Paganism is a term generally used to refer to religious positions other than traditional ones.
The concept of paganism varies among religions. For Christianity, Judaism and Islam, paganism consists of any religious practice or attitude that differs from your own.
The term paganism is also used to designate any polytheistic religion (more than one god) or even the absence of religion.
The word comes from Latin pagan which means “country dweller”, considering that the rural peoples of Antiquity had polytheistic cultures, worshiping gods related to nature. In the Middle Ages, with the advance of the Christianization process, the Catholic Church started to classify as pagans all those who resisted conversion and remained with their beliefs.
This appropriation of the term by religions (which causes uncertainty in relation to their meaning) makes anthropology use clearer classifications, defining religions pagans like:
- Shamanism: religions that involve altered states of consciousness in order to access the spiritual world and obtain divination or healing.
- Polytheism: religions that adopt more than one deity. In polytheism, each entity worshiped has specific characteristics and influences an aspect of life.
- Pantheism: Unlike polytheism, pantheistic beliefs hold that there is no distinction between God and nature. In pantheism, God is composed of everything that exists in the universe, and does not have anthropomorphic characteristics.
- Animism: generally refers to indigenous religions in which objects, places and animals are believed to have a spiritual essence and therefore are seen as living entities.
Examples of Pagan Religions and Gods
The classic examples of pagan religions are embedded in Greco-Roman and Egyptian mythologies.
Greco-Roman paganism
The predominant religion in Ancient Greece was polytheistic, with the majority of the population recognizing the existence of several gods, among which the 12 gods of Olympus stand out.
From the 4th and 3rd centuries before Christ, the Greek pagan culture started to be transmitted to the Roman people, who adopted entities corresponding to the Greeks:
| Greek god | roman god | Feature/Function |
|---|---|---|
| Zeus | Jupiter | God of heaven and thunder. King of all the gods of Olympus |
| Ivy | Juno | Goddess of marriage, family and birth |
| Poseidon | Neptune | god of the seas |
| Ares | Mars | God of War |
| Athena | Minerva | Wisdom goddess |
| Demeter | Ceres | Goddess of Agriculture, Grain and Harvest |
| Apollo | Phoebus | god of sun and light |
| aphrodite | Venus | Goddess of love, beauty and pleasure |
| Artemis | Diana | goddess of hunting and animals |
| Hermes | Mercury | god of commerce and merchants |
| Dionysus | Spleen | God of wine, fertility and theater |
| hephaestus | Vulcan | God of artisans, blacksmiths and sculptors |
Egyptian Paganism
In Ancient Egypt, religion worshiped entities often portrayed with human and animal characteristics. All Egyptian gods represented natural, social or even abstract concepts. Altogether, the existence of more than 1500 gods is recorded, among which are:
| God | Feature/Function |
|---|---|
| amon | King of the gods and goddesses of Egypt |
| Mut | Mother goddess, wife of Amon |
| osiris | God of life |
| seth | God of chaos and darkness |
| Isis | Goddess of fertility and resurrection |
| Horus | God of light |
| Anubis | god of the dead |
| Frog | sun god |
| Tho | God of knowledge and wisdom |
| Hathor | goddess of motherhood |
| sekhmet | goddess of war and healing |
| Maat | goddess of truth |
neopaganism
Also called modern paganism or contemporary paganism, neopaganism refers to several new religious movements based on ancient pagan beliefs.
While some neopagan movements differ from their older models, many seek to revive elements of belief as faithfully as possible.
Specialists study neopagan movements by placing them on a scale in which one point is eclecticism (religious belief that allows for acceptance and conciliation of different ideas) and the other is reconstructionism (desire to reestablish, in the modern world, religions old).
Some examples of neo-pagan religions are: Wicca, neo-Druidism, Hellenism and Germanic neo-paganism.
Wicca
Wicca is the largest neo-pagan religion in the world and originated in England in the mid-20th century.
Also known as “witchcraft”, Wicca does not have a fixed belief system and has different strands around the world. In general, religion worships two gods: the Triple Goddess, who represents the sacred feminine, and the Horned God, based on various ancient entities such as Dionysius, satyrs, etc.
Neo-Druidism
Neo-Druidism, or just Druidism, is the second largest pagan religion in the world. Druids aim to promote harmony and respect among all beings, revering nature and the environment.
Neo-Druidism is an example of reconstructionism, as it seeks to rescue the pre-Christian beliefs, values and rituals of the Celtic peoples.
Hellenism
Hellenism, also called Dodecateism or Hellenic Neopaganism, is a form of reconstructionism that aims to revive ancient Greek customs, beliefs and values.
The movement emerged during the 1990s and, in 2017, it became a recognized religion in Greece.
Germanic Neopaganism
Also called heatherism, it is a form of reconstructionism that aims to rescue the religion practiced by the Germanic peoples until the beginning of the Middle Ages.
Germanic neopaganism does not have a unified theological system, but it is generally polytheistic and adopts an animistic view of the cosmos.
pagan symbols
There are countless pagan symbols inserted in the different religions that exist throughout history and around the world. Among the most popular are:
Pentagram: perhaps the most famous pagan symbol. Each point of the star represents an element: earth, water, air and fire while the fifth point represents the spirit.
triune: represents three phases of the moon: crescent, full and waning. In some religions, it is the symbol of the Triple Goddess, signifying the three stages of a woman's life: maiden, mother and crone.
Triscle: of Celtic origin, represents movement of life and the universe. It also refers to the triple aspect of Celtic cosmology: underworld, middle world, and upper world.
Ankh: also called Cross Ansata or Egyptian Cross, it means the key that separates life from death, that is, it is the key that links the material and spiritual worlds. Its meaning is also associated with eternal life (immortality), fertility and reincarnation.
Mjlonir: mjölnir is the hammer of Thor, god of thunder in Norse mythology. The symbol represents strength and protection from chaos and was used in ancient Scandinavian cultures in all kinds of rituals.
triquetra: represents the connection between mind, soul and body. In Celtic culture, it represented the three kingdoms: earth, sky and sea.
See too:
- Mythology
- Greek mythology
- Norse mythology
- Religion
- Catholic church
- religious diversity