what is paganism?

Question

and pls dont tell me just to go look it up, can you just give me a summery?

Answer 1

In today's context, it is an umbrella term covering modern polytheism which is based upon older polytheistic cultures of the Romans, Greeks, Celts, Egyptians, etc. Sometimes the term "neo-paganism" is used ("neo-" simply means new). Examples of widespread neo-pagan religions include Wicca, Neo-Wicca, Druidism, Hellenism, Asatru, and Celtic Reconstructionism, but there are many more. This is such a broad term covering so many different paths, space doesn't allow me to describe each religion that falls under the term neo-pagan.

Answer 2

Paganism

The term pagan comes from the Latin term paganus, which simply means "countryman." In its earliest usage, it was applied to those who continued to adhere to traditional Greek and Roman religions even after Christianity became dominant. Because Christianity first gained dominance in the cities rather than the rural areas, the traditional religious beliefs came to be identified with the less cosmopolitan citizens of the empire.

Today, a great many pagans identify themselves as pantheists. Like other pantheists, pagans too believe that divinity is manifested everywhere, yet they are distinctive in that they relate to whatever they conceive of as God primarily through nature. They celebrate solstices, equinoxes and other natural passages, and they typically have a strong environmental ethic and a deep love of the natural world.

Many pagans are straight pantheists, using polytheism as a metaphoric way of approaching the cosmic divinity they believe in. Some people feel the need for symbols and personages to mediate their relationship with nature and the cosmos, and most say that there is no harm in this, as long as the symbols help them to connect to reality and do not block or distort their view of the cosmos. Pantheists can, however, also relate directly to the universe and to nature, without the need for any intermediary symbols or deities.

However, many pagans are literal polytheists and believe in magic, reincarnation, and the irrational. Modern pantheists are not generally polytheistic and do not believe in magic or disembodied spirits of any sort. Most of them also do not believe in a personal afterlife, whether through reincarnation or transport to any kind of non-material "heaven."

Answer 3

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "a country dweller" or "civilian") is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of western spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. "Pagan" is the usual translation of the Islamic term mushrik, which refers to 'one who worships something other than Allah'. Ethnologists do not use the term for these beliefs, which are not necessarily compatible with each other: more useful categories are shamanism, polytheism or animism. Often, the term has pejorative connotations, comparable to heathen, infidel and kafir (كافر) in Islam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism
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Paganism, in the broadest sense includes all religions other than the true one revealed by God, and, in a narrower sense, all except Christianity, Judaism, and Mohammedanism. The term is also used as the equivalent of Polytheism.

It is derived from the Latin pagus, whence pagani (i. e. those who live in the country), a name given to the country folk who remained heathen after the cities had become Christian. Various forms of Paganism are described in special articles (e.g. Brahminism, Buddhism, Mithraism); the present article deals only with certain aspects of Paganism in general which will be helpful in studying its details and in judging its value.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11388a.htm

Answer 4

In the context in which most people here use the word:

It is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of western spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions.

It is an attempt by modern people to reconnect with nature, pre-Christian religions, or other nature-based spiritual paths. This definition may include reconstructive or semi-reconstructive as Ásatrú and other groups, as well as New Age and non-reconstructive groups such as Neo-Druidism and Wicca.

Blessings and Light!

~RW

Answer 5

Generally, Paganism in an umbrella term for any religion outside of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It can refer to anything from modern Hinduism to the ancient religions of Greece and Rome, and anything more ancient than that. Today, there are many religions that deem themselves to be Pagan--notably, Wicca, Asatru, and Egyptology--that are actually considered "neo-Pagan."

Answer 6

Seeking wisdom is always a plus.

Peace and Love

Answer 7

a country dweller

Answer 8

wikipedia.org