Does renaming a pagan ritual make it any less pagan?

Answer 1

If you call it christian and give people a few hundred years to forget it does.

Answer 2

No.
Shakesphere made a really good point on the "renaming" topic in his "Romeo and Juliet", in the scene where Juliet muses on Romeo's true identity as a Montague.

Act 2, Scene 2, Juliet speaking...

"Montague. What is "Montague"? 'Tis neither hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part belonging to a man."

and again,

"What is in a name? That which we call a rose, would, by any other name, remain as sweet."

The analogy is helpful in this situation also. What is in a ritual, that makes it pagan (or Christian, for that matter?) Is it the name? No. The name is just an indicator of the action done by a worshipper. A ritual of worship is pagan, or Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim, etc. based not on it's name, but on its purpose. The name is either a reflection of that purpose, or a disguise (if it is falsly tagged).

Can similiar actions be done by people of different faiths, without "polluting" the actions? Absolutely yes! People of many different faiths pray. That does not denigrate prayer. People of many different faiths celebrate. That does not make religious celebrations sacreligious! Different faiths light candles as part of worship, or read holy texts. Would a Christian say that lighting candles and reading holy texts is suddenly "paganized", because they see a Buddhist doing the same thing? (Some might, admittedly, but they would look ignorant!)

Don't worry about names. The real way to determine the holiness (or lack therof) of any ritual, is to examine the motives and actions of the participant(s).

Answer 3

As someone else said, a rose by any other name smells as sweet. So, if all that was done was a rename, then, no, it's probably still Pagan.

That said, not every red flower that blooms in the spring is a rose. Taking a few Pagan elements and working them into something new doesn't necessarily make the new thing Pagan.

Answer 4

No, but changing of the meaning of the ritual completely alters the purpose and context of the ritual. If you're doing the gesture in the name of Jesus, why does it matter if someone previous did the gesture in the name of Zeus? Did the pagans copyright their rituals? Rituals are symbolic, and symbols are subjective.

Answer 5

I am a Christian and I DO NOT observe any of these holidays that you must be refering to. Christmas , Halloween Easter Ect.

Answer 6

to christians it does
christmas, easter, halloween
(yule), (eostre), (all-hallows-eve)

Answer 7

No

Answer 8

no
Halloween