Paganism

Within a European Christian context, paganism is a catch-all term which has come to connote a broad set of not necessarily compatible religious beliefs and practices (see Cult (religion) ) of a natural religion (as opposed to a revealed religion of a text), which are usually, but not necessarily, characterized by polytheism and, less commonly, animism . There is little organized "-ism" in paganism.

The Venus of Arles , depicting the goddess Venus holding the apple of Hesperides . Paganism is a broad group of religions including modern pagan religions, indigenous religions and historical polytheistic religions. In a wider sense, paganism has also been understood to include any non-Abrahamic , folk, or ethnic religion. It is often taken to exclude monotheism , and to express a worldview that is pantheistic , polytheistic , or animistic . However, not all pagans were strictly polytheist. Throughout history, many of them believed in a class of subordinate gods/ daimons which included some kind of supreme deity . Once monotheistic religions such as Christianity started to become more prominent, names to encompass polytheistic worshipers started to develop; some of these include Hellene , pagan, and heathen . These names came to be used as slurs. Modern knowledge of old pagan religions comes from several sources, including: anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts, and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to the classical world . Before the rise of monotheistic religions, most people practiced some type of polytheism. Eventually monotheism began to increase in popularity causing these religions to lose followers. As a result, some polytheistic religions began to advocate for some type of main deity. Unfortunately, this was not enough to completely regain their popularity and many of these religions started to die out and eventually became extinct. Paganism would later on be studied during the Renaissance and Romantic era ; it would even go on to inspire folklore . Forms of these religions, influenced by various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe, exist today and are known as contemporary or modern paganism, also referred to as Neopaganism .

Non-Abrahamic religion, or modern religious movement such as nature worship Romanticized depiction from 1887 showing two Roman women offering a sacrifice to a goddess . Paganism (from classical Latin pāgānus "rural, rustic," later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism . This was either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not milites Christi (soldiers of Christ). Alternate terms in Christian texts for the same group were hellene , gentile , and heathen . Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Graeco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism was originally a pejorative and derogatory term for polytheism, implying its inferiority. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry". During and after the Middle Ages , the term paganism was applied to any unfamiliar religion , and the term presumed a belief in false god(s). Most modern pagan religions existing today (Modern or Neopaganism ) express a world view that is pantheistic , polytheistic or animistic ; but some are monotheistic . The origin of the application of the term pagan to polytheism is debated. 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 , Neopagan movements and Polytheistic reconstructionists . Modern pagan traditions often incorporate beliefs or practices, such as nature worship , that are different from those in the largest world religions. Contemporary knowledge of old pagan religions comes from several sources, including anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts , and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to Classical antiquity . Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World . Between Pagan and Christian .

Depiction from 1887 showing two Roman women offering a sacrifice to the goddess Vesta Paganism (from classical Latin pāgānus "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism , or ethnic religions other than Judaism . 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). Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene , gentile , and heathen . Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Graeco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry ". During and after the Middle Ages , the term paganism was applied to any non-Christian religion , and the term presumed a belief in false gods . The origin of the application of the term "pagan" to polytheism is debated. 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. Contemporary knowledge of old pagan religions and beliefs comes from several sources, including anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts , and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to Classical antiquity . Most modern pagan religions existing today express a worldview that is pantheistic , panentheistic , polytheistic, or animistic , but some are monotheistic . Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World . Between Pagan and Christian .

A marble statue of Jupiter , king of the gods in Roman paganism Paganism (from Latin paganus ' rural, rustic ' , later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism , or ethnic religions other than Christianity , Judaism , and Islam . 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). Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene , gentile , and heathen . 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 peasantry ". During and after the Middle Ages , the term paganism was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in false gods . The origin of the application of the term "pagan" to polytheism is debated. 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. Contemporary knowledge of old pagan religions and beliefs comes from several sources, including anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts , and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to Classical antiquity . Most modern pagan religions existing today express a worldview that is pantheistic , panentheistic , polytheistic, or animistic , but some are monotheistic . Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World . Between Pagan and Christian .