[15] On the eclectic side has been placed Wicca, Thelema, Adonism, Druidry, the Goddess Movement, Discordianism and the Radical Faeries. [174], Some Christian authors have published books criticizing modern paganism, [35] while other Christian critics have equated paganism with Satanism, which is often portrayed as such in mainstream entertainment industry. One is eclecticism or syncretism, in which elements of historical ethnic religions such as the ancient Norse religion are combined with modern movements such as Wicca, Theosophy or other New Age philosophies. [14] But there has been much "cross-fertilization" between these different faiths: many groups have influenced, and been influenced by, other pagan religions, making clear-cut distinctions among them more difficult for scholars to make. Inside Iceland's pagan revival. In 1964 Ross Nichols established the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. [82], Paganism's public rituals are generally calendrical,[70] although the pre-Christian festivals that pagans use as a basis varied across Europe. The Moravian revival in 1727 had a deep impact on John Wesley, who led the 18th-century revival in the Church of England that gave birth to Methodism. Pagan comes from the Latin word "paganus," meaning villager or civilian and they have a polytheistic approach to life. Organised by the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Lancaster, North-West England, it was entitled "Nature Religion Today: Western Paganism, Shamanism and Esotericism in the 1990s", and led to the publication of an academic anthology, entitled Nature Religion Today: Paganism in the Modern World. [140] Respondents were given the option to select one or more religious affiliations. [63], One view in the pagan community is that these polytheistic deities are not viewed as literal entities, but as Jungian archetypes or other psychological constructs that exist in the human psyche. I'd rather beA Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;Or hear old Triton blow his wreathd horn. [5] Modern pagan movements can be placed on a spectrum. Mari anthropologist Nikandr Popov points out that pagan prayer meetings were permitted by decree during the Second World War - with collections being made for the front - and . [60][61] She further recounted her mother's abandonment of Sioux religion and the unsuccessful attempts of a "native preacher" to get her to attend the village church. [129] Neopagan movements are also present to a lesser degree elsewhere; in Dagestan 2% of the population identified with folk religious movements, while data on neopagans is unavailable for Chechnya and Ingushetia.[126]. Many such pagans aim for an explicitly ecocentric practice, which may overlap with scientific pantheism. Studies in Contemporary European Paganism (2012) 2012 Adam Anczyk. Why is Paganism and other Occult beliefs booming in Europe, America and beyond? [49] On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Most are non-practicing. [10] A second, less common definition found within pagan studiespromoted by the religious studies scholars Michael F. Strmiska and Graham Harveycharacterises modern paganism as a single religion, of which groups like Wicca, Druidry, and Heathenry are denominations. Oh, and there's nothing Pagan in "Harry Potter." The only religion even implied in any of the HP books is Christianity. Here is an article about the pagan revival: Unlike in western Europe, paganism among the Mari constitutes an unbroken tradition rather than a New Age construction. The Goddess movement draws some of its inspiration from the work of archaeologists such as Marija Gimbutas,[113][114][115][116] whose interpretation of artifacts excavated from "Old Europe" points to societies of Neolithic Europe that were matristic or goddess-centered worshipping a female deity of three primary aspects,[117] which has inspired some neopagan worshippers of the Triple Goddess. Within the pagan movement, there can be found many deities, both male and female, who have various associations and embody forces of nature, aspects of culture, and facets of human psychology. Heathens believe in multiple polytheistic deities adopted from historical Germanic mythologies. [69] As noted above, pagans with naturalistic worldviews may not believe in or work with deities at all. "[72], Another pivotal belief in the contemporary pagan movement is that of animism. sir describes a particular category or subset of deities in Norse mythology. The fracturing of Christians in western Europe into different groups led to conflicts, sometimes called the "wars of religion," that lasted for centuries in Europe. Hanegraaff suggested that whereas various forms of contemporary paganism were not part of the New Age movement particularly those who pre-dated the movement other pagan religions and practices could be identified as New Age. [152][153], In response, groups and sects inclusive of or specific to LGBT people have developed. [161], Since the 1960s and 1970s, contemporary paganism, or neo-paganism, and the then emergent counterculture, New Age, and hippie movements experienced a degree of cross-pollination. ", Religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska[43], Another division within modern paganism rests on differing attitudes to the source material surrounding pre-Christian belief systems. Their religious rituals are characterized by harmonious devotion to . What Paganism Is. "[165] [31] Pagan as a self-designation appeared in 1964 and 1965, in the publications of the Witchcraft Research Association; at that time, the term was in use by Wiccans in the United States and the United Kingdom, but unconnected to the broader, counterculture pagan movement. A sociological survey conducted in 2004 found that about 15 percent of the population of Mari El consider themselves adherents of the Mari native religion. Other forms loosely based on Gardner's teachings are Faery Wicca, Kemetic Wicca, Judeo-paganism or jewitchery, and Dianic Wicca or feminist Wicca, which emphasizes the divine feminine, often creating women-only or lesbian-only groups. [122], Establishing precise figures on paganism is difficult. The word is commonly understood to mean "sir belief.". Numerous pagan groups primarily Wiccan and Druidic exist in Ireland though none is officially recognised by the Government. [86] English esotericist Gerald Gardner was at the forefront of the burgeoning Wiccan movement. Capitalizing the word, they argue, makes "Paganism" appear as the name of a cohesive religion rather than a generic religious category, and comes off as naive, dishonest or as an unwelcome attempt to disrupt the spontaneity and vernacular quality of the movement. The Mari people are an indigenous group, recognized as the last surviving Pagans of Europe. [65] Arts+Culture Feature. [102], Beit Asherah (the house of the Goddess Asherah) was one of the first neopagan synagogues, founded in the early 1990s by Stephanie Fox, Steven Posch, and Magenta Griffiths (Lady Magenta). At the other end are eclectic movements, which blend elements of historical paganism with other religions and philosophies; examples are Wicca, neo-Druidry, and the Goddess movement. Pay Less. I am somewhat under the impression that paganism, as practiced in Europe, tends to often have a more ethnocentric bend to it because in Europe various pagan sects could be seen as "indigenous" religions. European nationalism (including the British Order of Druids), but most . Goddess Spirituality revolves around the sacredness of the female form, and of aspects of women's lives that adherents say have been traditionally neglected in Western society, such as menstruation, sexuality, and maternity.[112]. [86], A smaller number is suggested by the results of the 2001 Census, in which a question about religious affiliation was asked for the first time. When she eventually came across the Wiccan religion many years later, she then found that it confirmed her earlier childhood experiences, and that "I never converted in the accepted sense. Go home": A Revival of Neo-Paganism between the Baltic Sea and Transcaucasia, "How Do Pagans Feel About Homosexuality? [97] The 1979 publication of Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon and Starhawk's The Spiral Dance opened a new chapter in public awareness of paganism. Born in 1866 as the eldest son of a leading family of bankers, he purportedly turned his birthright over to his younger brother Max in favor of committing some of the family's . It actually dates back much longer than that: it has roots in Hinduism and old Persian beliefs, but it moved to Northern Europe and mingled with indigenous beliefs . T hey don't look very Christianthose strange faces made of leaves, and those women displaying cartoonishly enlarged genitals on the walls of medieval churches. [][][], Heathenism, also known as Germanic neopaganism, refers to a series of contemporary pagan traditions based on the historical religions, culture and literature of Germanic-speaking Europe. [136] Up to 0.4% of respondents answered "pagan" or "Wiccan" when polled. Heathenry is a term used to describe the religious practices of two main groups of people, one historical and one modern. Neopaganist beliefs and practices are extremely diverse, some tending towards syncretic melding of once-diverse practices and beliefs, others bordering on the historical reenactment of meticulously . Some modern pagan literature prominently features comparative religion involving European and Indian traditions. The last pagan revival was under the Western Emperor Eugenius, who was a puppet of the Pagan magister millitum Arbogast. As a result, pagans believe the essence of their spirituality is both ancient and timeless, regardless of the age of specific religious movements. [169], In India, a prominent figure who made similar efforts was the Hindu revivalist Ram Swarup, who pointed out parallels between Hinduism and European and Arabic paganism. She went on to put forward the idea that this typically confirmed "some original, private experience, so that the most common experience of those who have named themselves pagan is something like 'I finally found a group that has the same religious perceptions I always had'". [89] Another reason for change was the circulation of ancient writings such as those attributed to Hermes Trismegistus; this made paganism an intellectual position some Europeans began to self-identify with, starting at the latest in the 15th century with people like Gemistus Pletho, who wanted to establish a new form of Greco-Roman polytheism. [42], "We might say that Reconstructionist Pagans romanticize the past, while eclectic pagans idealize the future. [85], Among those who practice magic are Wiccans, those who identify as neopagan witches, and practitioners of some forms of revivalist neo-Druidism, the rituals of which are at least partially based upon those of ceremonial magic and freemasonry. "[142], Folklorist Sabina Magliocco supported this idea, noting that a great many of those Californian pagans whom she interviewed claimed that they had been greatly interested in mythology and folklore as children, imagining a world of "enchanted nature and magical transformations, filled with lords and ladies, witches and wizards, and humble but often wise peasants". [7] Even within the academic field of pagan studies, there is no consensus about how contemporary paganism can best be defined. Pagan; Paganism: . [18], Some practitioners eschew the term pagan altogether, preferring more specific names for their religion, such as "Heathen" or "Wiccan". Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse, and do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. [174] For instance, Strmiska highlighted instances in both the US and UK in which school teachers were fired when their employers discovered that they were pagan. Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism) describes a heterogeneous group of new religious movements which attempt to revive ancient, mainly pre-Christian and often pre-Judaic Indo-European religions. [178] In 2004, the first peer-reviewed, academic journal devoted to pagan studies began publication. Religious studies scholar Sarah Pike asserted that in the United States, there was a "significant overlap" between modern paganism and New Age,[163] while Aidan A. Kelly stated that paganism "parallels the New Age movement in some ways, differs sharply from it in others, and overlaps it in some minor ways". The 2011 census however made it possible to describe oneself as pagan-Wiccan, pagan-Druid and so on. Originally written by Wiccan High Priestess Doreen Valiente in the mid-1950s, the poem allows Wiccans to gain wisdom and experience deity in "the ordinary things in life". He then discusses the future prospects of Paganism, examining various social and cultural factors that work in its favour and others that work against it. The establishment and growth of the Internet in the 1990s brought rapid growth to these, and other pagan movements. Some academics who study the phenomenon treat it as a movement that is divided into different religions while others characterize it as a single religion of which different pagan faiths are denominations. Writing in the 1430s, Matteo Palmieri of Florence celebrated "this new age, so full of hope and promise" with a greater collection of "nobly-gifted souls" than the world had seen in a thousand years.Like others of his day, Palmieri believed he was living in a special time, a period of tremendous intellectual and artistic creativity inspired by the . Reviewing Grard's book Parcours paen in 2001, the historian of religion Jean-Franois Mayer described Grard's activities as part of the development of a "Western-Hindu 'pagan axis'".[171]. In the 1970s, Wicca was notably influenced by feminism, leading to the creation of an eclectic, Goddess-worshipping movement known as Dianic Wicca. Some pagans have reported experiencing communication with spirits dwelling in rocks, plants, trees and animals, as well as power animals or animal spirits who can act as spiritual helpers or guides. Europe is in the midst of a pagan revival. Unitarian Universalists look for spiritual inspiration in a wide variety of religious beliefs. [130] The percentage of pagans among the Mari of Bashkortostan and the eastern part of Tatarstan is even higher (up to 69% among women). [lower-Greek 3] Based on the most recent survey by the Pew Forum on religion, there are over one million pagans in the United States. [170] The modern pagan writer Christopher Grard has drawn much inspiration from Hinduism and visited Swarup in India. Is a Pagan revival possible in Europe? Increasing academic interest in paganism has been attributed to the new religious movement's increasing public visibility, as it began interacting with the interfaith movement and holding large public celebrations at sites like Stonehenge. In places like the UK pagans like Druid and Wiccan's doubled in size from 2001 and 2011 and definitely still growing. [150], The sociologist Regina Oboler examined the role of gender in the US pagan community, arguing that although the movement had been constant in its support for the equality of men and women ever since its foundation, there was still an essentialist view of gender engrained within it, with female deities being accorded traditional western feminine traits and male deities being similarly accorded what western society saw as masculine traits. [4] Among the critics of the upper-case P are York and Andras Corban-Arthen, president of the ECER. Magenta Griffiths is High Priestess of the Beit Asherah coven, and a former board member of the Covenant of the Goddess. [59], Religious studies scholar Graham Harvey noted that the poem "Charge of the Goddess" remains central to the liturgy of most Wiccan groups. Conversation With A European Pagan: Resurgence of European Paganism 32,796 views Premiered Jan 26, 2019 2.2K Dislike Share Save The Sham Sharma Show 741K subscribers Survive the Jive is a channel. [79] American folklorist Sabina Magliocco came to the conclusion, based upon her ethnographic fieldwork in California that certain pagan beliefs "arise from what they experience during religious ecstasy". Having suffered years of oppression through Soviet secularism and facing an ongoing threat from the current government, the Mari people are unique and strong. [172] Some pagans have claimed that Christian authorities have never apologized for the religious displacement of Europe's pre-Christian belief systems, particularly following the Roman Catholic Church's apology for past anti-semitism in its A Reflection on the Shoah. [6] The academic field of pagan studies began to coalesce in the 1990s, emerging from disparate scholarship in the preceding two decades. As neopaganism is not a unified religion, it means that the criticisms of certain groups often do not apply to other groups. of human rights inhibited the faithful from living in accordance with their beliefs and indeed would lead to a neo-pagan revival. Greece is no exception. [47], Strmiska nevertheless notes that this reconstructionist-eclectic division is "neither as absolute nor as straightforward as it might appear". [144] They have also been supported by Pagan studies scholar Graham Harvey. [137], According to Helen A. Berger's 1995 survey "The Pagan Census", most American pagans are middle-class, educated, and live in urban/suburban areas on the East and West coasts. [165] Since Mari make up just 45 percent of the republic's population of 700,000, this figure means that probably more than a third claim to follow the old religion. [80], Sociologist Margot Adler highlighted how several pagan groups, like the Reformed Druids of North America and the Erisian movement incorporate a great deal of play in their rituals rather than having them be completely serious and somber. [104] While potentially considered a peculiar form of Tengrism, a related revivalist movement of Central Asian traditional religion, Vattisen Yaly (Chuvash: , Tradition of the Old) differs significantly: the Chuvash being a heavily Fennicised and Slavified ethnicity and having had exchanges also with other Indo-European ethnicities,[105] their religion shows many similarities with Finnic and Slavic paganisms; moreover, the revival of Vattisen Yaly in recent decades has occurred following neopagan patterns. Description. [124] In the US, there are estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 million practitioners.[125]. This female-only, radical feminist variant of Wicca allows cisgender lesbians but not transgender women. "[1] Thus it has been said that although it is "a highly diverse phenomenon", "an identifiable common element" nevertheless runs through the pagan movement. [63] Pagans feel that this understanding of the gods reflected the dynamics of life on Earth, allowing for the expression of humour. She furthermore argues that some of those dissatisfied pagans lashed out against academics as a result, particularly on the Internet. Since traditional religion is declining I don't see it not spreading. Today it's "Frankenstein," a bar that describes itself as a family-friendly venue but also a place for stag parties, bar top dancers and monsters. [179], The relationship between pagan studies scholars and some practising pagans has at times been strained. [16] They noted that in these latter regions, pagan groups placed an emphasis on "the centrality of the nation, the ethnic group, or the tribe". As a result, fairly detailed breakdowns of pagan respondents are available. Expect More. Germanische Glaubens . [121], In 1925, the Czech esotericist Franz Sttler founded the pagan religion Adonism, devoted to the ancient Greek god Adonis, whom Sttler equated with the Christian Satan, and which purported that the end of the world would come in 2000. Paganism has grown in popularity greatly. [173] They also express disapproval of Christianity's continued missionary efforts around the globe at the expense of indigenous and other polytheistic faiths. This ancient religious outlook remains active throughout much of the world today, both in complex civilisations such as Japan and India, and in less complex tribal societies world-wide. At one end is reconstructionism, which seeks to revive historical pagan religions; examples are Heathenry (Germanic), Rodnovery (Slavic), and Hellenism (Greek). Her own name, she notes, is derived from Thor's stone - "there are many, many names in Iceland linked with Thor". Reconstructing the Pagan Mind in Seventeenth-Century Europe (I.3) - The Kingdom of Darkness I.3 - Reconstructing the Pagan Mind in Seventeenth-Century Europe A Historico-Philosophical Critique of Pure Reason from Part I - Giving Up Philosophy Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2022 Dmitri Levitin Chapter Get access Share Cite [168], Because of their common links to the Proto-Indo-European culture, many adherents of modern paganism have come to regard Hinduism as a spiritual relative. [101], Many Heathen groups adopt variants of Norse mythology as a basis for their beliefs, conceiving of the Earth as on the great world tree Yggdrasil. George Watson MacGregor Reid founded the Druid Order in its current form in 1909. [75], All pagan movements place great emphasis on the divinity of nature as a primary source of divine will, and on humanity's membership of the natural world, bound in kinship to all life and the Earth itself. The word 'pagan' (small 'p') is often used pejoratively to mean simply 'uncivilised', or even 'un-Christian' (the two generally being assumed to be identical), in the same way that 'heathen' is used. Modern Paganism, also known as Contemporary Paganism and Neopaganism, is a collective term for new religious movements influenced by or derived from the various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe, North Africa and the Near East. [70] The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies was edited by Clifton, while the academic publishers AltaMira Press began release of the Pagan Studies Series. [100], In contrast to the eclectic traditions, Polytheistic Reconstructionists practice culturally specific ethnic traditions based on folklore, songs and prayers, as well as reconstructions from the historical record. Further, some convents only accepted women of the nobility or those who . [131] A similar number was claimed by Victor Schnirelmann, for whom between a quarter and a half of the Mari either worship the pagan gods or are adherents of neopagan groups. A neopagans movement drawing from various syncretic practices that had survived among the Christianised Mari people was initiated in 1990,[133] and was estimated in 2004 to have won the adherence of 2% of the Mordvin people. . Modern forms of paganism are rooted in the 19th century C.E. [70], A key part of most pagan worldviews is the holistic concept of a universe that is interconnected. Paperback. [57], Dennis D. Carpenter noted that the belief in a pantheistic or panentheistic deity has led to the idea of interconnectedness playing a key part in pagans' worldviews. Adherents of the Goddess Spirituality movement typically envision a history of the world that is different from traditional narratives about the past, emphasising the role of women rather than that of men. The population of Europe was growing, but in the 12th century the nun's orders on the whole were not opening new convents. Today, the Western nations, once considered "Christian," appear to be in the midst of a "pagan revival," as noted in a December 2018 New York Times article titled "The Return of Paganism." [15] Smi people - an Uralic group native to northern Scandinavia and neighboring parts of Finland and Russia. Due to the secrecy and fear of persecution still prevalent among pagans, limited numbers are willing to openly be counted. We all need to heed these prophetic and timely warningsand avoid being drawn into this pagan revival! Neo-druidism. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features of pagan theology. Although the movement is small, there is a religious movement attempting to revive the worship of the ancient Greek gods . [66] In fact, many American neopagans first came to their adopted faiths because it allowed a greater freedom, diversity, and tolerance of worship among the community. In fact, while the Nazis initially tried to coopt Christianity, their goal was to. Ancient Order of Druids (1781) The Druid Order (1909) Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888) Crowleyan Thelema (1904) Germanic neopaganism/Armanism. There is "considerable disagreement as to the precise definition and proper usage" of the term modern paganism. [55] Strmiska stresses that modern paganism is a "new", "modern" religious movement, even if some of its content derives from ancient sources. Among the young, the situation is worse. Instead, she argued that "in most cases", converts first become interested in the movement through "word of mouth, a discussion between friends, a lecture, a book, an article or a Web site". [36] Other pagan groups allow people of any ethnicity, on the view that the gods and goddesses of a particular region can call anyone to their form of worship. Swarup reached out to modern pagans in the West and also had an influence on Western converts to Hinduism or pro-Hindu activists, notably David Frawley and Koenraad Elst, who both have described Hinduism as a form of paganism. [106] Today the followers of the Chuvash Traditional Religion are called "the true Chuvash". [82] It typically involves offerings including bread, cake, flowers, fruit, milk, beer, or wine being given to images of deities, often accompanied with prayers and songs and the lighting of candles and incense. In the Islamic World, pagans are not considered people of the book, so they do not have the same status as Abrahamic religions in Islamic religious law for example, Muslim men cannot marry pagan women while they are allowed to marry among people of the book; and Muslims can eat meat of halal animals that are slaughtered by people of the book, but not that slaughtered by methods of other religions. Golden Dawn ended up winning 18 seats, making it the third-largest party in parliament. While the pagan community has tremendous variety in political views spanning the whole of the political spectrum, environmentalism is often a common feature. [32], According to Strmiska, the reappropriation of the term "pagan" by modern pagans served as "a deliberate act of defiance" against "traditional, Christian-dominated society", allowing them to use it as a source of "pride and power". [175], In areas such as the US Bible Belt, where conservative Christian dominance is strong, pagans have faced continued religious persecution. [71] The prominent Reclaiming priestess Starhawk related that a core part of goddess-centred pagan witchcraft was "the understanding that all being is interrelated, that we are all linked with the cosmos as parts of one living organism. Mari people - Another Uralic group. "Neopagan" redirects here. Second, there is a civic religion that like the civic paganism of old makes religious and political duties identical, and treats the city of man as the city of God (or the gods), the place where we. . With the growth and spread of large, pagan gatherings and festivals in the 1980s, public varieties of Wicca continued to further diversify into additional, eclectic sub-denominations, often heavily influenced by the New Age and counter-culture movements. 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Are rooted in the 1990s brought rapid growth to these, and other movements! 49 ] on this Wikipedia the language links are at the top the... People have developed a pagan revival academics as a result, particularly on Internet! Called `` the true Chuvash '' pagan writer Christopher Grard has drawn much from. The word is commonly understood to mean & quot ; romanticize the past, while the Nazis tried. Another pivotal belief in the midst of a universe that is interconnected 178 ] in 2004, relationship. Magenta Griffiths is High Priestess of the page across from the article title forefront of nobility!