Paganism???

cotwold

Hi.

I study classical studies in school and have done for 5 years so i know a fair bit about ancient greek and roman pagans.
Now recently in school a guy was talking about becoming pagan. At first i thought he was messing but then i saw stuff about it online, but i still dont know much about the faith.

Could something outline the founding beliefs?
Are you mono or poly theistic? If so what is/are your god/s
Why isnt paganism covered on the religious curriculum?

Suaimhneach

There is a very helpful thread at the top of the forum about paganism. I recommened you read some of the posts and links in there.

Paganism as a term is very broad, so a lot of people will have different opinions and views.

I'd say its not taught because its not recognised. The closest the educational system would have might be Buddism and that'd only be recognised as a far away thing monks do, as opposed to a realistic life choice. A lot of people would fear paganism as a term as well. From lack of understanding... but yeah, there is a lot of reasons why it wouldnt be taught in schools.

larryone

Paganism is a very broad term that is used to describe not just one belief system, but many different belief systems that are kindof categorised using one term. There are a few stickied threads on this board that go into things in more depth. Druidism, wicca, and asatru are all Pagan belief systems, and are pretty major ones. There are loads more out there, each with their own various ways of relating to God(s)/Godess(es) Why it isnt covered in the religious curriculum? no idea.

There's also a wealth of information on en.wikipedia.org and other places.

joseph dawton

Wikipedia is excellent a good starting point for info.

When we talk about paganism, in a modern context it is really neo-paganism. There is no continuous link between the two as it is something that was suppressed for hundreds of years and has been revived from the 18th century onwards (but mostly since the 20thC). Of course there are a few 'traditional' witches/pagans but 99% of pagans were not born into paganism. The few 'trad' pagans tend to keep their own beliefs/practices secret within their own families and hence are effectively useless as a source of ancient/original paganism.

http://www.electricpublications.com

Talliesin

I quite like Isaac Bonewits attempt at definitions.

“Paleopaganism” or “Paleo-Paganism” is a general term for the original polytheistic, nature-centered faiths of tribal Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Australia, when they were (or in some rare cases, still are) practiced as intact belief systems. Of the so-called “Great Religions of the World,” Hinduism (prior to the influx of Islam into India), Taoism and Shinto, for example, fall under this category, though many members of these faiths might be reluctant to use the term. Some Paleopagan belief systems may be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. There are billions of Paleopagans living and worshiping their deities today.

“Mesopaganism” or “Meso-Paganism” is a general term for a variety of movements both organized and nonorganized, started as attempts to recreate, revive or continue what their founders thought were the best aspects of the Paleopagan ways of their ancestors (or predecessors), but which were heavily influenced (accidentally, deliberately and/or involuntarily) by concepts and practices from the monotheistic, dualistic, or nontheistic worldviews of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or early Buddhism. Examples of Mesopagan belief systems would include Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, Spiritualism, etc., as well as those forms of Druidism influenced by those movements, the many Afro-Diasporatic faiths (such as Voudoun, Santeria, Candomble, etc.), Sikhism, several sects of Hinduism that have been influenced by Islam and Christianity, Mahayana Buddhism, Aleister Crowley’s religion/philosophy of Thelema, Odinism (most Norse Paganism), most “Family Traditions” of Witchcraft (those that aren’t completely fake), and most orthodox (aka “British Traditionalist”) denominations of Wicca.

Also included as Mesopagans would be the so-called “Christo-Pagans,” those who call themselves “monotheist Pagans,” and perhaps those Satanists who worship the Egyptian deity Set, if there really are any. The Satanists who insist that they don’t worship anything other than themselves but who like to use the name Satan because it’s “scary,” are simply Christian heretics, along with the Secular Humanists and other Western atheists, because the God and Devil they don’t believe in are the ones defined by Christian doctrine. Some Mesopagan belief systems may be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. There are at least a billion Mesopagans living and worshiping their deities today.

“Neopaganism” or “Neo-Paganism” is a general term for a variety of movements both organized and (usually) nonorganized, started since 1960 c.e. or so (though they had literary roots going back to the mid-1800’s), as attempts to recreate, revive or continue what their founders thought were the best aspects of the Paleopagan ways of their ancestors (or predecessors), blended with modern humanistic, pluralist and inclusionary ideals, while consciously striving to eliminate as much as possible of the traditional Western monotheism, dualism, and puritanism. The core Neopagan beliefs include a multiplicity of deities of all genders, a perception of those deities as both immanent and transcendent, a commitment to environmental awareness, and a willingness to perform magical as well as spiritual rituals to help both ourselves and others. Examples of Neopaganism would include the Church of All Worlds, most heterodox Wiccan traditions, Druidism as practiced by Ár nDraíocht Féin and the Henge of Keltria, some Norse Paganism, and some modern forms of Buddhism whose members refer to themselves as “Buddheo-Pagans.” Neopagan belief systems are not racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. There are hundreds of thousands of Neopagans living and worshiping their deities today. As “Neo-Paganism,” this term was popularized in the 1960’s and 1970’s by Oberon Zell, a founder of the Church of All Worlds.

The term “Neopaganism” has nothing to do with the Catholic Church’s recent use of “neo-paganism” to refer to Hitler’s Germanic Mesopaganism, which incorporated nineteen centuries of Christian anti-semitism and dualism. Hitler, after all, considered himself a good Christian and was perceived as such by many, if not most, German Christians at the time. The Catholic Church is simply trying to distract attention away from its responsibility for creating the Western cultural environment that dehumanized Jews, and from its pathetic record in opposing the Holocaust while it was going on (not to mention the value to the Church in trashing competing new religions by associating us with the Nazis).

These three prefixed terms do not delineate clear-cut categories. Historically, there is often a period, whether of decades or centuries, when Paleopaganism is blending into Mesopaganism, or Mesopaganism into Neopaganism. Furthermore, the founders and members of Mesopagan and Neopagan groups frequently prefer to believe (or at least declare) that they are genuinely Paleopagan in beliefs and practices. This “myth of continuity” is in keeping with the habits of most creators and members of new religions throughout human existence, and should not be taken too seriously.

cotwold wrote:

I study classical studies in school and have done for 5 years so i know a fair bit about ancient greek and roman pagans.

Those beliefs are Paleopagan beliefs generally referred to as "Classical Paganism", for the same reason classical studies are so called.

There are some Hellenic reconstructionists who are working exclusively with the same deities as the Hellenic Greeks, though not having an unbroken line from them, though AFAIK their numbers are pretty small even within the Pagan community.

As well as this the Stregheria's mythology is based on Roman Classical figures, but adapted from there (see Charles Leland's Aradia and Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition though bear in mind that Leland's scholarship comes in for plenty of criticism today) and many other witches will work with Classical deities.

Apart from that the Celtic and Germanic mythologies and traditions would feature more heavily in Paganism in these parts than the Classical mythology you've studied.

cotwold

Thanks a million for all the info an links, having read it i think i understand Paganism better than my friend now. Oh well...