
Anonymous - Pagan Stones And Gems
