Paganism.. Can anyone help me understand the religious beliefs?

Question

This is going to sound incredibly strange, but I just read the Da Vinci Code, and I was extremely interested in the religious aspect of it, and so I started researching about the Pagan religion (even though I found out that the term "Pagan" is a sort of derogatory word for the 'religion') I don't fully understand what the beliefs are or much else (I found a lot of information on wikipedia[laugh at me aaall you like], but a lot of it just confused me even more). If anyone could maybe give me a little bit of information of basic 'Paganism' (since I know it branches off into a LOT of different religious groups), that would be awesome. Thank you!

Thank you for the answers, everyone!

(By the way... to the person that gave the link to that website... that is one of the most biased websites I've ever seen in my life.. and I'm usually bad at catching on to that.)

It's such an interesting religion, and it seems like such a REAL thing.

(I'm Jewish, and I've tried so hard to get into the religion, but I always feel like I'm not spiritually connected to Judaism.)

Answer 1

The word 'pagan' comes from the Latin word 'pagani' which translates as 'country dweller' (as opposed to city dweller). It isn't considered derogatory by any pagans that I know. The primary attraction of paganism for me are:

1) The role of the feminine in the Divine has been elevated to a level of influence not seen in any organized religion known to me. Here, I am not a second class citizen as a woman.

2) The Divine is directly available to every practitioner, without intermediaries or bureaucratic interventions. You are considered to contain a divine spark and are empowered to contact the Divine directly, in your own behalf. Because there is no official hierarcy, there is no one 'true' way or any ultimate authority figure, like the Pope to tell you that you aren't worthy or are doing it all wrong. However you bear the ultimate responsibility for your own behavior. There is no absolution, indulgences or special dispensations.The Divine is always watching because you are its representative.

3) "Harm none, then do what you will ", also called 'The Wiccan Rede', is the basic ethic that reflects the inherent value of of all living beings. You know when you are doing right or wrong, because somebody or something suffers when it could be avoided. Arbitrary divisions due to gender, sexuality or other forms of diversity, even species, do not confer derogatory status. Tolerance is central to our practice. In addition, The Earth and the natural world are seen as the source for spirituality and a template for religious practices. It is NOT subject to human domination, rather we are expected to reverence the ecological balance as having paramount value over purely human desires.

5) Last, but not least, most esoteric studies promote disciplines that encourage practitioners to consider their own behaviors and provide tools to modify any aspects that the practitioner himself desires to change. This is extremely empowering, especially to anyone who wants to end self-defeating behaviors like addictions, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression or lack of focus. Like herbal remedies, this isn't a replacement for medical intervention in acute illness, rather it is a chance for lesser afflicitons to be self-contained before they expand their scope.

Modern western pagan practices are traced back to the late '40's in the UK, where an occultist, Gerald Gardner, cobbled together some surviving traditional nature worship customs with hermetic ritual and codified a liturgical cycle of seasonal worship. Since then, practitioners have taken his methods and followed suit. In general, people have researched traditional and indigenous religious sources throughout the world and tried to incorporate life-affirming practices into a coherent whole.

I was raised as an orthodox Jew, but I decided that I would follow a pagan spiritual path in 1979. Judaism taught me that only males, not females, were made in the Divine image and adult females were inherently unclean due to our menstrual cycle. I got quite alienated when self-righteous yeshiva bochers quoted Shamai at me from Pirkei Ahvot about how 'the council of women made men foolish'.

To me, gender separate spirituality would never be equal and I felt demeaned. As a wife and mother, I feel that I have more spiritual authority than anyone who just studied a book, no matter how profound. You might find the book, "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant of interest.

Answer 2

I think you may be a little confused by the terms "Wicca" and "Pagan/Paganism". Paganism isn't a religion, it is more of a spiritual belief. Wicca is a religion, in all it's many paths.

Pagans believe in the male and female aspect of everything, the natural energy that our world provides, and the spirit that is within each of us, this planet, and everything on it. Pagan is not a derogatory term at all. It means "Heathen". People who followed the old gods and goddesses were called that by the Christians when they tried to convert them to the "New Religion". These people were mainly the midwives, those that worked with healing herbs and plants, those that still followed the old druidic teachings, as well as those that followed a Goddess/God-like spiritual belief.

Wicca is a religious path that can, and does, have many different paths. You may hear them referred to as Dianic, Gardernarian (after Gerald Gardener), as well as other names. Not all Pagans are Wiccan.

I have a little saying that I give any newbies to my group, especially if they are confused about the difference between Wicca and Pagan. Here it is:
All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan.

Also...just to add something else....Wiccan does not mean Witchcraft. Not all Wiccans practice Witchcraft. But then again, not all Pagans practice Witchcraft either, lol.

Brightest Blessings to you.

Answer 3

The term "pagan" covers such a diverse group of religions that it would be an oversimplification to try to give a list of what the beliefs are. That may well be part of the reason your research has resulted in confusion for you. Essentially, it's a term that labels something as *not* being something else; that is, paganism is *not* Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.

Is there a particular pagan religion that piques your curiosity?

Answer 4

Paganism is a broad term for many non-mainstream religions. As some of the others have said, it was a word meaning 'country' religion referring to those who lived in the countryside. Another way to look at it is 'folk' religion.

People whose existance depended upon the cycles of nature, and who had daily exposure to its wonders, naturally developed an awe of nature. The various flavors of paganism come from the natural development of the local beliefs. Paganism just happened, there was never any real organization, although shared festivals did give a common bond.

Today there are some who worship old Greek, Norse, or Egyptian pantheon, and some worship the Celtic Lord and Lady god/goddess pair or just the goddess. Many of the old pagan ways are lost to memory because the practioners were converted or destroyed. So some people focus on the spirit of the old religions and work the details out for themselves. I myself am a pagan Taoist, which means I celebrate pagan holidays but my spiritual belief is Taoist (a Chinese folk religion and just as pagan). I only believe in deities as symbols, metaphors, and/or archtypes.

Many pagan religions are nature-based, but I think the pagans mentioned in the Da Vinci code were actually the worshippers of the Roman pantheon.

Answer 5

Being a pagan the term paganism is a broad term. It could consist of Wicca, Shamanism, 1000 other traditions. If you want the basics then there are some really good Wicca books out there. Although im not Wiccan the information is more readily available for someone just starting out. Than for instance traditional paganism like druidism. Might want to try some of the yahoo or msn pagan groups and learn from other craft practitioners.

Answer 6

Well, you already got a lot of good info, I'll just add this. Pagan means it's not a Middle Eastern theology, which also means it's not an extremist ideal, like being the One True Faith. I think that's silly. 'All religions are fake, except for mine', is truly ridiculous. Some pagan faiths of the ancient world still exist, like Hinduism and Buddhism. Most pagan beliefs of Europe were crushed. The Neo-pagan movement tries to revive those ancient spiritualities to some degree or another. I try to seek a modern application. To me, it has to have relevance in today's world to be vital. Some others like to try and live like the Olde Days.

Answer 7

As others may have already mentioned, Paganism is not a religion in and of itself but rather an umbrella term used to describe basically any non-Abrahamic faith. The old religions are so varied that its hard to sum everything up in to a "basic" set of beliefs, but I'll do my best.

Most of the old religions were polytheist, so some research on polytheism may be useful to you. If there is a specific ancient religion you are interested in, you can focus on it such as Greek religion or Egyptian religion. These two particular systems left a lot of literature behind which makes it much easier to reconstruct their belief systems. If you want to see polytheism in action today, Hinduism is quite alive and well and has been going strong for roughly 5,000 years. And of course there are people who are recontructing the ancient ways today as well. Look to Asatru, Hellenismos, and Religio Romana for some examples.

Two books that may be of interest to you are:
A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism
by John Michael Greer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0976568101/ref=wl_it_dp/102-8209485-6816163?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1WW31WIXBI7HF&colid=1AQ00IEOKJA51

The Deities Are Many: A Polytheistic Theology
by Jordan D. Paper
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0791463885/ref=wl_it_dp/102-8209485-6816163?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3TN3DHPLCCYTX&colid=1AQ00IEOKJA51

Answer 8

Paganism itself is a very broad term meaning to believe in more than one God or Goddess. Its the same as saying the term Christianity. Both are broad terms that have many subterms under them. I am Wiccan, which is a Pagan belief system. A catholic is part of the Christian belief system. There are plenty of books out there that can give you a good broad view of what Paganism is and what it isnt. One thing you do need to know tho, The moron who posted that Pagans believe in satan, hasnt a clue at all. We not only NOT worship satan ( a strictly christian invention and concept), we dont even beleive he/she/it exists. Dont let idiots tell you that you are going to hell because you want to learn about something.
Educating yourself is ALWAYS the right thing to do. Take NO ONES word for it, read for yourself:)

Answer 9

i might reccomend chaosmatrix.org if you want to look into the things common to most pagan religions such as wicca or whatever. The common thread is, simply put, magick. I believe that all people believe that theirs is the right. I also believe that religion is a tool as a means to an end. meaning: I may appeal to....say, Zeus one day then deny his existance the next. Belief is a tool that allows you to get past the internal blocks in your brain that allow all of us to share a neat and orderly existance. A useful myth is that of indra's net. I believe it's indian (from india not USA) and it says that all is connected by this net. could mean physical beings connected by etheric force, or it could even mean each instant in time is connected and an infinite variety can arise from a given moment. it is all of us combined, all of our psyches the create what you see as reality. And, magick, based on that description is the attempt by one person to create anomalies in the consensus reality. I might ask a god(des) for help. I might get energy from a rock. I might leach it from other people or the atmosphere (I try not to take it from people, but other people might not have any qualms about that) I realize this is kind of nebulous, but maybe a description based on what you already Know will help a bit let me know @ [e-mail]!

Answer 10

its pretty hard to generalize about a group of faiths, but here are some basics... keep in mind this is only my opinion and pagans are very eclectic

A belief in a natural greater power which is without gender and which is best represented by a God and Goddess

These symbolic deities are then personified by multiple Gods and Goddesses... therein you have symbolic polytheism

A view of time as cyclical rather than linear: the seasons change and the wheel turns, always ending where it began.

A deep love and reverence for nature.and all living things.

An awareness of the Otherworld and the concept of magic.

There is a lot more than that but those are some examples of things that I feel make one "Pagan" or "neo-pagan". Keep searching and best wishes.