Pagan religion...?

Question

I'm interested in learning more about the Pagan religion. Can someone suggest a good book or a website where I could read more about.

I'm not looking to convert but am quite interested in learning more about the religion.

Answer 1

Semantics evolve over time. Neopaganism--a series of religions that are based partly, though not solely, on pre-Christian European religions--has reclaimed the word. Initially it just mean any religion other than Christianity, Judiasm and Islam, and it originated from the Latin "paganus", which basically meant "backwoods hick". The reason fro this was because once Christinaity was accepted as the official religion of Rome, it became very popular in the cities. People in rural areas who hadn't been exposed to it yet were seen in the same way as rednecks are today, and so "paganus" was a derogatory term.

Isaac Bonewits, in his book "Real Magic", was the first person to differentiate between paleopagan, mesopagan and neopagan religions. Paleopagan refers to any original pre-Christian religion (which would include Hinduism). Mesopaganism refers to the first wave of reconstructed pagan religions and paths, which includes Afro-Caribbean religions like Voodoo and Santeria, which are composed partly of traditional African religions, as well as orders such as the Golden Dawn and the revival of druidry that occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries. Neopaganism basically started with Wicca, which was created in the 1930s based on a whole hodge podge of material, and today includes everything from Wicca to Asatru to Celtic reconstructionism, and even just plain "I'm a neopagan".

So it really depends on who you talk to and what the context it. Some Christians still use it as a derogatory term; about the only people who use it to describe themselves are neopagans.

As for links, I highly recommend http://www.witchvox.com and http://www.twpt.com as well as http://www.davensjournal.com

I have more links I like at http://www.thegreenwolf.com/links.html

And if you like books, you can see some of my recommendations at http://lupabitch.wordpress.com

Good luck :)

Answer 2

If you're looking for a good overview, the best books would be either Hutton's "Triumph of the Moon", or Margot Adler's "Drawing Down the Moon." Both are a bit thick, but they're more about Paganism in general than in teaching a particular religion, which sounds like what you're looking for.

For links, I'd say, go with the ones that Lupa mentioned.

Answer 3

Paganism is an umbrella term used to describe anything that isn't of the Abrahamic religions. If you are interested in learning A pagan religion, I would suggest doing research on the various religions that are out there. If and/or when you find one, look further into it and see if it is for you. The Internet is a great resource, just google the term into the search bar and you should get a wide variety of religions to choose from.

Answer 4

There are good, historical books written about the pagan religions of yesteryear. A good place to start might be the writings of the ancient Roman historian Tacitus. Look in the history section of your library.

You would be well advised to avoid anything written after 1960 as the lies are so numerous in the more recent literature, the actual beliefs of the peoples of yesteryear can no longer even be seen.

Answer 5

I desire those who weren't pagans may quit answering questions about paganism. Pagan religions do not address atheism that's the area that there aren't any supernatural deities. compared to monotheistic religions, pagan religions do not proselytize. In different words, pagans do not care even if somebody else will develop right into a pagan. i am going to target to scrub up different incorrect claims that were made right here. a million) Paganism and pantheism at the prompt are not a similar issue. 2) Pagans are polytheists who be counted on diverse human being diverse deities (gods and goddesses). 3) that's not plausible to be both a pagan and an atheist. the man who claimed to be both an atheist and a pagan wouldn't have a clue what a pagan is. 4) Pagans do no longer worship nature. Pagans revere nature. there's a distinction. 5) Polytheism isn't the conception that flora have spirits. the man who made this declare would not know the version between animism and paganism. 6) Buddhism isn't a faith. 7) Pagan is a prevalent type for any of distinct nature-depending, polytheistic religions. Paleo-pagan refers to historic pre-Christian nature-depending polytheistic religions. Neo-pagan refers to favourite variations of historic nature-depending polytheistic religions. Any faith that does no longer fall into this manner isn't pagan. case in point, strictly conversing, Wicca isn't a neo-pagan faith. Wicca isn't a cutting-aspect version of any historic nature-depending faith (inspite of the claims of many Wiccans) and is no longer polytheistic. Wicca is duotheistic and teaches that each one deities are manifestations of the Goddess. there is not any historic pagan faith that worshipped "the Goddess". instead, they worshipped many separate, human being, diverse goddesses and gods. regrettably, maximum of the incorrect options about paganism has been spread by ability of Wiccans. they have even surpassed the incorrect information spread by ability of Christians about pagans.

Answer 6

Neo-Paganism isn't a religion in itself -- it's an umbrella term covering a wide variety of different religions, which usually share the traits of being earth-oriented and polytheistic.

I highly recommend "The Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton as a non-Pagan historian's view on the rise of modern Paganism.

Some links you might find useful:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/neo_paga.htm

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

http://home.earthlink.net/~wodensharrow/worldlinks.html

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

There is a "Pagan" search engine. It is www.universalpagan.com; There are more than 670 links to any-thing you want to know about pagans!! Good Luck and Enjoy reading up on this subject. Quite Interesting!!

Answer 8

If it's the basics you want --without any conversion tactics-- there is an excellent chapter in the book:

"Mankind's Search For God"

It's chapters include:
1. Why be Interested in Other Religions?
2. Religion--How Did It Begin?
3. Mythology
4. Magic & Spiritism
5. Hinduism 6. Buddhism
7. Taoism & Confucianism
8. Shinto 9. Judaism
10. Christianity 11. Apostasy
12. Islam 13. The Reformation
14. Modern Disbelief ... http://www.watchtower.org/publications/publications_available.htm

Its 384-pages relate the history of mankind’s search for God over the past 6,000 years. It answers 100s of questions about the world’s religions, in a totally unbiased manner. It covers each religion's history, beliefs, practices, teachings, & customs. It's small, concise, & easy to handle. I highly recommend it, & keep my copy handy.

Answer 9

First off there are LOTS of different pagan religions.

Wicca is the best known pagan religion.

Then there is Druidry, Native American spirituality, the religion of old hawai'i that I practise. and a lot more.

Answer 10

Here is a site you could like, with links to a few other sites you will some useful information on.