what is a pagan?

Answer 1

Definition: Refers to any of the pre-Christian, (usually) polytheistic religions, or those who practice them. Wicca is one Pagan religion, as is Asatru, Santeria, Voodoo, or Shamanism. Pagan religions are often referred to as "nature-oriented" but that is a misconception. It is difficult to define Pagan religions because they are very diverse.

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

People have already given you the dictionary style answers, which are totally accurate. My own twist on it is that most Witches will call themselves Pagan :)

Answer 4

The definition of a pagan according to the Bible says that one that doesn't believe in Jesus or any of the Judaistic Scriptures meaning the Old Testament from the Bible or any of the other Scriptures in Judaism.