FAQs about Pagans

What is a pagan?
There are several types of pagans depending on how the word is defined. It could refer to a religion or religions, a nature based belief system, or even atheistic beliefs.
The word is often used today interchangeably with the word Neopagan. Neopagans revere the Earth and its creatures and tend to see all life as interconnected.

So, what does the word pagan mean?
The word pagan has been called a skunk word, or a word with several meanings. It comes from the Latin word paganus but there is some debate as to what paganus means prior to the fifth century C.E. There are three main definitions:
1. Most modern writers believe the term was pejorative and meant rustic, hick, or country bumpkin. This was because during the rise of Christianity city dwellers adopted the new religion before those in the country. Thus those that lived in the country were seen as unsophisticated or backward.
2. Some cite the fact that in the early Roman Empire paganus meant civilian as opposed to military. Christians called themselves miles Christi (Soldiers of Christ). Non-Christians became pagani or non-soldiers or civilians. No denigration would be implied.
3. Another meaning may have been outsider, as a neutral term, and the other meanings, civilian and hick, were specialized uses of the term.
By the third century C.E. it came to mean all non-Christians and even implied the worship of Satan.

What are the different common usages of the word types of pagan?
There are six commonly recognized usages of the word pagan or paganism today.
Followers of Neopaganism, heathens (not belonging to my religion), ancient polytheists, any believers in aboriginal religions, non-Abramics (not of the line of Abraham), and atheists, agnostics, humanists, etc. have all been called pagans.

What is a Neopagan?
Neopagans usually call themselves simply Pagans. This use of the term embraces a wide range of Earth centered beliefs involving living with and in harmony with the cycles of nature. This often involves religions based on deities, symbols, practices, and seasonal days of celebration. Many of these are based on surviving components of ancient suppressed religions. Some of the groups I this category would be the Celtic Druidic religion, the Norse Asatru, and the pre-Celtic Wiccans. Others may follow Roman, Greek, Egyptian or other traditions

What is Wicca?
Wicca is sometimes called The Craft of the Wise. Gerald Gardner, a British civil servant, founded it in the 1940’s. Gardner’s Wicca contains Celtic deities and symbols, seasonal days of celebration, and ceremonial magic and practices of the Masonic Order. A newer form of Wicca is Eclectic Wicca, which combines Wiccan beliefs and practices, with other Pagan and non-Pagan elements.

Is there a God in Wicca?
Most Wiccans believe in an unknowable God. This God is sometimes called the All or the One. Often this God will have a male and female aspect, called the God and the Goddess. The Goddess might relate to Athena, Brigit, Diana, Ishtar, Isis, Venus, etc. The God may be seen as Adonis, Apollo, Dionysus, Odin, Osiris, Thor, Zeus, etc.

Do Wiccans worship a God?
God and Goddess usually are not worshiped in the same way as followers of other religions do. Some Wiccans pray, some don’t.

Is Wicca a form of Satanism?
No, Wiccans do not believe in an all-evil deity.

What are some Wiccan rituals?
Many Wiccans welcome a newborn into the community. However, it does not obligate the infant in any way. There are also initiation rituals, some self-initiation, some communal. Many Wiccans observe Esbat rituals at the thirteen or so full moons each year. There are eight Sabbats: four minor at the solstices and equinoxes, and four major each year. Some Wiccans devise their own rituals.

What about the ancient pagans?
Religions of ancient Celtic, Egypt, Greece, Norse, Rome, and other cultures are frequently referred to as Pagan religions. Many of these religions are portrayed as engaging in hedonism, sexual and other immoralities, and human sacrifice. On the contrary, most had strict moral religious and behavioral codes.

Were the ancient pagans polytheistic?
Ancient paganism had three main expressions. It was associated with rustic witchcraft, or the gods of the myths handed down to us by Hesiod and Homer. But, it also had a third, mystical, expression. The great thinkers, artists, and innovators of this period were initiates of the Pagan Mystery Schools. These existed outside of the official state religions. The Mystery schools taught that all is One.

Who were some of the famous ancient pagans?
Some of the greatest men and women ever to exist were pagans. Pythagoras, Socrates, Heraclitus, Diogenes, Plutarch, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, and Hypatia, daughter of the Museum of Alexandria’s great mathematician Theon, last keeper of the library, were all pagans.

What are Aboriginal pagans?
Many native, aboriginal societies have animistic, spirits-and-essences belief systems. They are based on the forces of nature and usually involve idols, talismans and taboos. This is also known as Paleo-paganism if it has not been disturbed by modern cultures.
It may evolve into Meso-paganism if it becomes influenced, but remains independent, Syncreto-paganism if it becomes submerged, such as Voudoun or Santeria, or Civilo-paganism if it becomes dominant as in Classical Greco-Roman religions.

Who are the non-Abramic pagans?
Anyone who follows a religion that does not recognize Abraham, of the Old Testament of the Bible, is sometimes described as a pagan. This would include agnostics, atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Humanists, Taoists, etc.

These questions are offered as a simple introduction to the Pagan tradition.
They are presented as an opportunity for further exploration and understanding. No claim is made as to their accuracy or validity.

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