PAGANS--if you would please...?

Question

DO you feel that you have a lot in common with other pagans? For example, if you worship Norse gods and met someone who worships Greek gods--do you feel your religions have a lot in common? Or that personal convictions may have a lot in common?

In school, it is always taught that Jupiter is the roman version of Zeus. Hermes=Mercury, Aprodite=Venus. To me it seems similar if you are studying it for the story element of it. But that is the same as saying the christian god=the muslim god since they are both monotheistic.

The stories might be similar as the cultures may have been somewhat similar--but really it is a competely different belief system.

Do you see other pagans are more your spiritual equal, or more a complete opposite of your beliefs?

Or do you think the bond isn't so much the belief system itself but in the way you came about your beliefs and in the understanding shared in the way you are treated by the majority?

It seems pagans are often thought of as similar and peaceful--so it's as if they share a belief but have different demoninations (methodist vs presbyterian). But as a pagan yourself--is your relationship with other pagans more like someone with a different denomination or someone with a completely different belief, radically different from your own?

Answer 1

Well.... my best friend on here is a Hellenic Pagan, my other good friend here is a Celtic Reconstructionalist Pagan, I do have some various other Pagan friends on here as well. I say for the most part I get along well with any Pagan who's knowledge and respectful. That extends to other religions and lack of too.

I do *not* get along well with fluffie bunny Wiccans. At all. *shudder* Non-Fluffy, I have no problem with.

But no, I don't believe the various Pagan religions have a lot in common, they do share some commonality's yet their theology is vastly different. Yes, my stand point my not be popular but it is how I feel. For example, Asatru doesn't have all that much in common with Wicca.

Answer 2

Yes. I feel my beliefs are very similar to those of other Pagan paths. The only exception would be Wicca. It is very different from other Pagan paths. Druidry, Asatru, and my own Neo-Hellenic path all have many things in common with each other. However, no matter how different, we are all equals. No one path is better than the others. All Gods are real and valid and I respect everyone's right to worship their own. It would be wrong to worship my Gods at the expense of your own. Some Gods have different names in different places, some are unique to a specific tradition, but none are more or less worthy of worship than any other. They choose who will serve them, and you answer the call or you don't. It's not up to us to decide for anyone else.

Answer 3

We're more or less equals, and we pretty much all get along with each other. Of course, there are those in Pagan belief systems who claim stupid things like "to be a real Pagan you have to have been born into the belief system", or the holier-than-thou types who think any other form of Paganism than their own is too dark and it makes other Pagans look bad or whatever. But for the most part I find it easy to get along with other Pagans.

Answer 4

Very interesting question. As a Christian, I'm not really in a place to answer for those of other belief systems.

But I think your that they shared similar gods under different names is important. Remember, when those systems first arose there were so many gods as they did different things to explain life for the people. One may have explained weather, another was there guide them in war, and so one. The Romans liked the Greek gods so much they just adopted them and usually changed their name. Some, like Apollo just stayed Apollo.
Just like in the Christian Bible there are many stories we use to guide our lives, so did the ancient worshippers. And those I would not consider pagan as God had not yet revieled himself to man. Or maybe that was how He did it for them; how are we to know?.......

Answer 5

"Or do you think the bond isn't so much the belief system itself but in the way you came about your beliefs and in the understanding shared in the way you are treated by the majority?"

YES!

we tend to respect other pagan's paths as much as we respect our own. i personally see them as equal, not opposite

at pagan festivals, we all come together, no matter which path we follow and feel like we've known each other forever, even if we've just met. it's an amazing thing to be a part of!

Answer 6

No. I really don't feel that I have "a lot" in common with the majority of people who identify with the word "pagan". I have much more in common with other Reconstructionists. Even if we worship different deities and have different belief systems, we still have many things in common--we share the same reverence for the cultures that once worshiped our deities (and we value academic study of them), we are hard polytheists, magic is a very small (or non-existent) part of our rites, giving praise and offerings are very important aspects of our practices, and many of us honor our ancestors.

I highly respect Traditional Wiccans even though we don't have as much in common. The things that I feel we have in common are a structured religion, research and study is a high priority for us, deities are the main focus of our practices, and we both find fulfillment through tradition. Neither of our paths are "anything goes".

Those who follow eclectic paths, by definition, have few if any tenets that they all share so I can't even generalize how much I may or may not have in common with them. It depends on the individual (this is true of people on any path but more so for those of eclectic paths since their beliefs/practices can vary so greatly).

Religiously, I have nothing in common with Fluffs or anyone who isn't devoted to honoring deity/ies. 'Nuff said.

I see other pagans as apples and oranges---neither alike nor opposite, simply different. Within a specific religion, I see the different traditions as "denominations" but I don't see various neo-pagan religions as denominations of "Paganism" since there really isn't anything that we ALL have in common.

Answer 7

Equals, yes, but there's a *lot* of differences, if only because there's so much variety.

I'm more apt to see religious similarities with hard polytheists and reconstructionists, with Asatru being the closest. That said, there's plenty of Trad Wiccans that I see eye to eye with, because they know their stuff.

However, if you're asking about the Pagan community in general, I can't say as I feel all too related. I disagree with the vocal fluffy contingent on a great many things, so I tend to be pushed to the fringes by a lot of those who want to represent Paganism.

Answer 8

I view other Pagans as my brethren and definitely as spiritual equals. Even though we may have different pantheons, practices, and beliefs - we have a shared understanding in the way we're treated by the majority. And I think we approach religion and spirituality a lot differently. There's more tolerance, open-mindedness, and kinship among Pagans. That's not to say we don't have zealots or intolerant jerks among our own ranks, there are a few. But for the most part , it's rare. I've only had problems with the "white-lighters" who are intolerant toward me due to my reverence for Lucifer (and other practices), but we still seem to be able to come together when necessary.

Answer 9

I have stuff in common with most polytheists.

That being said, you simply cannot compare the Roman interpretation of the Greek gods with oh, Norse gods or Celtic ones.

The Romans believed that they were Greeks with a different language. Thus their gods and the Greek gods are the same, with names in two languages. The Romans also believed that the capture of a cult statue could add a foreign god to their pantheon.

Roman and Hellenic mythology is NOT a completely different belief system, but Roman/Greek is different from everything ELSE.

I do not follow the gods of other people. I have no problems with the followers of any gods save those who claim my gods are false.

Answer 10

I believe there is commonality among Pagans, just as there are differences.

It's like an extended family, we are all Pagan, Some of us share the same root religion, some of us share the same cultural root, some of us are of the same path, some of us are of the same Tradition, some of us are of the same line of a Tradition, some of us are of the same Coven of that line.

The same can be said for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, same family different branches.