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Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not milites Christi (soldiers of Christ).J. J. O'Donnell (1977), Paganus: Evolution and Use , Classical Folia, 31: 163–69.Augustine, Divers. Quaest. 83. Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene, gentile, and . Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the ".
During and after the Middle Ages, the term paganism was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in . The origin of the application of the term "pagan" to polytheism is debated.Davies, Owen (2011). Paganism: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. . In the 19th century, paganism was adopted as a self-descriptor by members of various artistic groups inspired by the ancient world. In the 20th century, it came to be applied as a self-descriptor by practitioners of modern paganism, modern pagan movements and polytheistic reconstructionists. Modern pagan traditions often incorporate beliefs or practices, such as nature worship, that are different from those of the largest world religions.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Paganism, Oxford Dictionary (2014) Paganism , The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, Bron Taylor (2010), Oxford University Press,
Contemporary knowledge of old pagan religions and beliefs comes from several sources, including anthropological field research, the evidence of Archaeology, philology of ancient language, and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to Classical antiquity. Most Modern paganism existing today express a worldview that is pantheistic, panentheistic, polytheistic, or animistic, but some are monotheistic.
Medieval writers often assumed that paganus as a religious term was a result of the conversion patterns during the Christianization of Europe, where people in towns and cities were converted more easily than those in remote regions, where old ways tended to remain. However, this idea has multiple problems. First, the word's usage as a reference to non-Christians pre-dates that period in history. Second, paganism within the Roman Empire centred on cities. The concept of an urban Christianity as opposed to a rural paganism would not have occurred to Romans during Early Christianity. Third, unlike words such as , paganus had not yet fully acquired the meanings (of uncultured backwardness) used to explain why it would have been applied to pagans.
Paganus more likely acquired its meaning in Christian nomenclature via Roman military jargon (see above). Early Christians adopted military motifs and saw themselves as Milites Christi (soldiers of Christ). A good example of Christians still using paganus in a military context rather than a religious one is in Tertullian's De Corona Militis XI.V, where the Christian is referred to as paganus ( civilian):
| [[s:la:De corona militis#11>''De Corona Militis'' XI.V]] | [[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume III/Apologetic/The Chaplet, or De Corona/Chapter XI>Ante-Nicene Fathers III, De Corona XI]] |
Paganus acquired its religious connotations by the mid-4th century. As early as the 5th century, paganos was metaphorically used to denote persons outside the bounds of the Christian community. Following the sack of Rome by the Visigoths just over fifteen years after the Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I, murmurs began to spread that the old gods had taken greater care of the city than the Christian God. In response, Augustine of Hippo wrote De Civitate Dei Contra Paganos ('The City of God against the Pagans'). In it, he contrasted the fallen "city of Man" with the "city of God", of which all Christians were ultimately citizens. Hence, the foreign invaders were "not of the city" or "rural"."The City of God". Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2003.Orosius Histories 1. Prol. "ui alieni a civitate dei..pagani vocantur."C. Mohrmann, Vigiliae Christianae 6 (1952) 9ff; Oxford English Dictionary, (online) 2nd Edition (1989)
The term pagan was not attested in the English language until the 17th century.The OED instances Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. II, "Chapter XXI: Persecution of Heresy, State of the Church. Part VII" (1776): "The divisions of Christianity suspended the ruin of ." In addition to and , it was used as one of several pejorative Christian counterparts to (rtl=yes / rtl=yes) as used in Judaism, and to kafir (rtl=yes, 'unbeliever') and mushrik (rtl=yes, 'idolater') as in Islam.Eisenstadt, S.N. (1983). "Transcendental Visions – Other-Worldliness – and Its Transformations: Some More Comments on L. Dumont. Religion" 13:1–17, at p. 3.
This was influenced by Christianity's early members, who were Jewish Christian. The Jews of the time distinguished themselves from foreigners according to religion rather than Ethnicity-cultural standards, and early Jewish Christians would have done the same. Since Hellenic culture was the dominant pagan culture in the Roman east, they referred to pagans as Hellenes. Christianity inherited Jewish terminology for non-Jews and adapted it to refer to non-Christians with whom they were in contact. This usage is recorded in the New Testament. In the Pauline epistles, Hellene is almost always juxtaposed with Hebrew regardless of actual ethnicity
The usage of Hellene as a religious term was initially part of an exclusively Christian nomenclature, but some Pagans began to defiantly call themselves Hellenes. Other pagans even preferred the narrow meaning of the word from a broad cultural sphere to a more specific religious grouping. However, there were many Christians and pagans alike who strongly objected to the evolution of the terminology. The influential Archbishop of Constantinople Gregory of Nazianzus, for example, took offence at imperial efforts to suppress Hellenic culture (especially concerning spoken and written Greek) and he openly criticized the emperor.
The growing religious stigmatization of Hellenism had a chilling effect on Hellenic culture by the late 4th century.
By late antiquity, however, it was possible to speak Greek as a primary language while not conceiving of oneself as a Hellene.Simon Swain, "Defending Hellenism: Philostratus, in Honour of Apollonius", in Apologetics, p. 173. The long-established use of Greek both in and around the Eastern Roman Empire as a lingua franca ironically allowed it to instead become central in enabling the spread of Christianity—as indicated for example, by the use of Greek for the Epistles of Paul.Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State, p. 5. In the first half of the 5th century, Greek was the standard language in which bishops communicated,Millar, A Greek Roman Empire, pp. 97–98. and the Acta Conciliorum ("Acts of the Church Councils") were recorded originally in Greek and then translated into other languages.Millar, A Greek Roman Empire, p. 98.
The term has recently been revived in the forms "Heathenry" and "Heathenism" (often but not always capitalized), as alternative names for the modern Germanic pagan movement, adherents of which may self-identify as Heathens.
Referring to paganism as a pre-Christian indigenous religion is equally untenable. Not all historical pagan traditions were pre-Christian or indigenous to their places of worship.
Owing to the history of its nomenclature, paganism traditionally encompasses the collective pre- and non-Christian cultures in and around the classical world; including those of the Greco-Roman, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavic tribes. However, modern parlance of and contemporary pagans in particular has extended the original four millennia scope used by early Christians to include similar religious traditions stretching far into prehistory.
Recently, the ethnocentric and moral absolutist origins of the common usage of the term pagan have been proposed, with scholar David Petts noting how, with particular reference to Christianity, "...local religions are defined in opposition to privileged 'world religions'; they become everything that world religions are not, rather than being explored as a subject in their own right." (2011). 9780715637548, Bristol Classical Press. ISBN 9780715637548 In addition, Petts notes how various spiritual, religious, and metaphysical ideas branded as "pagan" from diverse cultures were studied in opposition to Abrahamism in early anthropology, a binary he links to ethnocentrism and colonialism.
Early Christianity was one of several monotheistic cults within the Roman Empire, emerging from Second Temple Judaism and Hellenistic Judaism. It developed in context, relationship, and competition with other religions advocating both monotheism and polytheism. Early Christianity distinguished itself from these other religions through the concept of paganism, naming those "pagan" who did not worship "the one true God".
Notable monotheistic cults contemporary with Early Christianity included those of Dionysus,E. Kessler, Dionysian Monotheism in Nea Paphos, Cyprus "two monotheistic religions, Dionysian and Christian, existed contemporaneously in Nea Paphos during the 4th century C.E. ... the particular iconography of Hermes and Dionysos in the panel of the Epiphany of Dionysos ... represents the culmination of a iconographic tradition in which an infant divinity is seated on the lap of another divine figure; this motif was appropriated by early Christian artists and developed into the standardized icon of the Virgin and Child. Thus the mosaic helps to substantiate the existence of monotheism." [5] Neoplatonism, Mithraism, Gnosticism, and Manichaeanism. The cult of Dionysus is thought to have strongly influenced Early Christian themes, and is an example of how Christianity defined itself against "paganism" while incorporating "pagan" religious themes and practices. Numerous scholars have concluded that the conceptual construction of historical Jesus into the image of Christ the Logos, reflects direct influence from the cult of Dionysus, and the symbolism of wine and the importance it held in the mythology surrounding both Dionysus and Jesus Christ exemplifies this.Pausanias, Description of Greece 6. 26. 1–2Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 2. 34a Peter Wick argues that the use of wine symbolism in the Gospel of John, including the story of the Marriage at Cana at which Jesus turns water into wine, was intended to show Jesus as superior to Dionysus. The scene in The Bacchae wherein Dionysus appears before King Pentheus on charges of claiming divinity can be compared to the New Testament scene of Jesus being interrogated by Pontius Pilate. Studies in Early Christology, by Martin Hengel, 2005, p. 331 ()Powell, Barry B., Classical Myth Second ed. With new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M. Howe. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.
Another safe area for the pagans was the city of Harran which, Despite the persecution of its pagan inhabitants by Byzantine Emperor Maurice, remained a largely pagan city well into the early Islamic period. When the city was besieged by the armies of the Rashidun Caliphate in 639–640, it was the pagan community that negotiated its peaceful surrender. Under the subsequent rule of the caliphates, Harran became a major settlement within the Diyar Mudar region and retained a significant degree of autonomy. During the First Fitna, the people of Harran sided with Mu'awiya I over Ali at the Battle of Siffin in 657, which allegedly resulted in a brutal retaliation by Ali, who massacred much of the population.
Under the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750), Harran prospered and was selected as the capital by the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, from 744 to 750. This move may have been influenced by the city's pagan sympathies and its strategic position near the empire's eastern provinces. The city's prominence under Umayyad rule saw it grow as a cultural and scholarly center, with the establishment of the first Muslim university in 717 under Umar II, attracting scholars from across the Islamic world.
Although Harran lost its capital status under the Abbasid Caliphate, it continued to flourish, particularly during the reign of Harun al-Rashid (786–809), when its university became a key center for translation and intellectual activity. The local religion, blending elements of Mesopotamian paganism and Neoplatonism, persisted into the 10th century, though periodic decrees enforced conversions to Islam, especially under Al-Ma'mun in 830. Nonetheless, Harran retained its heterogeneity, with a population that included Muslims, Christians, Jews, and a variety of other religious groups.
The medieval church accused sects deemed heretical such as the Waldensians and Cathars of participating in pagan fertility rites.
Interest in reviving ancient Roman religious traditions can be traced to the Renaissance, with figures such as Gemistus Pletho and Julius Pomponius Laetus advocating for a revival, when Renaissance magic was practiced as a revival of Greco-Roman magic. Gemistus Plethon, who was from Mistras (near the Mani Peninsula—where paganism had endured until the 12th century) encouraged the Medici, descendants of the Maniot Latriani dynasty, to found the Neoplatonic Academy in Florence, helping to spark the Renaissance. In addition Julius Pomponius Laetus (student of Pletho) established the Roman academies which secretly celebrated the Natale di Roma, a festival linked to the foundation of Rome, and the birthday of Romulus.Raphael Volaterranus, in his Commentaries presented to Julius II, declared that the enthusiasms of these initiates were "the first step towards doing away with the Faith" (Pastor IV 1894:44). The Academy was dissolved in 1468 when Pope Paul II ordered the arrest and execution of some of the members, Pope Sixtus IV allowed Laetus to open the academy again until the Sack of Rome in 1527.
After the French Revolution, the French lawyer Gabriel André Aucler (mid 1700s–1815) adopted the name Quintus Nautius and sought to Modern paganism, styling himself as its leader. He designed religious clothing and performed pagan rites at his home. In 1799, he published La Thréicie, presenting his religious views. His teachings were later analyzed by Gérard de Nerval in Les Illuminés (1852). Admiring ancient Greece and ancient Rome, Aucler supported the French Revolution and saw it as a path to restoring an ancient republic. He took the name Quintus Nautius, claimed Roman priestly lineage, and performed Orphic rites at his home. His followers were mainly his household. In 1799, he published La Thréicie, advocating a revival of paganism in France, condemning Christianity, and promoting Pythagoreanism.
In the 17th century, the description of paganism turned from a theological aspect to an ethnological one, and religions began to be understood as part of the ethnic identities of peoples, and the study of the religions of so-called primitive peoples triggered questions as to the ultimate historical origin of religion. Jean Bodin viewed pagan mythology as a distorted version of Christian truths. Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc saw the pagan religions of Africa of his day as relics that were in principle capable of shedding light on the historical paganism of Classical Antiquity."It would be a great pleasure to make the comparison with what survives to us of ancient in our old books, in order to have better grasped their spirit." Peter N. Miller, "History of Religion Becomes Ethnology: Some Evidence from Peiresc's Africa" Journal of the History of Ideas 67.4 (2006) 675–96.[10]
Folklore reconstructions were notably attempted by the Brothers Grimm, especially Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology, and Elias Lönnrot with the compilation of the Kalevala. The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe that the fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it, to the neglect of cross-cultural influence. Among those influenced were the Russian Alexander Afanasyev, the Norwegians Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, and the Englishman Joseph Jacobs.Jack Zipes, The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm, p. 846,
Poetic examples display how paganist themes were mobilized in ethical and cultural discourse of the era. G. K. Chesterton wrote: "The 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." Heretics, G. K. Chesterton, 2007, Hendrickson Publishers Inc., p. 88 In sharp contrast, the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne 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."'Hymn to Proserpine'
Romanticist interest in non-classical antiquity coincided with the rise of Romantic nationalism and the rise of the nation state in the context of the 1848 revolutions, leading to the creation of and for the various newly formed states. Pagan or folkloric topics were also common in the musical nationalism of the period. Paganism resurfaces as a topic of fascination in 18th to 19th-century Romanticism, in particular in the context of the literary Celtic Revival, Slavic and Viking Revival revivals, which portrayed historical Celtic, Slavic paganism and Germanic polytheists as .
The public appeal for pre-Christian Roman spirituality in the years following fascism was largely driven by Julius Evola. By the late 1960s, a renewed "operational" interest in pagan Roman traditions emerged from youth circles around Evola, particularly concerning the experience of the Gruppo di Ur. Evola's writings incorporated concepts from outside classical Roman religion, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, sexual magic, and private ritual nudity. This period saw the rise of the Gruppo dei Dioscuri in cities like Rome, Naples, and Messina, which published a series of four booklets, including titles such as L'Impeto della vera cultura and Rivoluzione Tradizionale e Sovversione, before fading from public view. The Evolian journal Arthos, founded in Genoa in 1972 by Renato del Ponte, expressed significant interest in Roman religion. In 1984, the Gruppo Arx revived Messina's Dioscuri activities, and Reghini's Pythagorean Association briefly resurfaced in Calabria and Sicily from 1984 to 1988, publishing Yghìeia.
Other publications include the Genoese Il Basilisco (1979–1989), which released several works on pagan studies, and Politica Romana (1994–2004), seen as a high-level Romano-pagan journal. One prominent figure was actor Roberto Corbiletto, who died in a mysterious fire in 1999.The 1980s and 1990s also saw an increasing interest in serious academic research and reconstructionist pagan traditions. The establishment and growth of the Internet in the 1990s brought rapid growth to these, and other pagan movements.
By the time of the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991, freedom of religion was legally established across Russia and a number of other newly independent states, allowing for the growth in both Christian and non-Christian religions.
Modern paganism, or Neopaganism, includes reconstructed practice such as Roman Polytheistic Reconstructionism, Hellenism, Slavic Native Faith, Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism, or heathenry, as well as modern eclectic traditions such as Wicca and its many offshoots, Neo-Druidism, and Discordianism.
However, there often exists a distinction or separation between some polytheistic reconstructionists such as Hellenism and revivalist neopagans like Wiccans. The divide is over numerous issues such as the importance of accurate orthopraxy according to ancient sources available, the use and concept of magic, which calendar to use and which holidays to observe, as well as the use of the term pagan itself.
In 1717 John Toland became the first Chosen Chief of the Ancient Druid Order, which became known as the British Circle of the Universal Bond. 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. Most modern pagans, however, believe in the divine character of the natural world and paganism is often described as an Earth religion.
There are a number of neopagan authors who have examined the relation of the 20th-century movements of polytheistic revival with historical polytheism on one hand and contemporary traditions of folk religion on the other. Isaac Bonewits introduced a terminology to make this distinction. "Defining Paganism: Paleo-, Meso-, and Neo-" (Version 2.5.1) 1979, 2007 c.e., Isaac Bonewits
Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick in their A History of Pagan Europe (1995) classify pagan religions as characterized by the following traits:
In modern times, Heathen and Heathenry are increasingly used to refer to those branches of modern paganism inspired by the pre-Christian religions of the Germanic, Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples.
In Iceland, the members of Ásatrúarfélagið account for nearly 2% of the total population,Statistics Iceland – Statistics >> Population >> Religious organisations therefore being nearly six thousand people. In Lithuania, many people practice Romuva, a revived version of the pre-Christian religion of that country. Lithuania was among the last areas of Europe to be Christianized. Heathenry has been established on a formal basis in Australia since at least the 1930s.
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