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Since the later 20th century, "Pagan" or "Paganism" has become widely used as a self-designation by adherents of [[Neopaganism]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A1032166 "A Basic Introduction to Paganism"], BBC, retrieved 19 May 2007.</ref> As such, various modern scholars have begun to apply the term to three separate groups of faiths: [[Polytheism#Historical_polytheism|Historical Polytheism]] (such as [[Celtic polytheism]] and [[Norse paganism]]), [[folk religion|Folk]]/[[Ethnic religion|ethnic]]/Indigenous religions (such as [[Chinese folk religion]] and [[African traditional religion]]), and [[Neo-paganism]] (such as [[Wicca]] and [[Germanic Neopaganism]]).
Since the later 20th century, "Pagan" or "Paganism" has become widely used as a self-designation by adherents of [[Neopaganism]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A1032166 "A Basic Introduction to Paganism"], BBC, retrieved 19 May 2007.</ref> As such, various modern scholars have begun to apply the term to three separate groups of faiths: [[Polytheism#Historical_polytheism|Historical Polytheism]] (such as [[Celtic polytheism]] and [[Norse paganism]]), [[folk religion|Folk]]/[[Ethnic religion|ethnic]]/Indigenous religions (such as [[Chinese folk religion]] and [[African traditional religion]]), and [[Neo-paganism]] (such as [[Wicca]] and [[Germanic Neopaganism]]).


==Etymology==
===Pagan===
The term ''pagan'' is from the Latin ''paganus'', an adjective originally meaning "[[rural]]", "rustic" or "of the country." As a noun, ''paganus'' was used to mean "country dweller, villager."<ref>http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/pagan.html Word History</ref>
The semantic development of post-classical Latin ''paganus'' in the sense "non-Christian, heathen" is unclear. The dating of this sense is controversial, but the 4th century seems most plausible. An earlier example has been suggested in [[Tertullian]] <u>De Corona Militis xi</u>, ''"Apud hunc [sc. Christum] tam miles est paganus fidelis quam paganus est miles infidelis,"'' but here the word ''paganus'' may be interpreted in the sense "[[civilian]]" rather than "heathen". There are three main explanations of the development:
*(i) The older sense of classical Latin ''pāgānus'' is "of the country, rustic" (also as noun). It has been argued that the transferred use reflects the fact that the ancient [[idolatry]] lingered on in the rural villages and hamlets after [[Christianity]] had been generally accepted in the towns and cities of the [[Roman Empire]]; cf. Orosius <u>Histories 1. Prol.</u> ''"Ex locorum agrestium compitis et pagis pagani vocantur."'' From its earliest beginnings, [[Christianity]] spread much more quickly in major urban areas (like [[Antioch]], [[Alexandria]], [[Corinth]], [[Rome]]) than in the countryside (in fact, the early church was almost entirely urban), and soon the word for "country dweller" became synonymous with someone who was "not a [[Christian]]," giving rise to the modern meaning of "Pagan." This may, in part, have had to do with the closeness to nature of rural people, who may have been more resistant to the new ideas of Christianity than those who lived in major urban centers and were cut off from the cycles of nature and the forms of spirituality associated with them. However, it may have also resulted from early Christian missionaries focusing their efforts within major population centers (e.g., [[Paul of Tarsus|St. Paul]]), rather than throughout an expansive, yet sparsely populated, countryside (hence, the Latin term suggesting "uneducated country folk") until a bit later on.
*(ii) The more common meaning of classical Latin ''pāgānus'' is "civilian, non-militant" (adjective and noun). Christians called themselves ''mīlitēs'', "enrolled soldiers" of [[Christ]], members of his [[Church militant and church triumphant|militant church]], and applied to non-Christians the term applied by [[soldier]]s to all who were "not enrolled in the army".
*(iii) The sense "heathen" arose from an interpretation of ''paganus'' as denoting a person who was outside a particular group or [[community]], hence "not of the city" or "rural"; cf. Orosius <u>Histories 1. Prol.</u> ''"ui alieni a civitate dei..pagani vocantur."'' See C. Mohrmann, <u>Vigiliae Christianae</u> 6 (1952) 9ff.
-- [http://dictionary.oed.com Oxford English Dictionary, (online) 2nd Edition (1989)]


The post-classical Latin ''paganismus'' gave rise to both ''paganism'' and to its synonym ''paynimry''.<ref>OED etymology for paynim: < Anglo-Norman paenisme, painisme, paienime, painnim, peinime, paenime, etc., and Old French paienime, paienisme heathen lands (c1150-74), heathen religion (1160) < post-classical Latin paganismus (see PAGANISM n.), probably influenced by Old French paien (see PAYEN n.).</ref> Paynimry may be used of paganism, its practises, and pagans,<ref>OED entry for 'paynimry'.</ref> as well as for the domain or realm of pagans.<ref>http://www.lexic.us/definition-of/paynimry</ref>

"[[Peasant]]" is a [[cognate]], via [[Old French]] ''paisent''. <ref>http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999%2e04%2e0062&query=id%3dpagus#id,pagus Harry Thurston Peck, ''Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquity'', 1897; "pagus"</ref>

In their distant origins, these usages derived from ''pagus'', "province, countryside", cognate to Greek πάγος "rocky hill", and, even earlier, "something stuck in the ground", as a landmark: the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root ''*pag-'' means "fixed" and is also the source of the words ''page'', ''[[The Pale|pale]]'' (stake), and ''pole'', as well as ''pact'' and ''peace''.

While ''pagan'' is attested in English from the 14th century, there is no evidence that the term ''paganism'' was in use in English before the 17th century. The [[Oxford English Dictionary|''OED'']] instances [[Edward Gibbon]]'s [[The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|''Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'']] (1776): "The divisions of Christianity suspended the ruin of paganism." The term was not a [[neologism]], however, as ''paganismus'' was already used by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]].<ref>Divers. Quaest. 83. Augustine makes clear that, in his time, ''paganus'' was the term in [[Vulgar Latin]] synonymous to educated ''gentilis'' "[[gentile]]".</ref>

Less than twenty years after the last vestiges of paganism were crushed with great severity by the emperor Theodosius I<ref>"Theodosius I", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912.[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14577d.htm]</ref> Rome was seized by [[Alaric]] in 410. This led to murmuring that the gods of paganism had taken greater care of the city than that of the Christian God, inspiring [[Augustine of Hippo|St Augustine]] to write ''[[The City of God]]'', alternative title "''De Civitate Dei contra Paganos'': The City of God against the Pagans", in which he claimed that whilst the great 'city of Man' had fallen, Christians were ultimately citizens of the 'city of God.'<ref>"The City of God", Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2003.</ref>

===Heathen===
''Heathen'' is from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''hæðen'' "not Christian or Jewish", (c.f. [[Old Norse]] ''heiðinn''). Historically, the term was probably influenced by [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''haiþi'' "dwelling on the [[heath]]", appearing as ''haiþno'' in [[Ulfilas]]' bible as "gentile woman," (translating the [[nam


==Terminology==
==Terminology==

Revision as of 22:50, 24 November 2008

"Pagan" and "Heathen" redirect here. For other usages, see Pagan (disambiguation) and Heathen (disambiguation)
Mayan priests dancing around fire at a ceremony. The Maya folk religion is considered to be pagan under all definitions of the word.
File:Romuvan ritual 11.PNG
Followers of Romuva, a Lithuanian Neopagan faith, practice a ritual around a fire.

Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller, rustic")[1] is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world. It is a term which, from a Western perspective, has modern connotations of spiritualist, animist or shamanic practices or beliefs of any folk religion contemporary. It has also been used as an equivalent term for polytheistic religions.[2]

The term has been defined broadly, to encompass the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.[3] The group so defined includes many of the Eastern religions, Native American religions and mythologies, as well as non-Abrahamic ethnic religions in general. More narrow definitions will not include any of the world religions and restrict the term to local or rural currents not organized as civil religions. Characteristic of pagan traditions is the absence of proselytism and the presence of a living mythology which explains religious practice.[4]

The term "pagan" is a Christian adaptation of the "gentile" of Judaism, and as such has an inherent Abrahamic bias, and pejorative connotations among Western monotheists,[5] comparable to heathen, and infidel, mushrik and kafir (كافر) in Islam. For this reason, ethnologists avoid the term "paganism," with its uncertain and varied meanings, in referring to traditional or historic faiths, preferring more precise categories such as polytheism, shamanism, pantheism, or animism; however others criticise the use of these terms, claiming that these are only aspects that different faiths may share and do not denote the religions themselves.

Since the later 20th century, "Pagan" or "Paganism" has become widely used as a self-designation by adherents of Neopaganism.[6] As such, various modern scholars have begun to apply the term to three separate groups of faiths: Historical Polytheism (such as Celtic polytheism and Norse paganism), Folk/ethnic/Indigenous religions (such as Chinese folk religion and African traditional religion), and Neo-paganism (such as Wicca and Germanic Neopaganism).


Terminology

Perchten procession in Klagenfurt, Austria, which is a remnant of a practice performed by the historical pagans of the area. Many elements of modern European culture and folklore originate among pagan beliefs and practises.

Both "pagan" and "heathen" have historically been used as a pejorative by adherents of monotheistic religions (such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam) to indicate a disbeliever in their religion. Although, in modern times it is not always used as a pejorative. "Paganism" frequently refers to the religions of classical antiquity, most notably Greek mythology or Roman religion, and can be used neutrally or admiringly by those who refer to those complexes of belief. However, until the rise of Romanticism and the general acceptance of freedom of religion in Western civilization, "Paganism" was almost always used disparagingly of heterodox beliefs falling outside the established political framework of the Christian Church. "Pagan" came to be equated with a Christianized sense of "epicurian" to signify a person who is sensual, materialistic, self-indulgent, unconcerned with the future and uninterested in sophisticated religion. The word was usually used in this worldly and stereotypical sense, particularly among those who were drawing attention to what they perceived as being the limitations of paganism, for example, as when G. K. Chesterton wrote: "The pagan set out, with admirable sense, to enjoy himself. By the end of his civilization he had discovered that a man cannot enjoy himself and continue to enjoy anything else." In sharp contrast Swinburne the poet would comment on this same theme: "Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath; We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death."[7]

Christianity itself has been perceived at times as a form of paganism by followers of the other Abrahamic religions[8][9]because of, for example, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the celebration of pagan feast days,[10] and other practices[11] – through a process described as "baptising"[12]or "christianization". Even between Christians there have been similar charges of paganism levelled, especially by Protestants,[13][14] towards the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches for their veneration of the saints and images.

"Heathen" (Old English hæðen) is a translation of Paganus. The Germanic tribes were distributed over Eastern and Central Europe by the 5th century, and their dialects ceased to be mutually intelligible from around that time. Christianization of the Germanic peoples took place from the 4th (Goths) to the 6th (Anglo-Saxons, Franks) or 8th (Alamanni, Saxons) centuries on the continent, from the 9th to 12th centuries in Iceland and Scandinavia and later still in Lithuania.[15]

Classifications

Pagan subdivisions coined by Isaac Bonewits[16]

Historical polytheism

Further information: Prehistoric religion and Polytheism
Bronze Age to Classical Antiquity (as opposed to Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Indian religions). In the case of Hinduism, the modern Hinduism, circa 1000 B.C., has clearly defined itself as a monotheistic religion... "Whereas in Christianity, Islam and Judaism there is only one God, in Hinduism, there is ONLY God."
Late Antiquity to High Middle Ages (as opposed to Abrahamic and Indian religions)

Contemporary ethnic religion

Shaman doctor of Kyzyl
A Kapsiki crab sorcerer of Rhumsiki
Main article: ethnic religion

There are many surviving traditions of ethnic religion. Organized ethnic religions that achieved the status of a civil religion are Shinto, tied to Japanese identity, and Judaism, tied to Jewish identity. In nationalist definitions, Hinduism may be tied to Indian identity.

Uninstitutionalized folk religion is found mainly in rural and sparsely populated areas. These include Animism, ancestor worship and Shamanism of Asia, Africa, the Americas, as well as New Guinea and other Pacific islands. Chinese folk religion is an umbrella term for uninstitutionalized folk traditions under a secular regime.

All world religions, however, also include folk religious aspects, as opposed to their theological or philosophical aspects, see folk Christianity, or local institutions of revealed religions may become strongly tied to ethnic identity, e.g. Yazdânism (Kurdish faiths descending from Zoroastrianism), Tibetan Buddhism, or various Christian national churches such as the Armenian Apostolic Church, the various Syriac churches, and the various branches of the Orthodox Church, e.g., Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and other non-Roman churches.

Africa

Main article: African traditional religion
Further information: Yoruba religion and Bwiti

During the expansion of the Sokoto Caliphate in West Africa, Islamic Fulbe (Fula) labelled their non-Muslim neighbours, such as this Kapsiki diviner, Kirdi, or "pagans".

Australian and Oceanic

Further information: Polynesian mythology, Micronesian mythology, Melanesian mythology, and Australian Aboriginal mythology

Eurasia

Main article: Eurasian Indigenous Religions
Further information: Chinese folk religion, Shamanism in Siberia, Korean shamanism, and Bön

Eurasian ethnic religions became largely extinct in the course of the Middle Ages, first with Christianization in the West and the spread of Buddhism in the East, and then with the Islamic conquests of Persia, Central and South Asia. A notable survival of pre-Islamic traditions are the people of Kafirstan, now shrunk to the Kalasha people, inhabiting three valleys in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The 2002 census of the Russian Federation reports 123,423 people (0.23% of the population) as belonging to ethnic groups predominantly adhering to "traditional beliefs", mostly in Siberia and the Russian Far East. the Mari-el republic within Russia is the last European Nation where I large percentage of the population has never been christianised and remains pagan. In Japan, polytheism survived in the form of Shintoism and Ryukyuan religion.

Central America

Main article: Maya religion
Further information: Mayan astrology

In spite of five centuries of persecution Mayan paganism is alive and well in Guatemala, and is experiencing a resurgence of interest among young Mayans. Recent peace accords signed by the Guatemalan government have provided funds to teach Mayan language and traditional religion in rural schools.

Neopaganism

File:YSEE ritual.jpg
A ceremony at the annual Prometheia festival of the Greek polytheistic group Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes, June 2006.
Main article: Neopaganism

Neopaganism includes reconstructed religions such as Hellenic polytheism, Celtic or Germanic reconstructionism as well as modern eclectic traditions such as Discordianism, or Wicca and its many offshoots.

Many of the "revivals", Wicca and Neo-druidism in particular, have their roots in 19th century Romanticism and retain noticeable elements of occultism or theosophy that were current then, setting them apart from historical rural (paganus) folk religion. The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið is a notable exception in that it was derived more or less directly from remnants in rural folklore.

Neopaganism in the United States accounts for roughly a third of all neopagans worldwide, and for some 0.2% of US population, figuring as the sixth largest non-Christian denomination in the US, after Judaism (1.4%), Islam (0.6%), Buddhism (0.5%), Hinduism (0.3%) and Unitarian Universalism (0.3%).[17]

Demographics

Paganism has been previously defined broadly, to encompass many or most of the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The term has also been used more narrowly,[18][19][20] however, to refer only to religions outside the very large group of so-called Axial Age faiths that encompass both the Abrahamic religions and the chief Indian religions. Under this narrower definition, which differs from that historically used by many[21][22] (though by no means all[23][24]) Christians and other Westerners, contemporary paganism is a relatively smaller and more marginal numerical phenomenon. According to Encyclopedia Britannica estimates (as of 2005), adherents of Chinese folk religion account for some 6.3% of world population, and adherents of tribal religions ("ethnoreligionists") for another 4.0%. The number of adherents of neopaganism is insignificant in comparison, amounting to 0.02% of world population at the most, or some 0.4% of the "ethnoreligious" population.

See also

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Notes

  1. ^ http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/pagan.html
  2. ^ Catholic Encyclopaedia (1917 edition) on paganism
  3. ^ Catholic Encyclopaedia (1917 edition) on paganism
  4. ^ "And it Harms No-one", A Pagan Manifesto, Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone, 1998.[1]
  5. ^ "Pagan", Encyclopedia Britannica 11th Edition, 1911, retrieved 22 May 2007.[2]
  6. ^ "A Basic Introduction to Paganism", BBC, retrieved 19 May 2007.
  7. ^ 'Hymn to Proserpine'
  8. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia
  9. ^ Shirk
  10. ^ Christianised calendar
  11. ^ Christianised rituals
  12. ^ The Pope, The Emperor and the Persian Leader
  13. ^ 'Philip Melanchthon 'Apologia Confessionis Augustanae'
  14. ^ Jean Seznec 'The Survival of the Pagan Gods'
  15. ^ Rowell, S.C.: Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire Within Europe 1295-1345 (Cambridge University Press 1994, ISBN 052145011X, 9780521450119
  16. ^ "Defining Paganism: Paleo-, Meso-, and Neo-" (Version 2.5.1) 1979, 2007 c.e., Isaac Bonewits
  17. ^ ARIS 2001 figures.
  18. ^ Meanings of the terms Pagan and Paganism
  19. ^ Eisenstadt, S.N., 1983, Transcendental Visions -- Other-Worldliness -- and Its Transformations: Some More Comments on L. Dumont. Religion13:1-17, at p. 3.
  20. ^ Michael York, Paganism as Root-Religion, The Pomegranate, 6:1 (2004), pp. 11-18 (distinguishing the main streams of developed religion as gnostic, dharmic, Abrahamic and pagan).
  21. ^ Catholic Encyclopaedia (1917 edition) on paganism
  22. ^ Hindu rites at a famous Catholic shrine shocks many Catholics
  23. ^ David Scott, Christian Responses to Buddhism in Pre-Medieval Times, Numen, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jul., 1985), pp. 88-100
  24. ^ Audrius Beinorius, Buddhism in the Early European Imagination: A Historical Perspective, ACTA ORIENTALIA VILNENSIA 6:2 (2005), pp. 7–22

References

  • Michael York, Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion NYU Press (2003), ISBN 0814797083.

Further Reading

  • Jones, P. & Pennick, N., (1995) "A History of Pagan Europe". New York, Barnes & Noble Books, ISBN 0-7607-1210-7.

External links

Look up pagan or heathen in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Paganism.
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