2006-09-04 15:13:00 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Answer is, this is a pointless distinction. Protestants make their own definitions. In this case, the Protestant definition of "pagan" carefully excludes Protestants!
Pointless distinctions intrigue me. Lots of Protestants are atheist, lots are pagan by any definition (except their own), while some are murderers and worse, just as in society in general. But let us be insightful, which is a Good Thing.
A pagan in its root origin meant anyone who is a countryman, peasant, or villager. So, all lower level Protestants were (back then) definitely pagans and proud of it!
However, by semi-modern times (the 1913 Webster Dictionary), the definition of pagan had changed to mean
"One who worships false gods;
an idolater;
a heathen;
one who is neither a Christian, a Mohammedan, nor a Jew."
So, in this archetypal English dictionary, all 'other' religions have just been defined as - pagan. Implied is, "if it ain't based on Abraham, it's PAGAN!" Also implied is, "we get to say what 'false god' means."
You cannot win an argument with a religious person. The deck is stacked and the answer always comes ahead of the question. Otherwise the question is - drum roll please - ignored.
Note that even if a Protestant were pagan by the first part of this more modern definition, that doesn't matter. The remainder of the definition is the Protestant's escape clause. Protestants are Christian, and so can't be Pagan. It says so in the dictionary, end of argument - and end of clear thinking.
Though not limiting themselves, Protestants have "fixed" the dictionary so they can't be accused of being pagan, and also so they can accuse most of the rest of civilization of being pagan! Are you surprised?
The reason that a religious believer finds being called a "pagan" so offensive is the same reason that a religious person rejects that religion is not spirituality.
A spiritual person can be nonjudgmental and can reject the judgments of others (including a prejudgment by God, or even the existence of God - as defined by others, or outright denial). A religious person cannot do any of these things. They are stuck - especially the "non-pagan" religious!
2006-09-04 16:07:24 · answer #1 · answered by widowmate 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. Protestants are Christians, pagans are, well, pagans. Now if you define "protestant" as a religious group that breaks off from a previous group, then there are some pagan groups that could be considered protestant in that sense. Some pagan groups have broken off from previous pagan groups. There's also a group called the Reformed Druids of North America, although I don't think they're particularly Calvinist :-)
2006-09-04 17:33:07 · answer #2 · answered by Sass B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, not unless a specific individual Pagan also considers themselves a Protestant. Pagan is a very open term that in the past meant people who worshiped multiple gods, and now it is more associated with religions like Wicca (though they are different). Protestants believe in the Christian god, they just follow a different path than Catholics. They are in no way connected with Pagans generally.
2006-09-04 15:24:05 · answer #3 · answered by shadow_boy42 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. Protestants broke from the Catholic church. Paganism did not. Pagans were here long before Christianity was a twinkle in Jesus's eye.
2006-09-05 02:49:14 · answer #4 · answered by kaplah 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Using the generally accepted definitions of Pagan and Protestant, no. Protestants are a branch of the Judeo-Christian belief system. Paganism does not subscribe to that belief system.
2006-09-04 15:19:01 · answer #5 · answered by DALOmom 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
no
Protestants were protesting against the organized church of Catholicism... They were being kept down by the church and were not promoting the true ways of Christ.
They still believe that Christ is the way to the Lord...Pagans Believe in a multi-theistic system of many gods.
2006-09-04 15:18:02 · answer #6 · answered by Skipper1974 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. You know its kind of funny, I don't know who is more offended here, the pagans or the protestants?
2006-09-04 15:27:37 · answer #7 · answered by Not perfect, just forgiven 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Define pagan and define protestant. If you are referring to what is currently considered the pagan religion and you are referring to religions that broke away from the catholic religion, I see no correlation. Unless the young generation has redefined things and rewritten history, that is.
2006-09-04 15:16:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
If you look up the root of the word pagan, it means country-dweller, or rural district.
Christian missionaries usually came to towns or populated areas to set up shop. Naturally the first people who they converted were the city folk. Naturally when the newly converted city folk looked for people to convert themselves, they looked to the county side or rural area. Naturally the rural folk told the city folk to kiss their @ss and thus the word pagan became synonymous with non-Christan.
Cheers!
2006-09-04 15:25:53 · answer #9 · answered by rkalch 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, pagans are not Christian. Therefore they are not part of anything that defines the Christian religious beliefs. They are not protestants, satanists, or devil worshipers.
2006-09-04 15:22:35 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋