When Adler asked one gay male pagan what the pagan community offered members of the LGBT community, he replied, "A place to belong. [176], The earliest academic studies of contemporary paganism were published in the late 1970s and 1980s by scholars like Margot Adler, Marcello Truzzi and Tanya Luhrmann, although it would not be until the 1990s that the actual multidisciplinary academic field of pagan studies properly developed, pioneered by academics such as Graham Harvey and Chas S. Clifton. Unitarian Universalists look for spiritual inspiration in a wide variety of religious beliefs. 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. [15] The various pagan religions have been academically classified as new religious movements,[16] with the anthropologist Kathryn Rountree describing paganism as a whole as a "new religious phenomenon". The figures for England and Wales showed 80,153 describing themselves as pagan (or some subgroup thereof.) In the United States, the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) was established in 1912,[119] the Reformed Druids of North America (RDNA) in 1963, and r nDraocht Fin (ADF) in 1983 by Isaac Bonewits. One of the most notable of these is Dianic Wicca. 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. [69] As noted above, pagans with naturalistic worldviews may not believe in or work with deities at all. Rowman Altamira. 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". [68], It is its inclusion of female deity which distinguishes pagan religions from their Abrahamic counterparts. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features of pagan theology. "[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". [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. "[155][156], Transgender existence and acceptability is especially controversial in many neopagan sects. 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. Many of them have not been Christianized until the 18th century. [91], The Romantic movement of the 18th century led to the re-discovery of Old Gaelic and Old Norse literature and poetry. [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". Neo-Druidry dates to the earliest forms of modern paganism: the Ancient Order of Druids founded in 1781 had many aspects of freemasonry, and has practiced rituals at Stonehenge since 1905. [60] The English academic Graham Harvey noted that pagans "rarely indulge in theology". Criticisms of specific neopagan groups range from criticisms of their belief in gender essentialism[181] to criticisms of their belief in Nationalism[182] to criticisms of the worldly focuses of pagan organizations.[165]. Europe Leaves Christianity for 'Paganism' LONDON and DUBLIN - Martyr's Free Church in Edinburgh is part of the rich history of Christianity in Scotland. This is due to Dianic belief in gender essentialism; according to founder Zsuzsanna Budapest, "you have to have sometimes [sic] in your life a womb, and ovaries and [menstruate] and not die". Many pagans hold that different lands and/or cultures have their own natural religion, with many legitimate interpretations of divinity, and therefore reject religious exclusivism. [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. [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. Professor Hutton argues that the Druid and Wiccan practices of today are valid forms of pagan religion even though they are based on self-conscious revivals (in the 18th and 20th century. From the high Medieval period (950-1350) her story takes the reader through to the renaissance and the reformation, the great witch hunts (1480-1650), the age of reason and science to the principle romantic revival movements of the 19th century; the Druidic revival at Primrose Hill in London in 1792, the romantic notions of Edward Carpenter . [48] Similarly, while examining neo-shamanism among the Sami people of Northern Scandinavia, Siv Ellen Kraft highlights that despite the religion being reconstructionist in intent, it is highly eclectic in the manner in which it has adopted elements from shamanic traditions in other parts of the world. According to this view, human society was formerly a matriarchy, with communities being egalitarian, pacifistic, and focused on the worship of the Mother goddess,[117] which was subsequently overthrown by violent and warlike patriarchal hordes - usually Indo-European pastoralists who worshipped male sky-gods,[117] and continued to rule through the form of Abrahamic religions, specifically Christianity in the West. In Wicca, male and female deities are typically balanced out in a form of duotheism. Published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1902, the Native American activist and writer outlined her rejection of Christianity (referred to as "the new superstition") in favor of a harmony with nature embodied by the Great Spirit. Interest in the Norse myths revived, as elsewhere, in the late 19th . Greece is no exception. [148] She went on to remark that she had encountered pagans in jobs that ranged from "fireman to PhD chemist" but that the one thing that she thought made them into an "elite" was as avid readers, something that she found to be very common within the pagan community despite the fact that avid readers constituted less than 20% of the general population of the United States at the time. Originally used by Roman Christians to describe polytheists, it grew in Medieval Europe to describe anyone other than a Christian or indeed the "right sort" of Christian including Jews and Muslims, despite their monotheism. [65] Many pagans believe adoption of a polytheistic world-view would be beneficial for western society replacing the dominant monotheism they see as innately repressive. . Pagan comes from the Latin word "paganus," meaning villager or civilian and they have a polytheistic approach to life. [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. Today, we'll discuss a fascinating phenomenon that stretches back thousands of years, What if the Catholic World. This movement of God also crossed the ocean . Respondents were able to write in an affiliation not covered by the checklist of common religions, and a total of 42,262 people from England, Scotland and Wales declared themselves to be pagans by this method. [82] Common pagan festivals include those marking the summer solstice and winter solstice as well as the start of spring and the harvest. The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies paganism as an affiliation under which several sub-classifications may optionally be specified. [23] This approach has been received critically by many specialists in religious studies. [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. The 2001 UK Census figures did not allow an accurate breakdown of traditions within the pagan heading, as a campaign by the Pagan Federation before the census encouraged Wiccans, Heathens, Druids and others all to use the same write-in term 'pagan' in order to maximise the numbers reported. The word " Asatru " combines the words "Asa," which refers to Norse gods, and "tru," meaning "faith.". Heathenry is a term used to describe the religious practices of two main groups of people, one historical and one modern. [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. [95], In the 1920s Margaret Murray theorized that a secret pagan religion had survived the witchcraft persecutions enacted by the ecclesiastical and secular courts. For other uses, see, Naturalism, ecocentrism, and secular paths, "The very persons who would most writhe and wail at their surroundings if transported back into early Greece, would, I think, be the neo-pagans and Hellas worshipers of today." The Greco-Roman traditions were a thing for the literati, and even then the understanding of it was devoid of a clear historiography and influenced by Christian values. 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. Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse, and do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or . Inside Iceland's pagan revival. Places of natural beauty are therefore treated as sacred and ideal for ritual, like the nemetons of the ancient Celts.[76]. [86] English esotericist Gerald Gardner was at the forefront of the burgeoning Wiccan movement. As this secret wisdom can almost always be traced to recent sources, tellers of these stories have often later admitted they made them up. The primary forms of Paganism in Europe were Hellenistic religions, including the Roman Imperial cult, mystery religions, local ethnic religions, especially among Anglo-Saxons and the Germanic tribes, Gnosticism and Neo-Platonism. It is, in fact, unique among Pagan paths. 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." [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. The first comprehensive study of its kind, this fully illustrated book establishes Paganism as a persistent force in European history with a profound influence on modern thinking. [55] Strmiska stresses that modern paganism is a "new", "modern" religious movement, even if some of its content derives from ancient sources. 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. [82], Paganism's public rituals are generally calendrical,[70] although the pre-Christian festivals that pagans use as a basis varied across Europe. These currents coincided with Romanticist interest in folklore and occultism, the widespread emergence of pagan themes in popular literature, and the rise of nationalism. [37] Some such groups feel a particular affinity for the pre-Christian belief systems of a particular region with which they have no ethnic link because they see themselves as reincarnations of people from that society. The animistic aspects of pagan theology assert that all things have a soul - not just humans or organic life - so this bond is held with mountains and rivers as well as trees and wild animals. The decentralised nature of paganism and sheer number of solitary practitioners further complicates matters. 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. Before the 20th century, Christian institutions regularly used paganism as a term for everything outside of Christianity, Judaism andfrom the 18th centuryIslam. [154] Margot Adler noted groups whose practices focused on male homosexuality, such as Eddie Buczynski's Minoan Brotherhood, a Wiccan sect that combines the iconography from ancient Minoan religion with a Wiccan theology and an emphasis on men who love men, and the eclectic pagan group known as the Radical Faeries. Europe is extremely rich in festivals and holidays, be them Christian, pagan or non-religious. [], In 2006, there were at least 6804 (0.164%) pagans among New Zealand's population of approximately 4 million. A total of 22,497 people stated Other Religion in the 2006 census; and a rough estimate is that there were 2,0003,000 practicing pagans in Ireland in 2009. What Paganism Is. As a result, fairly detailed breakdowns of pagan respondents are available. 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