A Question to Wiccans about the word "Pagan"?

Question

In a previous question where I asked about the spelling of "magic" with a "k", a poster claimed that there were "pagans" and there were "Pagans" and that not all non-Christians (Buddhists for instance) are not a part of this movement called "Pagan" with a capital "p". So, do please tell me which religions are in this movement (which I've never heard of until now) and which aren't.
Also, just who is it that determines which religions are considered "Pagan" and which are considered to be just "pagan"? Who decides which religions get that honor? Or, is this just more New Age bunko made up to sound "kool"?

Answer 1

In Roman times, you had folks who were citified and sophisticated, and those who the Romans considered were not. Those who were not were considered to be 'pagans'. The modern equivalent would be rube, hick or country bumpkin.

A term of similar origins and meaning is 'heathen'... someone who dwelt in the 'heath'.

Answer 2

I have only started seeing folks use the term "Wiccanism" on the internet within the last year, including some claim-to-be Wiccans. I agree that it is not the proper term. I've never heard/seen it used in any of my groups, or pagan gatherings, or any real-life Wiccan events. "Wicca" is in my Merriam Webster dictionary and is attributed to likely being derived from an old English word. "Wiccanism" is not found in the Merriam Webster dictionary - either the one I have on my desk or the online version. But then, that answerer that used "Wiccanism" to mean Wicca, also is saying that Wicca isn't a religion, so consider the source. hehe - Blue Chaos's answer made me LOL :)

Answer 3

Magic with a k came about to differentiate between sleight of hand and the real thing. Pagan itself is any religion that honors nature, has a pantheon of gods and goddesses, works magic, and so on. It is an ancient religion with many variations coming from all around the world. There is no right or wrong way to be a pagan. It's a self styled religion after all. The essence of any religion determines whether it's pagan, protestant, catholic, etc. You can find little streamers of paganism in all religions. The rituals and beliefs give themselves away on that one. Spirit is trying to wake us all to the truth. Whatever religion bears witness to your heart, or if the shoe fits, is where you should start. And don't stop there. Sometimes religions are stepping stones that when followed will take you to the truth. In other words, glean the good from one and move to another if it doesn't work for you or you outgrow it. You may find you don't need religion at all to commune with your spirit, and communion with our spirit is what we all seek. Your spirit has all the answers, learn to listen. Good luck on your quest.

Answer 4

The Pagan movement consists of religions that are based on Western pre-Christian ideas and are different from the mainstream. Buddhism, Hinduism, and surviving tribal religions etc. wouldn't fall into this category because #1 they aren't Western in origin and #2 they aren't minority religions in their places of origin #3 they aren't a movement, because they've been around with a completely unarguable unbroken line for centuries and most important #4, they don't identify with the Pagan movement. They don't self-define themselves as Pagan. (And some may even use the word pagan to define those who don't follow their religion) Some of them will say that they are similar after a side-to-side comparison, but they are what they are. Hindu, Buddhist, etc. and do not place themselves under the Pagan umbrella. (As with everything, there are exceptions to this.)

Capitalizing the word Pagan is done strictly for convenience. It defines a specific set of religions- many of which do incorporate Eastern and/or "primitive" (for lack of a better term) ideas, but they are really Western in their origin. Being placed in this category is not an honor, it's just a designation for clarity. It would perhaps be more accurate to say Neo-Pagan, than simply Pagan and some of us do, but this (arguably) excludes reconstructionists.

Pagan religions include Wicca, Druidry, Hellenic and Kemetic religions and many more. Neo-Pagan includes Wicca, Neo-Druidry (as opposed to reconstructionist Druidry), Neo-Hellenism (As opposed to Hellenismos or reconstructionist Hellenism) and etc. Some argue that reconstructionist religions are also Neo-Paganism, because we can't exactly recreate the way the ancients did things (Poseidon must do without his sacrificial bulls at the beach bbqs for example), but this is an argument it is best not to make, so Pagan it is. Who gets the "honor"? Whoever wants it. It is rude to call people Pagan who identify as something else, and so some groups get excluded. They're still allowed to play in the sandbox, they just have a different name.

To throw an additional monkey wrench into the symantic discussion, there is also the word Heathen to worry about. This word describes pagan religions that are specifically Northern European in origin. Some Druids embrace this term, and also Odinists and Asatruars. Many of these folks would prefer not to be lumped in with the Pagans, and so we don't call them Pagans because they don't like it.

As with all language, definitions are arbitrary. The word pagan is used (if erroneously) by many to mean simply Non-Abrahamic. If you are are defining the word in this way, it is an extremely large category of religions that does include the above. Others use it to mean simply not their religion, in which case the pool of religions included in this catagory are astronomically huge.

People also throw about the words pagan and heathen often as an insult or to describe "uncivilized" or hedonistic behavior. Used in this way they don't describe religious movements at all. Nobody can argue that.

And so capitalizing it simply designates it as something specific. It's like the difference between saying "the movement" and "The Movement" (assuming there was a movement that everyone in it would know what you were referring to). Also, it says what it is- a religious movement, as upposed to what it's not- A lack of Abrahamic belief. But of course, this is arbitrary. It's hardly a rule of language. It'll be a long time before the words "pagan", "witch" and "magic" have entries that reflect what they mean to us.

Answer 5

What you're looking at is an attempt to differentiate between common usage and the dictionary definition. When you see folks using "pagan-with-a-small-p", it's normally referring to the dictionary definition - essentially any non-Abrahamic religion, which is a rather large list of religions.

"Pagan-with-a-large-P" is typically used to refer to religions that self-identify as Pagan - what you'll sometimes see referred to as neo-Pagan religions. This group includes Wicca, the Reconstructionist religions (though there's hefty debate on that), etc. This group generally doesn't include religions such as Buddhism, Shinto, etc. (Though, again, there's debate on religions such as Hinduism and Shinto.)

Essentially, the defining factor is whether or not the religion self-identifies as Pagan or not. If the adherents of a religion decide that they want to be part of the group, then they start using the term. It's not like there's paperwork to fill out or anything like that. It's just a somewhat narrowed usage of a term to make it a little bit less unwieldy. (Mind you, Pagan is still an overbroad category, but it's a start.)

Answer 6

I've always understood the "k" spelling of the word to mean the use of spiritual and natural energies as opposed to "magic" meaning a magicians sleight of hand, tricks.
I'm not familiar with the distinction of pagan with a capital "P" or lower case "p". But I will do some digging for my own curiosity.
I've always found it quite humorous when people refer to wiccan or pagan type religions as "new age". These religious beliefs are the oldest types of beliefs of humankind. I also don't understand why most humans seem to want to -force- spiritual beliefs- into some name or category. We should all follow our own souls/minds/spirits/memories on this. If it comforts you to follow some type of organized religion and it makes your soul soar, then by all means follow it. Hopefully, we will all do much soul searching and educate ourselves in all types of beliefs before we decide. Letting your parents decide your spiritual beliefs for you when you were a baby is not always the best thing.

Answer 7

Basically. Neo-paganism is what that earlier answerer you mentioned said is capital P. That sounds so self-absorbed. Neo-paganism included Heathenry and Asatru, both dedicated to the worship of the ancient Norse/Germanic gods and goddesses. Basically, any ancient religion that pretty much died, but is now being revived, is neo-pagan. Ancient religions that are still alive, like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Shintoism are pagan. Still alive = pagan. Being revived = neo-pagan (or Pagan, to that one girl).

Answer 8

"Pagan" with a capital P covers a number of paganistic beliefs and/or religions. One may declare oneself Pagan and celebrate certain holidays and be particular type such as Wiccan. I am a Pagan, I celebrate 8 sabbats and wear pentacles. Religions in this category may include Wiccans, Asatrus, those of Celtic or Norse traditions, etc.

"Pagan" with a small p (pagan) is a generic term that refers to anyone of a folk or non-big 3 religion. I am pagan because I am also a Taoist in addition to my more specific Pagan spiritual path. This also refers to Buddhists, Hindus, Shintos, etc in addition to the Pagans listed above. These pagans may not think of themselves as pagans, but in references to Christianity, they are.

Clear as mud? ;)

Think specific (P) vs generic (p).

Answer 9

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