Paganism
"Here there are no sacred books
to kill or die for-
no dogmas to defend or dispute:
only nature herself
in all her grandeur and simplicity,
to guide and inspire us."
~Philip Carr-Gomm
The meaning and purpose of words grow and change over time. They can take on completely new meanings or shift and grow to become more. Sometimes with more scientific knowledge and understanding can it expand and usually with societal shifts and changing times and culture.
The word pagan has done just that. Its meaning has grown and shifted over time as culture and different religions grew.
The origins of the word Pagan come from the Latin word "paganus", meaning country dweller. This referred to those people who lived more out in the countryside and still followed older traditions and practices that had fallen more out of favor within society. Some of it was religious in nature but much of it was more secular (definition: denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.).
These were family traditions passed down. Practices engrained in their culture. A good example of this to me is modern-day Christmas. An outside person would simply go, "Yes Christmas is a Christian religious holiday.", but many many people celebrate Christmas as a purely secular family/cultural tradition as well.
After this point is when Christianity began to take root in society and the term pagan changed to refer not just to those "country dwellers" practicing older traditions but now to anyone who wasn't practicing Christianity, Islam or Judaism. They would lump all other religions and faiths together and even agnostics and atheists and refer to everyone as a pagan who was "without THEIR God".
Still TODAY the definition of pagan in a dictionary will say: "a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions."
Back then, and sadly even still today, this was used to separate people. Even from the beginning when pagan was just referring to those outsiders, not with the norm of society, those holding on to old ways. It was used as a way to say us vs them. They are not with us, so they must be against us.
Today the term pagan has grown and we have embraced the term ourselves.
Pagan is a MASSIVE umbrella term for MANY different religions, faiths, beliefs, and practices. Umbrella as in it covers a whole range of some similar and some massively different paths!
You can compare this to the term "dessert". A dessert is usually a sweet treat served after a meal.
But the term sweet can differ from one to the next, what's sweet to me may not be sweet to you. Other people may forgo sweet altogether and instead prefer something salty or crunchy or even sour or something you may not think of as sweet really. Something like chips or popcorn for example. And it isn't always served after a meal.
On top of that, the amount of different desserts is mind-blowing, more than I could ever list. A cake vs a cookie vs icecream vs candy vs jello etc.... each of those is quite different from one another and each of those has a whole other list of types under them, like cookies- chocolate chip, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc... and each of those even has unique recipes and differences!
That is the same with paganism! So yes it can be a tad confusing to define something so vast.
So here is my definition:
Paganism is an umbrella term referring to:
1. Usually the religion views deity as: polytheistic (many gods), apparent or soft polytheistic (all gods are one/the same God, pantheist (god is/is in the earth/everything,, the universe is a manifestation of God) panentheism (God is part of the universe but also more than, the universe is not their whole being), duotheistic (two Gods usually opposites like a God & a Goddess, sometimes soft polytheistic as well, such as in Wicca), but sometimes montheistic (one god) or even other theistic views as well.
2. Generally Earth centered spirituality. A focus on nature, nature worship, elements, changing seasons, animals, etc... but not always.
3. A modern revival or religion inspired/influenced by older pagan religions, cultural practices, traditions and mythology.
4. Here is where it gets debatable....
A religion that is not Christianity, Judaism, or Muslim.
But surely there are many religions beyond those three that don't in anyway consider themselves pagan. Many view the inclusion of ALL religions beyond those three to be an offensive leftover attitude to separate the "correct right religions and their God" vs the "wrong religions and their false gods."
Would you consider Hinduism, for example, pagan? Most would say no. Though there are some that will say yes, even some Hindus.
Instead the most common definition these days is that it is restricted to the religions, traditions, and beliefs within the European-Mediterranean area. This would include the more common Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, etc...
I would say that definitely the majority of those who consider themselves pagan fall within this category.
Paganism can vary widely from tradition and path, as in my example above with the desserts. Many (but not all) are Earth-centered spirituality, rooted and inspired by old religious practices and the traditions and mythology that surround them.
Paganism is a very broad term covering many different religions, traditions, and spiritual paths. There is not one set of basic Gods, Dogma, beliefs, rituals, etc... for all of paganism. Some religions within paganism can be very similar and some can vary widely.
Some, but not all, different Pagan religions are:
Wicca
Goddess Worship
Eclectic Paganism
Kemeticism
Druidry
Heathenry
Hellenic