What is paganism or pagan????

Question

idk i hav heard people talkin about it on here

im a christian
:)

Answer 1

A devil worshipper.

1: heathen 1; especially : a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome)

2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods : an irreligious or hedonistic person

Answer 2

I really resent ppl calling pagan devil worshipping heathens that is unfair. I want to demonstrate how things gets twisted take the pentagram for instance did you know that the Pentagram was a Christian symbol up until medieval times?

The five points of the pentagram represented the five wounds of Christ on the Cross. It was a symbol of Christ the Saviour. This is in stark contrast to today where the pentagram is criticized by modern Fundamentalist Christians, as being a symbol of evil.

The church eventually chose the cross as a more significant symbol for Christianity, and the use of the pentagram as a Christian symbol gradually ceased.

That is a prime example of how ppl twist things pentagram is supposed to be evil and witch craft but that isn't what i was originally designed for and yes it was used in some ceremonies as well. Pagan seems to be tagged with "witch craft" not true means ppl of the earth, pagans worshipped in ceremonies and rituals to be thankful for the season and what had been provided to them. eg working with the moon, working with the season its not all about casting spells, its was like ok when is the best time to plant this or do that.

But over the years just like the pentagram have seem to adopt a different meaning that what it originally had.

Pagan ppl at least appreciated the mother earth and was thankful for what she provided for ppl who call them devil worshippers need to stop living in fear and ignorance.

Answer 3

Paganism is an umbrella term for many earth-based religions. They're generally based on pre-Christian ideas. None of them worship Satan, as Satan is a Christian concept.

One of the most popular forms of paganism is Wicca, which believes in the Goddess and the God. Generally it is only these two and all other gods and goddesses are considered aspects of Them. Ritual is the basis of worship, and most Wiccans use magic in their practice as well. Magic isn't like you see in the movies- is similar to prayer, but instead of petitioning God to help you, you use your will and energy to make something happen, ie: help speed your or someone elses' healing.

There are also forms that attempt to reconstruct older religions such as Celtic (Druid), Norse (Asatru or Heathen), Egyptian (Kemet), or Greek (Hellenic). These are different from Wicca in the fact they are more polytheistic (the gods are unique, not aspects) and generally do not practice magic, or it is not central to belief. There's more to it than that, but this is just a brief overview. If you are curious, I recommend Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler, its a great book on how the many religions of paganism were started up.

Edit: if you don't want to read a book, www.religioustolerance.org is an excellent resource.

Answer 4

Paganism refers to either the worship of nature, any pre-Christian polytheistic religion, or the modern revival and reinvention of the pre-Christian polytheistic religions (Neopaganism).

Pagans believe in many gods and goddesses, the guidance of the ancestors, and the sacredness of nature. It isn't anti-Christian, and it isn't Satanic. It's simply a different religion, and a different world-view. Some people understand and accept that, and some don't. For us, it is a sincere, deep, beautiful, and sacred path.

Answer 5

It has nothing to do with the devil. That's Christian propaganda. The only religions with a devil are the ones based on the Torah, Bible and Koran.

Technically pagan is anything that isn't one of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity or Islam.

More specifically, it means earth-centered, polytheistic or earth-honoring belief systems. This is often referred to as Neo-pagan traditions, so as not to include Hinduism, Shintoism and other Eastern religions which are not particularly related to the revivalist movements in the neo-pagan community.

Pagan religions include Wicca, Asatru, Heahenism, Druidry, Kemeticism, Hellenic Reconstructionism Shamanism, Voodoo, etc.

Answer 6

Usually people consider a Pagan to be a member of a non-Abrahamic religion. (The Abrahamic religions being Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) However, some consider Pagans to be people who aren't of Abrahamic religions, Atheist types of religious-ish-ness like Agnosticism and Humanism, or Eastern religions like Buddhism and Taoism.

Modern day Pagans sometimes refer to themselves as Neopagans. They include Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, Shamans, etc. Typically they don't worship one God and have a high respect for nature. They don't worship the Devil. Heck, we don't even believe that he exists. A lot of us do believe in magic though.

For more information, go to www.religioustolerance.org

Answer 7

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller, rustic") is a term which, from a Western perspective, has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or cultic practices or beliefs of any folk religion, and of historical and contemporary polytheistic religions in particular.

The term can be defined broadly, to encompass the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The group so defined includes the Indian religions (such as Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism,etc.), Native American religions and mythologies and Shinto as well as non-Abrahamic ethnic religions in general. More narrow definitions will not include any of the world religions and restrict the term to local or rural currents not organized as civil religions. Characteristic of pagan traditions is the absence of proselytism and the presence of a living mythology which explains religious practice.

The term "pagan" is a Christian adaptation of the "gentile" of Judaism, and as such has an inherent Christian or Abrahamic bias, and pejorative connotations among Westerners, comparable to heathen, and infidel, mushrik and kafir in Islam. For this reason, ethnologists avoid the term "paganism," with its uncertain and varied meanings, in referring to traditional or historic faiths, preferring more precise categories such as polytheism, shamanism, pantheism, or animism.

Answer 8

Polytheistic is the key word in the other answers. It has come to mean that paganism is the belief in multiple Gods (such as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost).

Answer 9

Paganism is a large group of people who worship in many different ways... often old pantheons of religions (ancient Roman, or Norse as examples) or new creations of deities. (Wild God, Mother Goddess) Sometimes we believe our deities exist outside ourselves exclusively, or sometimes are completely within our own psyche, but most often, a combination of internal and external. (As Above, so Below) Some are Wiccan, some are not.

Answer 10

It is earth based or nature based worship. Paganism covers a variety of spiritual beliefs, varying from Wicca to Druidism, to Native American forms of worship.

Most Pagans also accept the feminine form of God (known as the Goddess) or one that is both masculine and feminine.

There are many many definitions of paganism that can be found here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/paganism.htm
but the above is the one that applies most to those who refer to themselves as one.

EDIT>>>(by the way, guitarman's answer is just a manipulative way of trying to convert you to Jehovah's Witness. Beware of this, it happens a lot on here. He should have at least told you his source instead of trying to play it of like it's just a factual answer....)

Answer 11

Paganism is a catch-all phrase usually used to describe religions that see divinity as a manifestation of nature. It is often used as a nonspecific tag to denote religions that were in existence prior to the rise of the judeo-christian religions.
It does not denote worship of the Devil, ironically enough, you would have to be christian to believe in the Devil and worship him, a believer in one of the many religions often termed Pagan would most likely not even believe anything such as the Devil exists, much less worship it.