The Human Truth Foundation

Modern Paganism (Neopaganism)

http://www.humanreligions.info/paganism.html

By Vexen Crabtree 2015

#asatrú #atheism #christianity #druidism #india #monotheism #new_age #paganism #pantheism #polytheism #satanism #shamanism #UK #USA #wicca #witchcraft

Paganism
Links: Pages on Paganism, Other Religions
God(s)Atheist / Monotheist / Polytheist / Other
AdherentPagan
AdherentsPagans
TextsNone
AfterlifeYes
Founding
HeritageCounterculture
Area of OriginThe West
When19th century
FounderFrom a romantic revival of interest in Celtic, Greek and pre-Christian spiritualities
Numbers in the UK (Census results)
200130 569201157 000
Numbers in the UK
199620 0001

Paganism encompasses a range of religions, belief systems and practices2,3,4,5: these include Asatrú, Celtic revivalism, Druidism, Goddess Spirituality, Heathenism, Paganism, various magical groups, some of the New Age, a few occult groups, Sacred Ecology and Wicca. It also covers the interest of previously-uninvolved Westerners in Shamanism, Native American and Native Australian spiritualism, and other primitivist belief systems. The Pagan Federation defines a Pagan as "a follower of a polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion"5. In general, followers and fans are called Pagans with a capital "P" in order to differentiate them from "pagans", a historical religious term to mean anyone not a member of the traditional monotheistic religions. In the USA the term neo-Pagan is used for the same purpose.

General modern Paganism "is not a doctrinaire movement" and it is based "on experience rather than on blind faith"6. The various forms of Paganism tend to share an individualistic approach, are spiritually and magically oriented, reject monotheism7, involve a goddess of some sort ("a religion without goddesses can hardly be classified as Pagan"5), and veer away from commercialism. They claim ancient and timeless "wisdom" and draw upon elements of religions from around the world, especially Western esoterism, romanticised versions of native beliefs and Indian spirituality, and share a creative use of myth and a seasonal cycle of festivals8. Also normal are a positive and moral approach to environmentalism and feminism (or at least gender neutrality) and a generally liberal approach to human (and animal) rights in general. They do not consider the world to be bad nor ourselves to be inherently sinful9.

The resulting kaleidoscope of beliefs and practices are mostly indulged in quite lightly, all described and merged using mystical and airy language which, however kindly it is meant, tends to lack any philosophical cogency and sits, generally speaking, within the realm of the mythical and the irrational. Concerns abound from Christians and other representatives of world religions who are clearly worried about the new competition from this popular and young suite of newcomers to the world stage, however, it must be noted that "most people's prejudices [towards Paganism in general] are based on misrepresentation by the media"8 and some people still confuse Paganism with Satanism10. Critics of Paganism can also be found amongst historians, skeptics, scientists and intellectuals based on the negative effect it can all have on common sense, and, complaints also arise from the natives and other genuine gurus of the traditions from which Paganism has drawn. Despite those problems and the addiitonal one of "Pagan" not referring to any particular belief system, "there is both official and academic recognition that Paganism is a serious religion"8.

Book CoverThe Pagan Federation Statement of the following three principles reflects the basic beliefs of many Pagans:

  • Love for and Kinship with Nature: rather than the more customary attitude of aggression and domination over Nature; reverence for the life force and its ever-renewing cycles of life and death.

  • The Pagan Ethic: 'Do what thou wilt, but harm none'. This is a positive morality, not a list of thou-shalt-nots. Each individual is responsible for discovering his or her own true nature and developing it fully, in harmony with the outer world.

  • The Concept of Goddess and God as expressions of the Divine reality; an active participation in the cosmic dance of Goddess and God, female and male, rather than the suppression of either the female or the male principle.

Those Pagans expressing some dissent from these principles are mainly Heathens [...] and some magicians who are more concerned with self-understanding and less with deities. [...] Many Pagans believe in the 'threefold effect', that whatever they do, whether for good or for bad, will be returned to them threefold.

"Pagan Pathways" by Graham Harvey & Charlotte Hardman (1995)11


1. Calendar (2023)

#religious_calendars

Pagans have eight major calendar events "comprised of the solstices, equinoxes and the four Celtic quarter days, one of which is Samhain. These days may unify all strands of paganism"12.

DateEventNotes
Feb 1st
Wednesday

(fixed)

Imbolc / Candlemas

A Gaelic spring festival, held halfway between winter solstice and spring equinox.

Mar 20th
Monday

Q1 Equinox (Vernal)

On March 20st or 21st, marking spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Dedicated to eostre, ancient anglo-saxon goddess of fertility.

Apr 30th
Sunday
(1 days)
(fixed)

Beltane Eve

May 1st
Monday
(1 days)
(fixed)

Beltane

Jun 21st
Wednesday

(fixed)

Q2 Solstice (Litha)

The Summer Solstice (the longest day of the year) in the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice in the Southern.

Sep 23rd
Saturday

Q3 Equinox (Autumnal)

(119). Often on September 22nd or 23rd, marking autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Days and Nights are equal in length, with nights now getting longer. Celebration of old age.

Oct 31st
Tuesday

(fixed)

Samhain

For the coming of winter. The turning of the natural cycles continues; this commemorates death and remembers those who are dead.

Dec 21st
Thursday
(12 days)
(fixed)

Q4 Solstice (Yuletide)

The Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year) in the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer Solstice in the Southern. Twelve days long, for the twelve zodiacs.

2. Denominations

#paganism #UK #wicca

3. Brief Introductions

3.1. Wicca

#dualism #paganism #UK #wicca

Wicca is a Western mystery religion13 invented and founded by Gerald Gardner in the UK in the 1950s, followed shortly by the very similar Alexandrian Wicca in the 1960s, although the two strands are now very closely intertwined14 and Wicca is decentralized. Wiccan practices centre on ritual, nature veneration, natural cycles, and magical and spiritual learning15. Much of it derived from pseudo-folklore. Its festivals are held on the eight yearly Sabbats. Divinity in Wicca is seen as both male and female (typically as the Horned God and Mother Goddess15), as are the general forces of nature which emanate from the male and female principal16,17, and these two sides complement one another14,18. Groups of adherents are called covens and as with other mystery religions entrance to Wicca comes by way of initiation, a process which requires study and the gaining of the trust of the others. Covens aim to have thirteen members, which are then traditionally seen as "full", and growth comes by way of splintering14. Solitary practitioners are called hedgewitches. Compared to other new religious movements in the West, adherence to Wicca takes up a surprising amount of dedication and time14.

For more, see:

3.2. The New Age

#animism #buddhism #egypt #gnosticism #greece #hinduism #india #new_age #new_religious_movements #religion #spiritualism #taoism #theosophy

The New Age is a wildly varied collection of practices and beliefs rather than a structured belief system, and as such it is difficult to define19. Popular elements include alchemy, alternative psychotherapy techniques, animism, aromatherapy, astrology, channeling, crystal work, divination, Gnosticism, karma stuff, lightwork and colour healing, magic, mediums, psychic powers of every kind, reincarnation and past life regression, sacred geometry (leylines, pyramid power, magical shapes), Spiritualism, Tarot card readings, Taoism, Yoga and many other splintered movements and zany practices20,21

It derives from folklore, superstition, pre-modern magical beliefs and elements of Hinduism and Buddhism. The peoples of mythical places such as Atlantis and Avalon rub shoulders with the gods, goddesses and other spiritual beings from ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Celtic, Nordic, Saxon, Teutonic and Native American belief systems22. New Agers themselves emphasize the 'arcane' nature of their 'ancient' and 'secret' wisdom23. Some of it comprises of practices that are commonplace in the East (such as meditation) but which are simply called 'new age' when they happen to be practiced by Westerners. Much of the Indian influence on the New Age derives from diluted practices and ideas brought from India by the Theosophists.

For more, see:

Pagans and New Agers share a large number of cultural interests and there is a significant overlap between the two communities24. Some scholars class neo-Paganism as a whole as part of the New Age as a whole, where some are sure that they are independent developments25. For example, Nevil Drury say Paganism is New Age, but Aiden Kelly differentiates them26. Pagans themselves despise being described as New age as Pagans consider themselves "less consumer oriented and less mainstream than New Age" whilst New Agers tend to focus on "light" and "healing" and other intensely saccharine concepts, all mixed in with a very open form of popularism27,24. Despite those differences, in 1995 the researcher Michael York found that at a Newcastle conference, Paganism in Contemporary Britain, the attendees were not only well educated about the New Age as a whole, but, they expressed opinions that it was worthwhile and good - no-one there said otherwise10.

3.3. Shamanism

#australia #new_age #paganism #religion #russia #shamanism

Shamanism is a timeless and ancient style of religion28, involving beliefs and practices that predate history, although the word itself comes from the Tungus people of Siberia, Russia29. Shamans still operate today in North America in some native Indian communities and amongst some Australian aborigines.30 The oldest evidence of Shamanism comes from European cave paintings, the oldest of which are over 30,000 years old31. It is based on animism - the belief that spirits are everywhere, indwelling not only all animals, but objects too32. Shamans are tribal spiritual leaders who are believed to be skilled in harnessing animal spirits as allies in order to look after the local community33,34 and to be able to act as "mediator between the human world and the world of the spirits"35. They attempt to ascertain the causes of calamities and to improve the luck and enterprise of the tribe. In trances and altered states of consciousness, often brought about through the use of psychoactive drugs36, deprivation and mental illness (or episodes are sometimes simply faked), shamans attest to a world full of animal and ancestor spirits.37

In the modern, developed world, new forms of shamanism have arisen as part of the general growth of neo-Paganism. Enthusiasts reconstruct, re-read and re-interpret shamanism, turning it into a general spiritual enterprise divorced from its original context and meaning. It "has spawned numerous related books, workshops and training sessions, some of which incorporate practices and paraphernalia from a variety of native traditions"38, although many are critical of this modern reconstruction and the connection between modern and ancient shamanism can often be described as "tenuous" at best39. Arthur Versluis writes with scorn of "some modern authors who give workshops" but says that "to be a shaman is not merely a weekend of entertainment"40. The pagan scholar Nevil Drury starts his book Shamanism41 by saying that "it is a fantasy to endeavour to transpose the world of the shaman to our own contemporary setting"42 and despite hundreds of years of shamanic experience, spiritualists nowadays report a completely different spirit world. So someone's making a lot of stuff up. Either way, our knowledge of physiology, delirium, neurology and science is simply too great, and the history of charlatans, cold-readers and other chauvinistic spiritualists is too long, for shamanism to ever seem authentic again.

For more, see:

3.4. Modern Druids (Neo-Druidism / Neo-Druidry)

#druidism #pantheism #shamanism

Druidry is generally thought of being representative of a Celtic religion in prehistorical England43,44,45,46, but whose adherents were barred from writing down their beliefs, and, whose beliefs were only passed down to initiates47 or encoded into folk tales43,48. Much of the Druidic/Celtic lore is based on influential forgeries from the 1780s-90s by Edward Williams (also known as Iolo Morganwg)49 and others50. They probably did believe in reincarnation, like other Celtic communities around them51. Modern reconstructed Druidism is part of the neo-pagan range of religions, with no real historical ties to ancient Druidry52. There has been a lot debate over the legitimacy of modern self-proclaimed Druids53,54.

Modern Druids most identify as polytheistic55 and the major movements involve Shamanism43,56, love of the Earth and nature43,56,55, animism (the belief that natural objects have spirit)55,56 and pantheism55 (that all the natural world is itself god), adoration of the Sun44,57 and belief in reincarnation51 which in some groups is taken so seriously that they routinely spend time at meetings channelling voices from the dead58.

For more, see:

4. The Causes of Modern Paganism and other NRMs

#alternative_spirituality #causes_of_religion #neo-paganism #new_religious_movements #religion #secret_societies #wicca

There has been an explosion of interest in unusual, novel, untraditional, magical, counter-cultural and Earth-centered religious movements. They have some common features59 and share a number of common pull-factors attract people to new religious movements59.

Religious groups that arise from a particular cause will attract those interested in that cause. Two of the most popular amongst NRMs are:

For more, see:

For detail, see:

5. Hot Topics for Pagans

Many of these topics are already discussed in the section above on the causes of Paganism.

5.1. Gender Equality and Feminism

#buddhism #christianity #gender #hinduism #islam #judaism #morals #new_age #paganism #politics #religion #religion_sex #satanism #sexuality #wicca #women

Most religious traditions have subjugated womankind80,81,82,83,84. The religious restrictions and taboos on womankind have ranged from the openly oppressive and inhumane, to subtle limitations. Women have been barred from leadership, prevented from religious learning and even from secular education, forbidden to hold power, denied fair inheritance and land ownership, denigrated, physically dominated, and sometimes even forbidden to speak85. All in accordance with holy texts, religious laws and guidelines. The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam have been the worse; but also Hinduism and Buddhism have played roles in the long-term subjugation of women. In Elizabeth Cady Stanton's "The Woman's Bible" (1898)86 she bemoans that "all the religions on the face of the earth degrade her, and so long as woman accepts the position that they assign her, her emancipation is impossible"87. The much more neutral scholar of comparative religion, Moojan Momen, normally writes positively on nearly all aspects of religion, but when it comes to women, even he is forced into a multiple-page criticism of the historical role of religion83. Although some of this stems from ancient cultural sources before it happened to be codified in world religions88, organized religion has clung on to patriarchalism long after secular society has liberalized. Feminist groups have frequently been anti-religion simply because it is religion that has presented itself as the most consistent oppressor of womankind. The problems from traditional religions are not just historical: even today, religious organisations and powerful international religious lobbies hold back gender equality across the world89.

There is good news. The most readily accepted cure for both intolerance, religion and superstition is widely shown to be education. The position of women improves as education improves and as traditional religions lose their grip on society. Modern society has come to either ignore their traditional texts (as most Christians do) or to abandon religion (as many Westerners have done). In societies dominated by male thinking, many women are convinced that men should beat them, often in accordance with religious texts: as education improves, fewer believe this90. Also many new religious movements and alternative religions such as Paganism, Wicca, the New Age and even Satanism practice full gender equality. As long as traditional religions continue to decline and secular society and new religions both grow, the situation of women continues to improve.

For more, see:

Feminism has always been a significant feature of Paganism and Wicca91. As the decades wore on, feminism and gender equality became an increasingly pronounced stance rather than an implied one92. The presence of feminism in Pagan groups is one of the six reasons that American Pagans gave for having become involved in Paganism, according to a study published in 198669.

5.2. Tolerance for Others' Beliefs

#christianity #new_age #wicca

Most forms of Paganism and the New Age are accepting, tolerant and respectful towards other's beliefs and practices5. There is very little in the way of an impulse towards correcting others, telling them they're wrong and criticizing their beliefs. Even if two believers' theories about important aspects of their crafts are contradictory and impossibly conflicting, there is rarely much in the way of hatred, or even dislike, between them.

Book CoverPagans believe that no one belief system is correct and that each person should have the freedom to come themselves to the path of their choice. [...] For all Pagans there is no place for either dogma or proselytising.

"Pagan Pathways" by Graham Harvey & Charlotte Hardman (1995)93

Academic researchers have been pleased to note that although some of the these new religious movements emerged from within an anti-Christian milieu many groups simply never took up an aggressive stance, or, if they did, they mostly quickly moved on (within a few decades) to a neutral and tolerant stance. Pearson (2002) puts it like this: "Wiccans and Pagans have been, and are at present, involved in the development of interfaith meetings with members of other religions, and [...] no longer requires legitimization through false histories or hatred of the Christian Church"94.

It seems natural and ascendant that modern religions such as the various forms of Paganism and New Age-style belief systems should abandon strict claims about their exclusive access to truth. In a world where fundamentalism seems forever on the rise many new religious movements represent a better side of religion, free from powermongering and free from the urge to enforce its doctrines on people for their own good.

5.3. Growing Acceptance of Paganism in the UK

#iceland #islam #sikhism

Paganism in general, in all of its forms, has been reviled by organized Christianity and the popular press. The Church can no longer get away with orchestrated violence, and, the growth of tolerance and human rights has meant that Paganism, from the 1980s onwards, became increasingly accepted as something that couldn't be beaten into invisibility. There is now "both official and academic recognition that Paganism is a serious religion"8 and the 1990s saw the start of a genuine era of actual tolerance.

In December 1994 Leeds University students chose a Wiccan witch to be their chaplain and in the same month the 1000 or so members of the Milton Keynes Wicca group were given land on which to hold open-air ceremonies. [...] There is a Pagan Prison Chaplain.

"Pagan Pathways" by Graham Harvey & Charlotte Hardman (1995)8

You might expect the establishments surrounding student life to be liberal - but the spread of acceptance has cast itself deep into what have previously been bastions of conservatism:

Much blether about devil-worship, 'political correctness gone mad' and the destructive effects of unchecked individualism greeted the announcement on July 16th [2009] of an official association for pagan policemen, to take its place alongside the existing Muslim Police Association and a recently created equivalent for Sikhs. [...] Despite the difficulties of definition, paganism has slowly been winning recognition from the authorities. [...] Pagan prisoners are now allowed to have religiously-themed possessions (wands, for instance), and in 2006 the Home Office approved a pagan oath for use in the courts 'By all that I hold sacred...'). [...] Britain has a way to go before it catches up with countries more recently Christianised: Asatruarfelagid, Iceland's pagan organisation, for example, was officially recognised in 1973, and is a beneficiary of that country's religious taxes.

The Economist (2009)95

Bias still exists. For example, few administrators thought anything of it when pagan websites were categorized by Internet filtering software as "Satanic/cult" and thusly widely blocked96. But battle by battle, the era of human rights has trumped such accidental (and deliberate) bias.

6. Parenting

#wicca

Wiccans and Pagans parents stick to the idea that children must choose a religion, and that it is morally wrong to bring a child up "as" the parent's religion. Until the child is old enough to research religions and pick one, they are not a member of a religion. "The children of Wiccan parents tend to be encouraged to learn about many different religious traditions, beliefs and practices, and the mythology found in comparative religions and civilizations".97

7. The Mythical and Invented Pasts of Paganism

#christianity #druidism #shamanism #wicca

Wicca, and forms of modern neo-Paganism grew up amongst the belief that they represent old religion, natural wisdom and that their rituals are survivals from a hidden rural past. The Pagan Federation's Introduction to Paganism webpage still states confidently, but wrongly, that "Paganism is the ancestral religion of the whole of humanity"5. This started with a campaign between 1890 and 1914 to promote a romantic version of the ideal English countryside, complete with ancient May Day celebrations98. Soon, it looked to all that such things were remnants from our pagan past. Wicca in particular, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, promoted the idea that there was once a historical, European-wide mystery religion comprised of witches organized into secret covens, that met at night and in the woods14,16,99. Archaeological evidence began to look like it supported the idea of a universal, ancient mother-goddess religion. Academia was giving serious consideration to the idea that that Witch Hunts of the Inquisition of the Catholic Church was genuinely trying to stamp out the remains of an underground pagan religion100. The witches involved passed on secret, ancient wisdom, that was normally to do with healing, botany, magic and other esoteric and occult knowledge. Modern Wicca, they held, is a modern revitalizing of this ancient religion (complete with occasional pseudo-archaic English usage), and this historical story was once widely adopted amongst neo-Pagans of most kinds, not just by early Wiccans101 and it still is believed by some pagans today102.

But extensive and careful research has now found these ideas to be false101 and based on the evidence, historians are now sure that our modern rituals and pagan religions are modern inventions100,103. The Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor explains that the archaeological evidence for a universal mother-goddess had proven to be inadequate - most sites have no sign of religion, or of motherly figurines, and most decorative and non-functional artefacts are concerned with sex - with the sex act itself, especially phallic symbols and depictions of human sex104. "Historical European witchcraft is quite simply a fiction", writes the religious historian R. Briggs (1996)105 and "any links between Wicca and the Great Witch Hunt of early modern Europe, for example, are now seen in terms of self-identification rather than as historical facts" according to Joanne Pearson (2002)106. The earliest comprehensive historical investigations have been conducted by the academic Ronald Hutton, an expert in the relevant prime sources. In 1995, he found that even though Druidry is well-documented from the 18th century onwards, the modern forms of it were still recreated as a new, pagan, "revival" - even though for the previous hundreds of years, it was all but a simplified version of Christianity2. He wrote that modern pagan Shamanism is "self-consciously a creation of the past two decades, drawing upon tribal models, often from native America, fused with ancient European imagery"2. Hutton's full findings were published as "The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft" (1999)107. Talking of Paganism rather than just Wicca, he adds a note of humour in one of his conclusions: "The Paganism of today has very little in common with that of the past except the name, which is itself of Christian coinage".

Wicca was at risk of falling into fundamentalism: Would Wiccans accept these historical facts, or would they disregard the evidence and descend into dogma and ignorance? Thankfully, influential historians such as Prof. Ronald Hutton became well respected, honoured and trusted within Pagan and Wiccan communities, for his honest and clear presentation of the historical facts. Wiccans, (followed by Druids and Pagans) in general gracefully and commendably changed their beliefs108,109, and have ever since remained on the liberal, peaceful and good-natured path, a fact documented by Ronald Hutton in the book mentioned above.