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. [52], Some pagans distinguish their beliefs and practices as a form of religious naturalism or naturalist philosophy,[53] including those who identify as humanistic or atheopagans. The Pew Research Center(PRC) has as one of its core areas of interest, "Religion and Public Life." It provides extensive reportage on this decline in Christian identity. [6] The academic field of pagan studies began to coalesce in the 1990s, emerging from disparate scholarship in the preceding two decades. Oh, and there's nothing Pagan in "Harry Potter." The only religion even implied in any of the HP books is Christianity. Historians now reject Murray's theory, as she based it partially upon the similarities of the accounts given by those accused of witchcraft; such similarity is now thought to actually derive from there having been a standard set of questions laid out in the witch-hunting manuals used by interrogators. I simply accepted, reaffirmed, and extended a very old experience. The word is commonly understood to mean "sir belief.". 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 Paganism represents a wide variety of traditions that emphasize reverence for nature and a revival of ancient polytheistic and animistic religious practices. 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." One of the most notable of these is Dianic Wicca. Author Richard Rudgley discusses similar themes in his book The Return of Odin: The Modern Renaissance of Pagan Imagination, where he looks at this notion of a pagan revival primarily through the workings of Carl Jung's idea of an "Odinic archetype." In essence, the holdovers from ancient evolutionary ideas deep within the human mind (or . [68], It is its inclusion of female deity which distinguishes pagan religions from their Abrahamic counterparts. [82], Paganism's public rituals are generally calendrical,[70] although the pre-Christian festivals that pagans use as a basis varied across Europe. European nationalism (including the British Order of Druids), but most contemporary Pagan groups trace their immediate. [] From 2008 onward, conferences have been held bringing together scholars specialising in the study of paganism in Central and Eastern Europe. The original Heathens were the pre-Christian North European peoples who . [22] Other terms some pagans favor include "traditional religion", "indigenous religion", "nativist religion", and "reconstructionism". Germanische Glaubens . And a way to connect with all kinds of peoplegay, bi, straight, celibate, transgenderin a way that is hard to do in the greater society. Many of them have not been Christianized until the 18th century. [46], On the reconstructionist side can be placed those movements which often favour the designation "Native Faith", including Romuva, Heathenry, and Hellenism. Europe is extremely rich in festivals and holidays, be them Christian, pagan or non-religious. [64] Others adopt the belief that the deities have both a psychological and external existence. This belief and the way it is expressed is often denounced as transphobia and trans-exclusionary radical feminism. Cities such as New Orleans, Edinburgh, and Drogheda, Ireland, have commercialized their pagan festivals, but there are still places where one can find ancient celebrations held outside of modernity; where traditions have remained locally-kept secrets passed down for generations. 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'". 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 . 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. [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. As neopaganism is not a unified religion, it means that the criticisms of certain groups often do not apply to other groups. Although they share similarities, contemporary pagan movements are diverse, and do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. ", "Minoan Brotherhood | Transcendence Directory | Western Esotericism Community", "Why won't pagans accept trans women? [63] Pagans feel that this understanding of the gods reflected the dynamics of life on Earth, allowing for the expression of humour. [82] Common pagan festivals include those marking the summer solstice and winter solstice as well as the start of spring and the harvest. We all need to heed these prophetic and timely warningsand avoid being drawn into this pagan revival! Pay Less. [136] Up to 0.4% of respondents answered "pagan" or "Wiccan" when polled. European nationalism (including the British Order of Druids), but most . [77], Such views have also led many pagans to revere the planet Earth as Mother Earth, who is often referred to as Gaia after the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth. [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). National holidays are often accompanied by fireworks, and sometimes processions and official ceremonies. [15] On the eclectic side has been placed Wicca, Thelema, Adonism, Druidry, the Goddess Movement, Discordianism and the Radical Faeries. George Watson MacGregor Reid founded the Druid Order in its current form in 1909. Thus, with only a few possible exceptions, today's Pagans cannot claim to be continuing religious traditions handed down in an unbroken line from ancient times to the present. It's pretty clear from the context that this is the sense in which the pope is using it. [55] Contemporary paganism as practiced in the United States in the 1990s has been described as "a synthesis of historical inspiration and present-day creativity". [173] They also express disapproval of Christianity's continued missionary efforts around the globe at the expense of indigenous and other polytheistic faiths. [82], The belief in magical rituals and spells is held by a "significant number" of contemporary pagans. [28] Several pagan studies scholars, such as Ronald Hutton and Sabina Magliocco, have emphasized the use of the upper-case "Paganism" to distinguish the modern movement from the lower-case "paganism", a term commonly used for pre-Christian belief systems. [27] Some pagan practitioners also prefer "neopaganism", believing that the prefix conveys the reformed nature of the religion, such as its rejection of practices such as animal sacrifice. [95], In the 1920s Margaret Murray theorized that a secret pagan religion had survived the witchcraft persecutions enacted by the ecclesiastical and secular courts. [120], Some Unitarian Universalists are eclectic pagans. As a result, fairly detailed breakdowns of pagan respondents are available. [167] Further, the New Age movement shows little interest in magic and witchcraft, which are conversely core interests of pagan religions such as Wicca. [152][153], In response, groups and sects inclusive of or specific to LGBT people have developed. [123] Nevertheless, there is a slow growing body of data on the subject. This estimate accounted for multiple membership overlaps as well as the number of adherents represented by each attendee of a pagan gathering. [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. Modern forms of paganism are rooted in the 19th century C.E. [60][61] This includes animism, nature religion, Druidism, pantheism, and Wicca/Witchcraft. OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE View All [47], Strmiska nevertheless notes that this reconstructionist-eclectic division is "neither as absolute nor as straightforward as it might appear". [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". 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 . 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. This alarming tendency is already widespread in Europe, where a majority of young adults have no faith, as a recent report showed. Regarding to European paganism, In Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives Michael F. Strmiska writes that "in pagan magazines, websites, and Internet discussion venues, Christianity is frequently denounced as an antinatural, antifemale, sexually and culturally repressive, guilt-ridden, and authoritarian religion that has fostered intolerance, hypocrisy, and persecution throughout the world. Also accepted by many is the related definition purportedly provided by the ceremonial magician Dion Fortune: "magic is the art and science of changing consciousness according to the Will". [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. Conflict naturally arises, however, as some neopagan belief systems and sect ideologies stem from fundamental beliefs in the male-female gender binary, heterosexual pairing, resulting heterosexual reproduction, and/or gender essentialism. Most people who have explored the medieval architecture of Western Europe have heard a tour guide explain that a particular carving or decorative feature is a pagan image obtruding itself subversively in a Christian sacred space. First, it can refer to a belief that everything in the universe is imbued with a life force or spiritual energy. William Wordsworth, "The World Is Too Much with Us", lines 9-14, One of the origins of modern pagan movements lies in the romanticist and national liberation movements that developed in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. One reason was increased contacts with areas outside of Europe, which happened through trade, Christian mission and colonization. [99], The 1980s and 1990s also saw an increasing interest in serious academic research and reconstructionist pagan traditions. In the early medieval ages, these religions were influential, and, in some cases, they were even the official . At one end is reconstructionism, which seeks to revive historical pagan religions; examples are Heathenry (Germanic), Rodnovery (Slavic), and Hellenism (Greek). [40][41], Although they acknowledged that it was "a highly simplified model", Aitamurto and Simpson wrote that there was "some truth" to the claim that leftist-oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in North America and the British Isles while rightist-oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe. [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. Faith, ethics and loyalty . 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. [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. 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". 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". Pagan religions commonly exhibit a metaphysical concept of an underlying order that pervades the universe, such as the concept of harmonia embraced by Hellenists and that of Wyrd found in Heathenry. Community. [167], Many pagans have sought to distance themselves from the New Age movement, even using "New Age" as an insult within their community, while conversely many involved in the New Age have expressed criticism of paganism for emphasizing the material world over the spiritual. Neo-Druidry is the second-largest pagan path after Wicca,[citation needed] and shows similar heterogeneity. [178] In 2004, the first peer-reviewed, academic journal devoted to pagan studies began publication. [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. [19] To avoid causing offense, many scholars in the English-speaking world have begun using the prefixes "modern" or "contemporary" rather than "neo". Various forms of Wicca have since evolved or been adapted from Gardner's British Traditional Wicca or Gardnerian Wicca, such as Alexandrian Wicca. Studies in Contemporary European Paganism (2012) 2012 Adam Anczyk. 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]. [30], The term "neo-pagan" was coined in the 19th century in reference to Renaissance and Romanticist Hellenophile classical revivalism. 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When Adler asked one gay male pagan what the pagan community offered members of the LGBT community, he replied, "A place to belong. [67] This pluralistic perspective has helped the varied factions of modern paganism exist in relative harmony. The Witchcraze was a Neo-Pagan movement in 19th century Europe that attempted to rehabilitate healers and midwives. 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. In the first case, there is a deeply felt need to connect with the past as a source of spiritual strength and wisdom; in the second case, there is the idealistic hope that a spirituality of nature can be gleaned from ancient sources and shared with all humanity. Places of natural beauty are therefore treated as sacred and ideal for ritual, like the nemetons of the ancient Celts.[76]. 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