Is Paganism in any way 'fear based' like the Abrahamic religions?

Question

I have heard it said that you can't spread religion without fear. Paganism is spreading rapidly and I do not see the fear in it's doctrines. Just wondering if I missed something.

Answer 1

possibly in ancient times. people may have worshiped out of some degree of fear. but it would be fear of bad crops or bad hunting and not any fear of punishment in the afterlife.

in the ancient celtic culture it was believed by some tribes that the power of a god was decided each year by the celebrations that brought about the rebirth of that god.
the energy durring the celebration and the ammount of people that came was considered a good measure of the god's power to affect the planet. this meant that if people did not worship, and properly welcome a god or goddess of agriculture or fertility that they may have bad crops or a low birth rate. (both in humans and in livestock) this is a ancient belief (that was even obscure when it was practiced) that really holds no water today.

i think that the reason that Pagan religions are spreading is because they have spirituality behind them. the mainstream religions rew mostly bare of spirituality and are usually obsessed with money. people follow religions because they make them feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. and Paganism does that.

when asked to prove that my gods exist i often reply.

" the only people that seek to prove the existance of their own gods do so to convert others it is not my motive or my directive to convert people. so i have no agruement to prove the existance of my gods."

this attitude of freedom is also a draw to Pagan religions. you can follow your heart to the gods. and enjoy your life along the way.

Answer 2

As with any religion there is the bad and the good. The reason for the growth in Paganism, I believe, is that everyone is tired of the fear based religions. We do not use fear in our path. We work with the cycles of nature, we honor mother earth, and practice the doctrine (for lack of better words) Perfect Love and Perfect Trust. We don't live our live riddled with guilt and fear. We take responsiblity for our actions. We believe that what energy we put out comes back to us. So if we emit negative energy...that is what we get back. We deeply believe in "if it harm none, do what ye will" which includes harming ourselves. People are looking for a more natural peaceful path and I believe we offer that. We do not recruit, but if someone comes to us we will help them.
As with any religion or path there is good and bad...but we make sure to police our own and expose those who are pretenders. One must do research. If someone on our path is saying you have to do something you are uncomfortable with...then leave. Any further questions? I'll be happy to answer. Contact: [e-mail]. I am also president of Pagans United at www.pagansunited.com

Answer 3

Not at all. It is most often based on what Pagan Culture, and Gods Call to you. There is still morality but it motivated out of being in Harmony with the Universe, and the Gods, rather than fear of Hell.
But there are many forms of Paganism, with many different approaches. Both Groups I'm involved with Hercules Invictus, and PAS-Meriti are very socially concious, modern groups, that are made up of polytheist pagans. And both are more mainstream than many other pagan traditions.

Answer 4

No, in general, paganism is not in any way 'fear-based'.

In some ancient cultures, there were fear-based pagan beliefs.. the ancient sumerians, babylonians, etc.. but I believe that came from the harshness of the natural world around them. Life was harsh, death was harsh. Their gods were harsh.. hence, the evolution of the Abrahamic god.

The Greeks both loved and feared their gods. The Romans did as well.

The Celts, ancient germanic people, and ancient natives to the american continent don't have any mythos of eternal torment. They had a strong connection to their land and to their ancestors as well.

The Celts in particular had no creation mythos, as they liked to live for the present.

Most modern pagan beliefs have some form of afterlife, be it the Otherworld, Underworld, Valhalla, The Summerlands or reincarnation. But they aren't based on whether one "sins against" the gods. The gods/goddesses work with us not over us or against us. They are not superior overlords with the maturity of a 3 year old child.

We respect them and love them, and know that it is returned.
I think that's why it is spreading now. People are tired of living in fear of eternal retribution for just being human.

Thanks for asking-this is a terrific question.

Answer 5

No, and there's a lot more than one type of Pagan religion...there's many each with their own beliefs. But not one of them is fear based. They don't need to be because they do not go out and actively seek converts like Christianity (for example) does. Any religion that feels a drive to convert people is typically doing so because their doctrine is fear based.

Answer 6

That's EXACTLY why pagan religions are spreading so fast - people are sick of fear, grovelling, begging and feeling guilty before their god.
Paganism offers an equal-based relationship with the gods, a relationship of respect and mutual aid (yes, the gods need us just as much as we need the gods).
it's a belief that tells you to go out in the nature, open yourself to the beauty and magic of it, observe the life and honour it.
Wouldn't you prefer that, as opposed to go to a stuffy church, sit on narrow uncomfortable benches with a group of sweaty people you don't know, listen to a guy in a robe shout something about sin and fear and eternal fire... and in the end asking money from you for it? If you don't give it, you of course feel guilty again. It's a vicious cycle.

While paganism tells you to be HAPPY with who and what you are.
And then you wonder why it's spreading so fast?

Answer 7

Not in the same way. That's not to say that the ancients didn't hold fear, either from nature, from "supernatural beings", or of the gods. There's plenty of stories of humans getting eaten by the proverbial grue, or pissing off a god and getting some appropriate form of retribution. Folks made plenty of offerings to placate the gods and other beings.

Nowadays, people seem to be a bit less worried about that. Most people treat nature's fury to be little more than an inconvenience, and interactions with the Others seems to be pretty few and far between. A number of folks seem to be rather cavalier about offending the gods... but I consider them to be a bit foolish. Not that people should be terrified, of course, but they should at least remain polite.

Answer 8

There's more than one Pagan religion. But I would say generally not, and here's why: When the monotheisms spread, they had to DISPLACE existing Pagan religions. That displacement spread using fear.

However since the Pagan religions evolved organically, no such doctrine would be required. Pagan gods faded slowly in and out of fashion, but there was no abrupt all-or-nothing conversion like you see in the Abrahamic religions.

Answer 9

Paganism is not a "fear based" religion. All the contrary, it is a religion of peace and of true love. Fear has no place in paganism. Love is everything in Paganism.

Answer 10

You are right, Paganism is not in the least fear based, but love based. It encourages self expression in spirituallity and those that pratice have a deep understanding that all things in the universe are connected and are made of energy. There is no need for fear, no threat of hell or any other rediculous need to control, as we believe in being responsible for our own actions.

Fauna