Paganism

Paganism is a word that early Christians used for people who believed in many gods. The word comes from a Latin word meaning “rustic,” and it often described people who lived in the countryside.

Back then, pagans were mainly people who were not part of religions like Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, especially in the Roman Empire.

One way people knew someone was a pagan was if they took part in special ceremonies, which were important in ancient Greece and Rome.

Later, the word “pagan” was used in new ways. In the 19th century, some artists and thinkers inspired by ancient cultures began calling themselves pagans. Today, many people who follow modern pagan traditions value nature worship and ideas that are different from larger religions. These modern beliefs can include many gods, or the idea that everything is part of God (pantheism), or that spirits live in all things (animism). We learn about ancient pagan religions by studying old writings, artifacts, and the cultures of classical antiquity.

Etymology and nomenclature

Pagan

Further information: Pagus

People started calling themselves pagans for their religion only in the 20th century. The idea of paganism was made by early Christians. They used "pagan" to describe people who did not share their beliefs. The word helped Christians know who was in their group and who was not.

The word "pagan" comes from a Latin word, paganus, meaning "country dweller" or "villager." Later, it came to mean someone who was not a follower of Christ. Early Christians often thought of themselves as soldiers, and they used this word for others who were not in their group.

Hellene

Further information: Hellenes (religion)

In the eastern part of the Roman Empire, people who followed the old religions of Ancient Greece were called "Hellenes." This name came from the Greek word for "Greeks." Early Christians, many of whom were Jewish, used this word to describe people who did not follow Christianity. Some of these people later began to call themselves Hellenes too, but not everyone liked this.

Heathen

"Heathen" is an old English word for someone who was not Christian or Jewish. It came from a word in old German languages. Today, some people who follow old Germanic religions call themselves "Heathens."

Definition

Defining paganism is tricky. Early Christians used the word to describe many different groups of people who practiced various religions. These groups were called "pagan" because they did not follow the Christian belief in one God.

Many of these ancient people believed in many gods, but some also believed in one main god with many lesser spirits or powers. What set them apart from Christians was that they did not worship the same one true God that Christians believed in. So, to Christians, anyone who did not share their belief was considered a pagan.

Perception and Ethnocentrism

When early Christians talked about people with different religions, they called them "pagans." They thought these people only cared about enjoying life and didn't think about the future or big religions. This made their own beliefs seem better.

Later, people understood this idea of "pagan" was unfair. It came from thinking one group's religion was better than others. Scholars like David Petts showed that calling many beliefs "pagan" meant they were seen as less important than the main religions. This way of thinking treated some cultures as less important.

History

Prehistoric

Prehistoric religion includes Paleolithic religion.

Bronze Age to Early Iron Age

Religions of the ancient Near East include:

• Ancient Egyptian religion
• Ancient Semitic religion
• Ancient Iranian religion
• Ancient Mesopotamian religion

Ancient history

Classical antiquity

Ancient Greek religion, Ancient Roman religion, Hellenistic religion, and Roman imperial cult were important traditions.

Ludwig Feuerbach described classical antiquity’s paganism as linking religion with daily life. Modern historians see it as public events without strict rules.

Late Antiquity

The word “pagan” began with Christianity to mean people not following Christian beliefs in the Roman Empire.

Early Christianity grew beside other beliefs like Dionysus, Neoplatonism, Mithraism, Gnosticism, and Manichaeanism. The worship of Dionysus affected Early Christian ideas, and Christianity set itself apart from “paganism” while taking some of its customs.

In Albania

Paganism in Albania shows how old religious ways stayed alive after Christianity arrived. Albanian folklore changed in remote places, keeping pagan rites even with later Christian, Muslim, and Marxist changes. Old customs, like the Kanun law, stayed important for all faiths.

Postclassical history

The Byzantine lineage

Christianity came to Mani in the 10th century, but people there fully changed to Christianity only in the 11th–12th centuries. The Maniots, living in mountains, were some of the last Greeks to leave their old traditions.

The End of the Athenian and Alexandrian Schools (5th–6th Century)

Byzantine thinkers found ways to handle religious questions. Important people included Proclus, Damascius, Ammonius Hermiae, Simplicius of Cilicia, and Dionysius of Thrace, who kept Hellenic ideas alive through careful writing and teaching.

The Macedonian Renaissance and Komnenian Era (9th–12th Century)

Scholars like Leo the Mathematician, Photius, Arethas of Caesarea, Michael Psellos, John Italos, Eustratios of Nicaea, and Michael of Ephesus used different methods to protect pagan writings.

The Palaiologan Renaissance (13th–15th Century)

Leaders like Gregory Choniades, Maximus Planudes, Theodore Metochites, and Georgios Gemistos Plethon found ways to share old texts through translation, saving, and careful writing.

The Arabic transmission

In the Near East, old traditions like astrology and Hermetic alchemy lived on through groups not following Islam, like the Sabians of Harran, who kept their faith hidden while adding to Arab learning.

Harran

Harran kept a mixed faith mixing Mesopotamian paganism with Neoplatonism, acting as a learning center during the Abbasid time. The city was allowed to stay because it was called “Sabians” under the Quran.

The Sabian Core: Pagan Identity and Literary Transmission

The Sabians kept their pagan beliefs, seeing science as part of their faith. Scholars like Thābit ibn Qurra helped math, astronomy, and sharing knowledge.

The Transmission to the Latin West (13th Century)

Arab learning, with Sabian ideas, reached the Latin West through people like Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and his scholar Michael Scot, who shared works on astrology and philosophy.

Islam in Arabia

Paganism in Arabia mostly ended during Muhammad’s time through Islamization. One of the last actions was the Demolition of Dhul Khalasa in 632 AD.

Modern history

Early Modern Renaissance

The Ordine Osirideo Egizio said it came from priests in Alexandria, keeping old pagan rites. During the Renaissance, people like Raimondo di Sangro brought back these practices.

New ideas suggest a line of teachers kept pagan ideas alive through learning and secret groups.

15th century

• Giovanni Pontano (1426–1503)

16th century

• Giambattista della Porta (1535–1615)
• Giordano Bruno (1548–1600)
• Tommaso Campanella (1568–1639)

17th–18th centuries

• Raimondo di Sangro (1710–1771)
• Alessandro Cagliostro (1743–1795)
• Vincenzo di Sangro
• Mario Pagano (1748–1799)
• Pietro Colletta (1775–1831)
• Domenico Bocchini

19th century

• Gabriele Rossetti (1783–1854)
• Orazio De Attellis (1790–1860)
• Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1873)
• Giuseppe Gallone (1820–1880)
• Pasquale del Pezzo (1825–1890)
• Michelangelo Caetani (1804–1882)
• Pasquale De Servis (1815–1880)
• Giustiniano Lebano (1832–1910)
• Ciro Formisano (Giuliano Kremmerz) (1861–1930)
• Leone Caetani (1869–1935)

Late Modern Romanticism

The 1800s saw more study of old pagan stories from folk tales. People like the Brothers Grimm and Elias Lönnrot collected these stories, helping others see them as part of national history.

Poets like G. K. Chesterton and Algernon Charles Swinburne used pagan ideas in their work. Romanticism matched the making of national stories and musical nationalism, showing old polytheists as proud figures.

In Italy

After the end of the Papal States, Italian unification grew anti-clerical feelings. Groups like the Brotherhood of Myriam brought back old Egyptian and Greco-Egyptian rites. People like Giacomo Boni and Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo supported Roman religion. In 1927, Julius Evola started the Gruppo di Ur, pushing Italian political paganism.

Late 20th century

The 1960s–1970s saw growth in neo-Druidism and modern Germanic paganism. Wicca, with ideas from feminism, led to Dianic Wicca. Books like Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon and Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance helped more people learn about paganism. Pagan meetings and festivals became common in the 1980s, creating many new traditions.

Interest in old Roman beliefs grew after fascism, inspired by Julius Evola. Groups like the Gruppo dei Dioscuri began, sharing booklets before ending. Journals like Arthos and Politica Romana talked about Roman religion.

The growth of the Internet in the 1990s sped up pagan movements. After the Soviet Union ended in 1991, freedom of religion let many religions grow, including paganism.

Modern paganism

Main article: Modern paganism

21st century

In the 2000s, Associazione Tradizionale Pietas began rebuilding temples in Italy and asked the government to recognize their practices. They were inspired by groups like YSEE in Greece. In 2023, Pietas joined a meeting called ECER and signed a document called the Riga Declaration. This document asks European countries to recognize old European religions. Public celebrations of ancient festivals, like the Natale di Roma, have also started again.

The idea of following ancient Roman religion has spread beyond Italy. People who practice it can be found in many European countries and in the Americas. The biggest group is Nova Roma, which began in 1998 and has members all over the world.

Modern paganism, also called Neopaganism, includes many different ways of practicing old religions. Some groups try to copy ancient religions very closely, like Roman Polytheistic Reconstructionism, Hellenism, Slavic Native Faith, Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, and heathenry. Other groups mix old ideas with new ones, like Wicca and its branches, Neo-Druidism, and Discordianism.

Some people who copy old religions are different from others who mix old and new ideas. They disagree about many things, like how closely to follow old practices.

In 1717, John Toland became the first leader of a group called the Ancient Druid Order. Many modern groups like Wicca and Neo-Druidism started in the 1800s and have ideas from older magic and spiritual teachings. Most modern pagans believe that nature is very important and full of spirit. They often call their beliefs "Earth religions."

Some writers have looked at how modern pagan groups relate to very old religions and to folk beliefs today. Isaac Bonewits made up words to describe these differences.

Neopaganism
This is the name for the modern movement that loves nature and old, pre-Christian religions or other nature-based spiritual paths. It often includes ideas that are fair and open to everyone. Groups like Wicca, Neo-Druidism, Heathenry, and Slavic Native Faith are part of this.

Paleopaganism
This word is used to describe the very old, original religions that honored many gods and nature, like the religions of ancient Greece, Rome, Germany, and Celtic lands.

Mesopaganism
This includes groups that mix older beliefs with new ideas from other religions. Examples are some Native American and Australian Aboriginal traditions, Viking Age Norse paganism, and New Age beliefs. They also include faiths like Haitian Vodou, Santería, and Espiritu religion. Isaac Bonewits also includes British Traditional Wicca in this group.

Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick said that pagan religions often have these traits:

• Polytheism: Pagan religions believe in many gods, who may be part of one bigger divine force.
• Nature-based: Some pagan religions see nature as full of spirit and very important.
• Sacred feminine: Some pagan religions honor a female divine force, called the Goddess, along with or instead of a male divine force.

In modern times, the words Heathen and Heathenry often refer to groups inspired by the old religions of Germanic, Scandinavian, and Anglo-Saxon peoples.

In Iceland, a group called Ásatrúarfélagið has nearly 2% of the country’s people. In Lithuania, many people practice Romuva, a revived version of their country’s old religion. Heathenry has been officially recognized in Australia since the 1930s.

Ethnic religions of pre-Christian Europe

Further information: Christianization

Many groups in Europe had their own ways of believing and worshipping before Christianity became common. These groups included the Proto-Indo-European people, Albanians, Baltic peoples, Basque people, Celtic peoples, Etruscans, Finnic peoples, Germanic tribes, Ancient Greeks, Minoans, Mari people, Norse, people of Ancient Rome, Sámi, Slavic peoples, and Thracians. Each group had its own stories, gods, and celebrations.

Reconstructionist groups

Some people today follow old ways of worshipping from ancient Greece and other cultures. These groups include Hellenism and Romuva. They study and follow the beliefs and traditions of people who lived long ago.