| What is Paganism? "Pagan" comes from the Latin pagani, meaning "village" and "country dweller," first employed by the ancient Romans to describe the Gauls and other northern "barbarians." Later, the term was used as an epithet for those who had not yet been converted to Christianity because as country 'hicks,' the pagani had not been exposed to the more cosmopolitan (and converted) cities. Likewise, the term "heathen" means "one who lives upon the heaths." Thus, the Pagan spirit lies in the countryside, in Nature. Contemporary Paganism, or NeoPaganism, reveres the earth as sacred, and its practitioners ever seek to reaffirm their spiritual selves with the cycles of the seasons, the tides, the turning of the moon. Some Pagans express this by being active in environmental politics, others may simply teach their children how to recycle. Paganism respects men and women as equals, and acknowledges the sacredness of all consensual sexuality without resorting to sexism. There is no sacrosanct book providing all the answers to life in Paganism: Pagans revel in the questions, and seek personal answers more through poetry than theology. In Paganism lies the essence of the oldest spirituality on the face (and in the body) of the earth: it is the foundation of the human soul and psyche, and so it adapts ancient myth and folklore for modern spiritual needs. Paganism is a religion of personal responsibility. Because there is no set of commandments in Paganism, it is understood that how we govern our lives is up to us, and it is equally up to us to atone for personal transgressions. As a result, many Pagans try to retain a sesne of personal honor, a habit which has become sadly archaic in modern society. It schould be remembered that Paganism never really died out. Even during the height of medieval Christendom, substantial regions of northern Europe remained heathen. Animist and shamanic tribal religions still dominate the central African and northern Asian landscape, with significant pockets of such belief remaining in Australia, South America, and southeast Asia. In 1969, the United States legally recognized the Church of All Worlds, one of many Pagan religious associations. In 1972, Iceland recognized Nordic Paganism (called Asatru). Other countries haved done the same. Paganism is returning. But isn't a Pagan someone who doesn't believe in God? Pagans do believe in a God... several, in fact. Many Pagans believe in a complementary Goddess and God, whose union provides the spark of creation. Others are pantheistic, seeing the Universe itself as divine. Still others are polytheists, revering the multiplicity of life and divinity in a complex web of individual relationships. Most are animist, believing that all living things (including the earth Herself) possess individual consciousness, and virtually all believe that divinity is equally immanent and transcendent (within and without). Is this a joke? While Pagans believe that humor is sacred too, no, this is not a joke. Is this Satanic? No. Contrary to the claims of some ill-informed Christian fundamentalists, Pagans do not even acknowledge the existence of a Devil, much less worship one. Satanism, real or imagined, is anathema to the entire Pagan worldview. Is this New Age? Not exactly. While Paganism has influenced much of the New Age phenomenon (evidenced in spiritual environmentalism, Goddess reverence, and ecclectic Wicca), so has Zen Buddhism, mystic Christianity, pseudo-shmanism, motivational marketing, and a host of trendy fashions. A 1990 national survey of readers of Green Egg (one of the most widely circulated Pagan journals) revealed that only 5% of its Pagan readership also identified themselves with the New Age. Simply put, Paganism is a religion, and the New Age is not. Is this a cult? No. While a "cult" is properly defined as any formal religious veneration (such as the Catholic cult of saints), the term has developed many unsavory characteristics in the public mind that clearly disclude Paganism from it. "Cults," in this context, most often involve aggressive recruiting, inflexible dogma, censorship of opinion, sexual manipulation or surrender of will and individuality. Not only are these not characteristics of Pagan groups, but it can be argued that the Pagan renaissance is in direct response to such behavior! What about Wicca? Wicca, or Wichcraft, is one denomination of Paganism (much the same way Pretestantism is a denomination of Christianity). Much of the American contemporary Pagan renaissance emerged through Wicca, so there can be considerable influence. Other NeoPagan subgroups include Druidry, Asatru (Germanic Paganism), Romuva (Slavic Paganism), some ceremondial magic societies, and to an extent, the Afro-Caribbean syncretic practices of Santeria. Do Pagans proselytize? Pagans tend to consider individual spirituality to be a very personal affair, and thus are frequently offended at the concept of recruiting for a religion. No, Pagans typically do not proselytize. As a result, people interested in Paganismfrequently must ask questions on their own, and hope they meet a Pagan who happens to enjoy a good conversation. How many Pagans are there? Estimates vary. Gauging by circulation figures for the major Pagan periodicals and books, as well as attendance at regional gatherins and mailing lists, estimates fluctuate between 80,000 to 200,000 in the United States and Canada alone. This means that Pagans outnumber Quakers, Unitarians, and Buddhists in North America. Because Paganism is not an organized religion, it is very difficult to determine exactly how many ther are (and because Pagans often prefer quality of associates rather than the quantity of them, most don't really care.) However, a Pagan census effort is currently being coordinated by the EarthSpirit Community, a Boston-based Pagan service organization, with a professor of sociology at West Chester State University. |
| What is Paganism? |
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