what is paganism?

Question

their truths/tenets/principals of the ideology?

Answer 1

To learn more about paganism, read the Qur'an. al-Ilah was the arabic moon-god, which was renamed to Allah

Answer 2

There are different interpretations. But the commonality is that Pagans believe in many Deity's. The believe in nature, and they have been around longer than any monothiestic belief, such as Christianity, or Judiasm. The Christians slaughtered millions of them on their way to spread the word of God, and Christians have demonized Pagans in the process. The word Pagan derives from paganus and means "country dweller" and initially meant someone who was not a Christian or who was a gentile.

Answer 3

Best thing for you to do is to start reading to get a variety of perspectives. That's the best thing to get yourself the basics of paganism. Here are a few sites to get you started:

http://www.witchvox.com
http://www.twpt.com
http://www.davensjournal.com
http://www.rendingtheveil.com
http://www.spiralnature.com
http://www.thegreenwolf.com/links.html

As for books, here are my three of my favorites:

"21st Century Wicca" by Jennifer Hunter - the most grounded intro to Wicca I've found, not just the usual "stuff"
"Contemporary Paganism" by Graham Harvey - a basic overview of some of the more common neopagan religions
"The Four Powers: Magical Practice for Beginners of All Ages" by Nicholas Graham - takes an even broader view of neopaganism, ceremonial magic, shamanism, occultism, and others, and is a *really* good book for helping you to figure out where to take your path next

You can find other books reviewed at http://lupabitch.wordpress.com

Finally, get out and talk to people--there's nothing that can replace that. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com and http://www.meetup.com and put the name of the nearest city and the word "pagan" in the search engine to find online groups of local pagans. Also, the various pagan and magic-themed communities at http://www.livejournal.com are a good resource as well. Meet folks online, then when you're comfortable check out some of the public events in your area.

Answer 4

In reference to modern religions that are considered Pagan, that is a very broad term. There are Pagans who follow a wide variety of paths. It has been said that if you ask 12 Pagans the same question about their faith, you will get 13 different answers.

Answer 5

Pagan was the term coined by the catholic church way back when to define anything which wasn't christian or of judeochristian background. its not a specific religion per se but Rather a group of religions some of which have nothing to do with one another. for instance, the roman religion and Greek religions were considered pagan, but also the druidic religion and Scandinavian religions were also pagan although they were about as different as Hindu and Jewish...

Answer 6

Any belief outside the abrahamic ones. You need to be more specific. If you're looking for Wicca try either The Wiccan Rede or The American Council of Witches.

Answer 7

There are 3 main generally excepted definitions:
1) People who follow earth based spirituality, or reverence for nature.
2) Ancient Greek or Egyptian type Pantheon of gods.
3) Any religion thats not christian (Pat Roberson type answer)

Answer 8

A pagan is one who doesn't practise or rejects the teachings of the main religion in a particular society.

Answer 9

There are many different religions under Paganism.

Paganism is any religion that does not follow any Abrahamic faith.

Therefore, you'd have to be more precise.

Answer 10

A nonAbraham based religion.

Answer 11

Pagan people believe in a God and a Goddess, we respect nature and follow the seasons and there relation to birth, death and rebirth.