What is Neo-paganism?

Question

Are there sub types & what are they?
Are there churches/temples?
Where/how do you find one?
Thank you!

Answer 1

try wikipedia. sure they were wrong about sinbad, but i think they should be ok with this question.

try this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_paganism

Answer 2

Neo-paganism, as the name suggests, is the new, modern version of paganism. Although most of the old ways are lost or not practical in the modern age, there's an acknowledge of the usefulness and validity of a reverence for nature and celebration of the cycles of life, nature, and harmony.

There are many subtypes because it's a very personal kind of spirituality. You have Wicca, which is the most structured; you have general nature worship, or nature celebration; you have people who believe in deities (which may be Celtic, Druidic or Nordic) and people who don't.

The link below gives histories and explanations of the pagan holidays. You can see some of the various in the stories.

I'm sure there are places of worship but I'm solitary practitioner so I don't know of any. If you know a pagan, perhaps they can advise you or invite you.

Answer 3

Most folks have covered the basics. As for groups, the pagans who aren't solitary usually tend towards smaller groups such as covens, though larger organizations with various branches, such as the Covenant of the Goddess, do exist. There are sort-of pagan churches; check your local Unitarian Universalist (not just Unitarian) church to see if they have a branch of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans. There are also a few independent pagan churches that have gained nonprofit status, but these are few and far between and generally don't have independently-owned church buildings with a few exceptions.

I would also check out http://www.witchvox.com and scroll down the main page to the bottom where there's a link for different pagan Traditions; this should give you an idea of what's out there. I have other links collected at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/links.html and if you're interested in books at all you can read some reviews I've done at http://lupabitch.wordpress.com

Answer 4

Neo-paganism is a broad term used to describe modern recreations of ancient Earth-based religions, such as druidism and what has been called Wicca. Seasonal cycles and fertility are a prominent feature in these religions. Because they are so old, little unbiased literature about them exists, so the recreations are likely not perfect but more a combination of speculation from basic premises, guesswork and adaptation to modern sensibilities. And because these are recreations, there are different "schools" of orthodoxy who sometimes disagree, but in general they try to coexist, considering their minority among the world's faiths. The general motivation is to get away from the heaven & hell salvation-based, patristic religions that predominate Western culture.

Practice and organization varies widely, but practitioners take their faith seriously, especially since many other religions take a dim view of their existence. Here are just a random two of the many link pages describing neo-pagan groups and resources.

Answer 5

There are a couple ways to define it. It is actually a reclamation of the ancient pagan religions of Europe that were squashed by the Holy Roman Empire (which was neither holy, nor Roman). There are hundreds of religions under this heading and many of these have fused with the remnants of those original religions from which they were born making way too many to list or even count. Some have a building devoted to worship but most worship together in someone's house or outdoors in sacred groves etc. Witchvox is a good place to hook up with some, if you are looking for a specific following, you have to search for them. Pagans typically don't proselytize so they won't come looking for you. You can email me for more info.

Answer 6

Neo Paganism is a broad term for a collection of religions that tend to be based around pre-Christian traditions and religions. As a general rule they tend to be nature based and poly or pan-theistic.

They do not tend to have churches but some are beginning the associate with the Unitarian Universalist churches.

Answer 7

Like paganism or the term pagan, Neo-paganism is a term applied to a variety of different beliefs, practices etc. A pagan is essentially some one who worships a different god(s) than you do, in western society pagan is thus applied to non-Christians.

You will not (probably) find a "Neo-pagan" church, however you might find a druid group or some other sort.

Answer 8

New religions based on religions much older than Christianity like Druidism, the ancient Egyptian religion, and Asatru (Norse religion) but with new twists.

Neo-Paganism is a blanket term for the revival of all the old religions. There's no way to give you the exact number and meaning with subtypes. There's too many.

There are no churches. Church is something Christian, while these religions are anything BUT one of the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Jewish, Muslim).

They're learned to keep their mouths shut about their religion due to persecution by Christianity and Islam so you won't find them unless you look on the internet and happen to come across the followers.

Answer 9

Neopaganism or Neo-Paganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by ancient and pre-Abrahamic Pagan religions.[1]

These movements are extremely diverse. The beliefs of adherents of Neopaganism range widely from duotheism to polytheism, and even monotheistic and other paradigms. See List of Pagan Traditions.

Many Neopagans practice a spirituality that is entirely modern in origin, while others attempt to reconstruct or revive culturally historic Pagan and indigenous belief systems.

Answer 10

Paganism is a faith that focuses on nature. nature being the basis of the religion. Wicca is really the example of paganism and there are sub types to that, such as Alexandrian Wicca, and Gardenia (Sp?) Wicca. Paganism really is a path that applies to ones religion, like you can be a Christian pagan because you praise God's creation of nature in nature. Neo-paganism is type of this, its more witch and new age centered. Neo-pagans try to break the red tape of new age and go to the old grecco pagan and roman pagan faiths

Answer 11

Neo-paganism is a religion that may or may not have ties to paganism. Paganism is the world's oldest religion. Many pagans follow wicca or druidism. Wicca uses covens and druidism uses groves. A good place to search for info on them is the website: http://www.witchvox.net/