What is a Pagan?

Question

What is a Pagan's belief?

Im a christian but I dont know what a pagan is.

Answer 1

Pagan is a blanket term for anyone who doesn't follow 1 of the 3 Abrahamic religions.So it technically includes major world faiths like Buddhism and Sikhism and Hinduism as well as other religions.

There are literally thousands of Pagan religions.I am a Celtic Pagan which means I follow the religion of the Ancient Celts-specifically those who lived in Scotland.Wiccans are a neo-Pagan religion whose faith blends elements of several Ancient Pagan faiths.Astaru is the religion of the Vikings and other Norse peoples.

There are also Pagans who follow the religion of the Native Americans of the Ancient Egyptians and so on.Most Ancient religions are still practised by 1 kind of Pagan or other.Things get even more complex with eclectic Pagans who blend elements from different Pagan faiths to fit with what they personally believe.

Basically you need to be a lot more specific.However general characteristics of Pagan religions are a belief in more than 1 God and an appreciation for the cycle of life and nature.

Answer 2

Pagan is an umbrella term that many different faiths fall under.

Pagan religions can vary greatly. For example, some Pagans are polytheistic (belief in many gods), some pantheistic (belief that God is nature, or worship of the God/desses of a particular pantheon), some monotheistic (belief that there is a single Higher Power, and all Gods/Goddesses are only people's perception of what that Higher Power is). There are even Agnostic Pagans (don't know if there is a God, don't really care, but still adhere to Paganism for spiritual growth and connection).

Generally, Pagan religions have a couple of things in common:

They are usually Earth-centered, nature-based in practice and theology.

They usually see spirituality as a continuous journey, and that there is no one single valid path to take.

These religions are usually not organized religions-- there is no universal Pagan belief, holy writ, dogma, commandments, clergy, etc.

Answer 3

Ever heard of Mother nature. That is a Pagan belief. Pagan's have many different gods.

Answer 4

Pagans have been mentioned in the bible. Abraham's parents were Pagans. They believe in many gods as apposed to One God the creator as you have been taught to believe in. Many people today choose not to be Christian and follow philosophy like American Indian Shamanism or English Druid beliefs in Nature. The Hindus believe in many Gods and are considered Pagan to the Catholic or Christian community.
Rev. TomCat

Answer 5

The words paganism and pagan come from the Latin "paganus,"meaning "country dweller." Neopagans hold a reverence for the Earth and all its creatures, generally see all life as interconnected, and tend to strive to attune one's self to the manifestation of this belief as seen in the cycles of nature. Pagans are usually polytheistic (believing in more than one god), and they usually believe in immanance, or the concept of divinity residing in all things. Many pagans, though polytheistic, see all things as being
part of one Great Mystery. The apparent contradiction of being both polytheistic and monotheistic can be resolved by seeing the God/desses as masks worn by the Great Mystery. Other pagans are simply monotheistic or polytheistic, and still others are atheistic.
Some people believe paganism to be a religion within itself; others see it as a belief system (such as monotheism) that can be incorporated into religions like Wicca or Druidism; others see it as a broad category including many religions. The fact that we are re-creating religion for ourselves after centuries of suppression makes us very eclectic and very concerned with the "rightness" of a particular thing for the individual. So when you see some people calling it a religion and others not, when you see it capitalized in some instances and not in others, don't be confused -- we're all still basically talking about the same thing.

Answer 6

Pagan is a blanket term, it makes it easier for people like me to describe ourselves. I'm a polytheistic hedonist, and I see the gods as more human like than the judeo christian god. I'm sort of lazy, the full moon is like my Sunday, and the New moon is my Wednesday night bible study. I don't go all out but I have a love and respect for nature, and I believe we are all energy.

Answer 7

I believe anyone who is not a Christian is a Pagan. Maybe that sounds better than lost or unsaved. A pagan may serve other gods or be an athiest.

Answer 8

Well that term is pretty flexible as some take it to mean anyone who isn't a christian or for the jewish people, anyone who isn't jewish.

However, the term pagan nowadays refers to an umbrella of earth-based religious beliefs such as Wicca, Asatru (although they prefer the term heathen), Celtic Reconstructionism, Witchcraft, hinduism, some forms of buddhism, et al..

Answer 9

2. Why did God not allow the Canaanites to coexist with the Israelites? “They should not dwell in your land,” God warned regarding the Canaanites, “that they may not cause you to sin against me. In case you should serve their gods, it would become a snare to you.” (Exodus 23:33) The prophet Moses later told Israel: “It is for the wickedness of these nations that Jehovah your God is driving them away.” (Deuteronomy 9:5) Just how wicked were those nations?
Immorality, pagan worship, and child sacrifice were widespread in Canaan. Bible historian Henry H. Halley notes that archaeologists excavating the area “found great numbers of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal [a prominent god of the Canaanites].” He adds: “The whole area proved to be a cemetery for new-born babes. . . . Canaanites worshipped, by immoral indulgence, as a religious rite, in the presence of their gods; and then, by murdering their first-born children, as a sacrifice to these same gods. It seems that, in large measure, the land of Canaan had become a sort of Sodom and Gomorrah on a national scale. . . . Archaeologists who dig in the ruins of Canaanite cities wonder that God did not destroy them sooner than he did

Answer 10

A pagan is someone who believes in any other religion besides Christianity. Some define it as believing in any faith other than Judaism, Islam, or Christianity.