We explain what a pagan is, the origin of the term and its relationship with monotheistic religions. Also, what is neopaganism.
What is a pagan?
Commonly, pagans are called those who practice religious practices that do not correspond to the great monotheistic religions. In general, it is a term reserved for practitioners of Greco-Roman, Celtic or Slavic religious traditions, as well as their modern reinterpretations (neo-paganism).
The word pagan comes from Latin paganuswhich translates “inhabitant of the payment”, that is, of the village, of the countryside, of rustic environments. It began to be used in the 5th century when Christianity had already become the official religion of the Roman Empire.
At that time, it was a derogatory way of calling the villagers and peasants who rejected the Christian faith or half accepted it, since they were still clinging to their traditional beliefs and religions, more linked to the natural cycles that accompany agricultural life.
Thus, initially, the pagani They were the non-Christians of the empire, or those still clinging to the Greco-Roman faith. The rest of the non-Roman cults and religions were later added to this, although Jews and Muslims were exempt, given that Judaism and Islam are Abrahamic monotheistic religions, that is, related to the Christian cult (the three are called “ religions of the book”).
In general, The monotheistic tradition takes a very dim view of paganism. Accusations of idolatry, hedonism or heresy were common throughout Christian history, for example. In the light of Christianity, African religions, native American religions, Asian religions and all forms of non-theistic mysticism are pagan.
Paradoxically, during the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic, Coptic, Anglican and Orthodox churches themselves were often accused of harboring a kind of paganism, given their tendency to use images and statues in religious practice, and to preserve a growing list of venerated images.
Neopaganism
Neopaganism (“new paganism”) is a set of modern mystical or religious movements that revive the imagery and practices of European or American pagan cults, often linking them with certain current ecological considerations. In general, the movement encompasses four major trends:
- Traditional witchcraft Related to traditional European or American witchcraft stories.
- The wicca or new witchcraft Emerged in Europe in the 20th century, from a series of reconsiderations of the imaginary of traditional witchcraft.
- Cults based on modern syncretism That is, in the coexistence of elements of different pagan origin, vaguely classifiable within the so-called New Age.
- Neopagan reconstructionism Which consists of the modern attempt to revive as faithfully as possible the cult of the deities of classical antiquity: Tengrianism, neoshamanism, the Egyptian religion, the Hellenic religion, the Germanic religion or the Celtic druidic religion, among others.
Continue with: Tradition
References
- “Paganism” on Wikipedia.
- “Pagano, na” in the Dictionary of the language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Paganism” in Online Catholic Encyclopedia.
- “Paganism” in The New World Encyclopedia.
- “Neo-Paganism” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
