See Neo-Pagan (literature) for the term used in literary criticism.

Neopaganism or Neo-Paganism is any of a heterogeneous group of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by ancient, primarily pre-Christian and sometimes pre-Judaic religions. Often these are Indo-European in origin, but with a growing component inspired by other religions indigenous to Europe, such as Finno-Ugric, as well as other parts of the world. As the name implies, these religions are Pagan in nature, though their exact relationship to older forms of Paganism is the source of much contention.

Neopagan beliefs and practices are extremely diverse, and the term itself is rather amorphous. Some Neopagans practice a syncretic melding of various religious practices, folk customs and ritual techniques deriving from an extremely wide array of disparate sources, while Reconstructionists attempt to remain historically authentic to varying degrees. Other Neopagans practice a spirituality that is entirely modern in origin.

In the USA, Wicca is the largest Neopagan belief, being an extremely diverse and inclusive religion. Many Wiccans endorse some precepts including a reverence for nature and active ecology, venerations of a Goddess and/or Horned God, usage of ancient mythologies, a belief in magick and sometimes the belief in reincarnation.

Since the term Pagan was coined from an Abrahamic viewpoint, summarizing non-Abrahamic religions, Neopaganism may be defined as "post-Christian" new religious movements (or, in the recent case of Judeo-Paganism, "post-Judaistic"), and is pronouncedly a modern phenomenon with its roots in early 19th century Romanticism. Polytheistic or animistic traditions that survived into modern times relatively untouched by Christianity and Islam, like Shinto or Hinduism are usually not considered pagan or neopagan. In some instances, notably in Icelandic Asatru, the revivalist movements incorporate surviving strains of pre-Christianization folklore. Other Neopagans stress a connectedness or lineage with older forms of Paganism in terms of an alleged "underground" continuity or tradition, but such claims are largely spurious.

History

During Christianization, Christianity absorbed some pagan elements, but it was not until the High Middle Ages that scholarly interest in the cultures and religions of Classical Antiquity began to thrive. Thomas Aquinas attempted to fuse concepts of Graeco-Roman philosophy and cosmology with Christianity. With the Renaissance, Graeco-Roman mythology became omnipresent in Europe, but it was still clad in a Christian interpretation. Neopaganism proper begins only with 18th century Romanticism, and the surge of interest in Germanic paganism with the Viking revival in Britain and Scandinavia. Neo-Druidism was established in Britain by Iolo Morganwg from 1792, and is considered by some to be the first Neopagan revival.

These trends of pagan revival reached Germany in the late 19th century Völkisch movement, which was to become one of the main roots of 20th century Neopaganism. The late 19th century also saw a renewal of interest in various forms of Western occultism, particularly in England. During this period several occult societies were formed such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Ordo Templi Orientis. Several prominent writers and artists were involved in these organizations, including William Butler Yeats, Maud Gonne, Arthur Edward Waite, and Aleister Crowley. These groups attempted to syncretize the "exotic" pre-Christian beliefs of the Druids and Egyptians into their belief system, although not necessarily for purely religious purposes. Along with these early occult organizations, there were other social phenomena such as the interest in mediumship, and an interest in magic and other supernatural beliefs which were at an all time high in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Some evidence suggests that returning colonials and missionaries brought ideas from native traditions home to Britain. In particular the anthropologist Sir James George Frazer's The Golden Bough (1900) was influential.

The word "Neo pagan" first appears in an essay by F. Hugh O'Donnell, Irish MP in the British House of Commons, written in 1904. O'Donnell, writing about the theater of W. B. Yeats and Maud Gonne, criticized their work as an attempt to "marry Madame Blavatsky with Cuchulainn". Yeats and Gonne, he claimed, openly worked to create a reconstructionist Celtic religion which incorporated Gaelic legend with magic.

It might be well to consider the words of G. W. F. Hegel, Philosophy of Right (1821): "It is one thing to be a pagan, quite another to believe in a pagan religion".

In the 1920s Margaret Murray theorized that a witchcraft religion existed underground and in secret, and had survived through the religious persecutions and Inquisitions of the medieval Church. Most historians reject Murray's theory, as it was partially based on the similarities between the accounts given by those accused of witchcraft. However, this similarity is thought to actually derive from the standard set of questions that were used by interrogators, as laid out in the Malleus Maleficarum. Murray's theories generated interest, which were echoed in novels by Mitchison such as the The Corn King and the Spring Queen and covens emerged based upon the theories of Murray.

In the 1940s Gerald Gardner claimed to have been initiated into a New Forest coven led by a woman named "Dafo", whom some surmise was actaually a woman named Dorothy Clutterbuck - an ex-colonial woman returned from India. Gardner had already written about Malay native customs and wrote books about witchcraft. Gardnerian Wicca is used to refer to the traditions of Neopaganism that adhere closely to Gardner's teachings, differentiating between Alexandrian Wicca and standard Wicca.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a resurgence in Neo-druidism as well as the rise of Germanic Neopaganism and Ásatrú in the USA and in Iceland.

Historical sources

Many Neopagans and Neopagan traditions attempt to incorporate historical religions and mythologies into their beliefs and practices, often emphasizing the hoary age of their sources. Thus, Wicca in particular is sometimes referred to by its proponents as the "Old Religion", a term popularized by Margaret Murray in the 1920s, while Germanic Neopaganism is referred to as Forn Sed or "the Old Way". Such emphasis on the antiquity of religious tradition is not exclusive to Neopaganism, and is found in many other religions. For example the terms Purana, Sanatana Dharma, and the emphasis on the antiquity of the Ancient Egyptian sources of the Hellenistic Mystery religions. Antiquity of source suggests authenticity and authority to many believers, be they Christian, Mormon, or any faith.

Some claims

However, while Neopagans draw from old religious traditions, they also adapt them. The mythologies of the ancient civilizations are not generally considered to be literally factual by Neopagans, in the sense that the Bible and other Abrahamic texts are commonly understood. Many Neopagans are resistant to the concept of scripture.

The mythological sources of Neopaganism are varied, including Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, Sumerian, Egyptian and others. Some groups focus solely on one tradition, while others draw from several. For example, Doreen Valiente's text The Charge of the Goddess used materials from The Gospel of Aradia by Charles Leland (1901), as well as material from Aleister Crowley's writings.

Some Neopagans also draw inspiration from modern traditions, including Christianity, Buddhism and others. Since many Neopagan beliefs do not require exclusivity, some Neopagans practice other faiths in parallel or dual trad.

Since many Neopagans take a rather undogmatic religious stance, and sometimes see no one as having authority to deem a source "apocryphal", Neopaganism has been notably prone to fakelore, especially in recent years, as information and misinformation alike have been spread on the Internet and in published mediums. However, many reconstructionist sects like those who practice Theodism or Gaelic Traditionalism do indeed take a dogmatic religious approach, and only recognize certain historical texts and sources as being relevant to their belief system, intentionally eschewing "foreignisms", and having a general disdain for the eclectic mentality that is prevalent amongst most Neopagans.

Ecological and mystical currents

Neopaganism generally emphasizes the sanctity of Earth and Nature. Some Neopagans are influenced by Animist traditions of the indigenous Native Americans and Africans. Neopagans often feel a duty to protect the Earth through activism, and support causes such as rainforest protection, Organic farming, permaculture, animal rights, etc.

Concepts of the divine

Most Neopagan traditions are polytheistic, but the interpretation of the concept of deity varies widely, including pantheist, dualist, deist, animist, henotheist, psychological and mystical variations and interpretations.

Hutton states that the historical Pagans did not see "All Goddesses as one Goddess; all Gods as one God", but some modern Neopagans believe that there is but a single divinity or life force of the universe, which is immanent in the world. The various manifestaions and archetypes of this divinity are not viewed as wholly separate, but as different aspects of the divine which are ineffable.

In Wicca, (especially Dianic Wicca) the concept of an Earth or Mother Goddess similar to the Greek Gaia is emphasized. Male counterparts are also evoked, such as the Green Man and the Horned God (who is loosely based on the Celtic Cernunnos.) These duo-theistic philosophies tend to emphasise the God and Goddess' (or Lord and Lady's) genders as being analogous of a concept similar to that of the oriental yin and yang; ie, two complementary opposites. However, while many Oriental philosophies explicitly contrast weakness with femininity and strength with masculinity, this discrepancy is not present in Neopaganism and Wicca (for the most part). A common concept in Neopaganism is that "a religion without a Goddess is half way to atheism", can partially explain the commonly prevailing attitude which sometimes manifests as the veneration of women (although the concept of binary gender roles are rejected by other Neopagans.)

Historical paganism, particularly in the Mediterranean, tended to regard beliefs as valid as long as they conformed to the traditions and customs, or cultural patrimony of the people. As Christian eschatology became a rising force, many pagan authors wrote arguments against Christian claims and in defense of the traditional religions which give us insight into their contrasting beliefs.

Worship and Ritual

Many Neopagan beliefs incorporate occult, witchcraft and magical elements. Wicca in particular emphasizes the role of witchcraft and ritual.

Most Neopagan religions celebrate the cycles and seasons of nature through a festival calendar that honors these changes. The festival calendar can change from climate to climate, and can also depend upon which particular Neopagan religion the adherent subscribes to.

Number of adherents

estimates that there are one million Neopagans. It is necessary to clearly define which groups are included in any estimate, using the term "Neopagan" or "Pagan". There is a distinct difference between Western Paganism and Neopaganism, which are technically a New Religious Movements), and the ethnic and indigenous beliefs of peoples across the world. Thus, if one used the Abrahamic definition of "pagan" to describe these peoples who do not subscribe to an Abrahamic belief, the numbers of "Pagans" and "Neopagans" would increase by millions.

Most Neopagans do not have distinct temples, usually holding rituals in private homes or sacred groves and other outdoor locations. Many adherents keep their faith secret for fear of repercussions. Many also practice their faith as "Solitaries" (short for "solitary practitioners"), and work within no fixed spiritual community.

A study by Ronald Hutton compared a number of different sources (including membership lists of major UK organizations, attendance at major events, subscriptions to magazines, etc.) and used standard models for extrapolating likely numbers. This estimate accounted for multiple membership overlaps as well as the number of adherents represented by each attendee of a Neopagan gathering. Hutton estimated that there are 250,000 Neopagan adherents in the UK, roughly equivalent to the national Hindu community. ="Scotland">Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Some CRs also take into account the Greek and Roman records of Druidry.

CR and Neo-Druidism are separate but overlapping traditions. Some present-day Druids attempt to reconstruct the beliefs and practices of ancient Druidism. Other modern-day followers of Druidism claim to have worked directly with the spirits of places, of pagan gods and of their own ancestors to create a new Druidism, see Neo-druidism, Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, Ár nDraíocht Féin.

Germanic

Main article: Germanic Neopaganism

Based on the Germanic paganism of the Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures. Some Germanic Neopagans prefer the term heathenry.

The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið was established by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson in the 1972. Odinic Rite was initiated by Else Christensen from 1969, under its present name founded 1973.

Baltic

Romuva is a Lithuanian Pagan tradition, while a Neopagan Latvian tradition is called Dievturiba.

Slavic

Most Slavic neopagans follow customs of old Slavic religion and revere Slavic gods. Many use the Book of Veles as their sacred text. As a group these

Finnic

• Finnish neopaganism
• Ukkos faith

Syncretic and eclectic

It is important to make a distinction between syncretic traditions such as Santeria, Candomble, Voudou, and the like, which tend to have clearly defined histories, rituals, and hierarchies, and the more casual approach of modern eclectic pagans. Syncretism, in its most basic form, is a religious tradition that melds together two often seemingly incompatible belief systems--such as West African animism and Roman Catholic Christianity--to create a religious tradition entirely new. Syncretic traditions are often a result of colonialism and the oppression of native belief systems. Rather than abandon their cultural heritage, conquered people would often put new faces on their existing gods and goddesses, as is the case with the Afro-Caribbean tradition of Santeria. Here, the Orishas of the West African Yoruba people lived on behind the masks of Catholic saints. Yemaya, Goddess of the Sea, Terrible Mother, became the Virgin Mary. Chango, a fierce God who loves tribute made of iron and steel, became Santa Barbara, to whom Spanish soldiers also prayed in times of war. And so on.

Christianity has relied to a greater and lesser extent on syncretism as it spread throughout Europe, the Americas, and the rest of the world. Catholic saints often bore strong resemblances to local deities and folk heroes. The early Celtic church was an excellent example of syncretism at work, and it wasn't until the end of the 8th century A.D. that Rome had managed to get its half-pagan Irish child properly Christianized. In fact, the Order of St. Brigid continues to tend her sacred flame in the same spot in Kildare where priestesses once sat thousands of years ago.

So, one might say that the difference between syncretism and eclectic paganism is generally one of culture. Whereas syncretism is the result of two religious traditions meeting, colliding, and merging, eclectic pagans intentionally set out to seek wisdom and experience from a variety of traditions. Eclectic pagans may be compared to "church shoppers" who simply never settled down into one congregation, coven, or tradition. They are often solitary, but may form covens with other eclectic practitioners. Eclectic pagans, just as the term suggests, "borrow" from many different traditions to create a patchwork of personal ritual and belief. Eclectic pagans tend to notice the similarities among traditions rather than the differences, and to choose images, rituals, or even materials that they find inherently appealing.

Eclectic paganism brings with it certain dangers: a tendency to look at the surface rather than the deeper meaning of rituals; the possibility of treating another culture's religious traditions without the proper amount of reverence. It is a path than can seem appealing to those who are new to paganism, but may be difficult to follow indefinitely. Members of other traditions sometimes refer to eclectic pagans as "fluff-bunnies," suggesting that they are lightweights and not serious about their craft. This is also a derogatory term used for those who dabble in witchcraft or paganism but are not serious about it as a spiritual path.

Wicca

Main article: Wicca

Wicca with its various branches can be traced back to Gerald Gardner's Witchcraft, founded in the UK during the late 1940s. Wicca is based on the symbols, seasonal days of celebration, beliefs and deities of a variety of ancient cultures, including Celtic and Germanic. Added to this material were heavy Masonic and ceremonial magical components from recent centuries.

Many practitioners of traditional initiatory Wicca consider that the term 'Wicca' only correctly applies to an initiate of a traditional branch of the religion (such as Gardnerian or Alexandrian Wicca) because "solitary Wicca" or "eclectic Wicca" is so radically different in practice from the religion established by Gardner. However, the term has increasingly come to be adopted by people who are not initiates of a traditional lineaged coven. These non-initiatory Wiccans may undertake rituals of self-initiation, and generally work alone as solitaries or in informal groups, rather than in organised coven situations. Thus non-initiatory Wicca shares some of the basic religious principles, ethics and the ritual system of 'traditional' or 'initiatory' Wicca, but not the organisational structure or the belief that Wiccan initiation requires a transferral of power from an initiator. Therefore, practitioners of traditional initiatory Wicca have adopted the term "British Traditional Wicca" to differentiate themselves from this movement.

Since solitary or eclectic Wicca is so flexible and syncretic (some have gone so far as to describe themselves as Christian Wiccan) it could be considered a New Age spirituality.The main branches of British Traditional Wicca are Gardnerian Wicca, adhering strictly to principles as laid down by Gardner, and Alexandrian Wicca. However, other flavours of Wicca can be created ad libidem, summaried as Eclectic Wicca, e.g. Faery Wicca, Kemetic Wicca, Odyssean Wicca, Shakti Wicca, Judeo-Paganism or "jewitchery" etc. Dianic Wicca, or "Feminist Wicca", emphasizes the divine feminine, often creating women-only groups.

Other

• Eco-Paganism/Eco-Magic: 'The Ecology Party at prayer' (Hutton) is an active, earth loving ecology network that uses meditation and ritual to sustain conservation projects and eco-politics.
• Techno-Pagans: Rather than looking back to ancient mythos, Techno-Pagans are inspired by modern technology, especially computers and rave music.
• Christo-Paganism: Certain individuals and groups identify with both Christianity and Neopaganism, or in some cases with Christianity and some form of Historical Reconstructionism. They create their own syncretic spirituality from the aspects of both religions.

Some Unitarian Universalists are Pagan. Unitarian Universalism is a non-dogmatic, non-creedal, individual search for truth. Unitarian Universalists seek to find individual truth, incorporating a variety of Pagan and non-Pagan beliefs; so most UU Pagans do not identify with any specific Pagan tradition. They can be considered Neopagans.

Related theological concepts

• Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit every existing thing, including plants, minerals, animals and, including all the elements, air, water, earth, and fire. Since a spirit pervades every piece of living matter, an individual can absorb its essence by eating it. For example, ingesting the brains of a particularly clever creature will impart its intelligence to the ingester. Animism was probably the first form of religion/philosophy.

• Monotheism is the belief in one ultimate Deity alone, or in the unique God.

• Panentheism is the belief that God is both immanent in creation and transcendent to it. God creates, contains and sustains the universe, but mysteriously exists outside of it as well. Subjectively, it can be explained as the feeling that nature, the universe, has a divine or awe-inspiring aspect. This is a form of monotheism. Compare with the Logos.

• Pantheism is the belief that god is the universe and the universe is god -- or, more generally, that the universe is literally Divine. Thus what happens in the universe is happening to god. If there is evil in the universe, then god is partly evil. Matter and spirit are two sides of the same coin. They come from the same source and share the same essential nature. Dualism is an illusion.

• Dualism (sometimes known as Ditheism) is the belief that there are only two fundamental things or substances or constituents of things in the world at large or in the human soul. Most commonly, this implies a God and a Devil-god, absolute good and absolute evil, or spirit and matter. Some sects of Gnosticism were dualist in this sense. Another example, from neopaganism, is the existence of a Goddess and God, neither of which is either good or evil, but each of which exists simultaneously and balances the other despite their mutual independence.

• Polytheism is the belief in more than one god(dess). Polytheism often involves the worship of a heavenly pantheon of kindred gods, with one chief god who typically sits as lord. In addition, a polytheist may show respect to lesser spirits which are not part of the gods' pantheon, but which may be associated with specific localities, plants, elements, other-worldy realms, or mind-states. A polytheist may also believe in the existence of gods worshipped outside his own culture. In a form of polytheism more closely related to henotheism (such as Mormonism), one god is supreme and the others are ancillary and do not have the same level of godhead ("god-ness").

• Henotheism is devotion to a single god while accepting the existence of many gods. Forms of late Greek and Roman classical religion were henotheistic. Some forms of modern Hinduism are also henotheistic.

• Monism is the idea that everything, possibly including multiple gods, is all part of a single god. Neoplatonism and most forms of modern Hinduism are also monistic.

• Monolatrism is a type of polytheism. Its adherents believe that many gods do exist, but these gods can exert their power only on those who worship them. Thus, a monolatrist may believe in the reality of both the Egyptian gods and the god described in the Bible, but sees him or herself as a member of only one of these religions. The gods that he/she worships affect their life; the other gods do not. This reflects a form of solipsism and universalism.

• Suitheism is the belief in the deity of one's own self without denying the existence of other god(desse)s. This is common in Thelema and among Left-Hand Path occultists.

• Universalism is the position that there is value in many different belief systems, or that a variety of religions share important similarities.

Usage of the term 'Neopagan'

The term "Neopagan" is used by academics and adherents alike to denote those Pagan traditions which are largely modern in origin, or which are conceived as reconstructions of ancient practices.

Some critics claim that Neopagans cannot legitimately be considered practitioners of any "true" Pagan religion, citing that in the history of ideas it is understood that revivals are not identical to their models: e.g., Roman sculpture compared to the neoclassicism of, for example, Antonio Canova. Furthermore, a revival or reconstruction can only be as true to the original as the reference material from which it draws, and many alleged Pagan reconstructions have been shown to owe more to erroneous scholarship (such as that of Margaret Murray) or even to outright fakelore than to any historically authentic Pagan religious practice. Claims of inherited, unwritten, underground Pagan traditions, which would convey authenticity while conveniently avoiding academic scrutiny, were formerly the standard counter to such observations. These claims are viewed with increasing scepticism by Neopagans, though a small minority adhere to them.

However, no accepted definition of the term "Pagan" requires unbroken continuity with earlier forms; the term is applied according to what the adherent believes, not according to the historical provenance of those beliefs. So while Neo-Egyptian spirituality may not be the same thing as its original, both are technically Pagan (albeit very different varieties).

The usage of the term is further complicated by paganism apparently having arisen in the 18th or 19th century at the earliest as a term for a primitive state of religious belief, rather than a group of beliefs. (The term pagan is much older than paganism.) While it may therefore be possible to revive a Pagan religion or tradition, it is not possible to revive 'paganism' as such, since the term described a condition and not a set of beliefs. It is also misleading to regard individual Pagan traditions, new or old, as subsets of Paganism; it is more accurate to regard 'Paganism' as a disparaging and generalising label applied to a wide variety of belief systems.

The term Neopaganism does provide a means of distinguishing between those religions which have continued through history and those which consist of an attempt to revive or emulate earlier faiths. The argument for using it is that without the 'neo' prefix, there is a misleading implication of unbroken connection (and moral identification) with the pagan traditions of the past, since there is no difference between the label applied to a contemporary 'pagan' and an ancient one. Some modern pagans within the community desire exactly this removal of distinction, since the movement gains authority and relevance by appearing to have its roots in ancient tradition. Others within contemporary paganism consider this dishonest, and emphasise that the modern practice is connected with the old only by aspiration.

Difficulties have arisen following attempts to revive supposed elements of ancient Paganism whose existence has later proven to be tenuous. A case in point is Eostre, a goddess sufficiently popular to have had the modern Wiccan Spring Equinox festival of Ostara named after her in the USA and presented as the historical forerunner of Easter. However, according to recent statements from academic sources, Eostre never existed as a figure of worship; she was invented by the 8th century scribe Bede , who misunderstood second-hand reports.

Although some Neopagans dismiss such academic conclusions as irrelevant to their beliefs, the majority accept them. They are not disheartened when the evidence suggests that their beliefs have been founded on a misreading of history or upon fakelore, and instead contend that any goddess who is worshipped is 'real', whether she previously existed in history or not .

See also

• Paganism
• List of religions
• New age travellers

References

Neo-Paganisme Neopaganismusen:Neopaganism Novpaganismo Neopaganismo Uuspaganlus Néo-paganisme Neopaganesimo Újpogányság Neopoganizm Neopaganismo Неоязычество Novopohanstvo Неопаганизам