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There are many types of pagans out there, just as there are many types of Christians, etc. The true definition of a pagan is a country dweller. In older times, the country communities had their own belief systems for their areas. Today, a pagan is someone who is usually polytheistic (believe in more than one god), but can be monotheistic (believes in one god) or believes in a higher energy power, but not necessarily a "god". In general, a pagan is usually has nature-based beliefs and considers him or herself an animist (a belief that souls or spirits exist in everything (animals, plants, rocks, thunder, mountains, rivers, etc).
Pagan can also use whatever pantheon they choose. A pantheon is the deity structure that one can follow, such as the christian patheon (God, Jesus, etc), Jewish (God, Moses, etc), Muslim (God, Muhammad, etc) as well as the egyptian, nordic, celtic, etc. For example, a pagan who uses the christian pantheon (god, jesus, etc...essentially the new testament) is considered a christopagan; a pagan who uses the jewish pantheon is a judeopagan; a pagan who follows wicca is considered a wiccan (generally referred to as a witch), etc. There are many different paths. Examples of commonly known pagan beliefs are buddhism, Shintoism (old religion of Japan), Native American Religions, Hinduism, Taoism, Wicca, Druidism, Shamanism, Neo-Paganism and Eclectic Paganism.
Thank you. This was really helpful and I'm learning a lot here. I think I've always felt funny about asking about other religions because as a Christian I felt like I was doing something wrong. And here I have felt guilty for having all these specific spiritual beliefs that are based on science and nature with a fundamental Christian belief structure. I guess it was guilt for not understanding what other Christians believe. Thank you all for your explainations...
There are many types of pagans out there, just as there are many types of Christians, etc. The true definition of a pagan is a country dweller. In older times, the country communities had their own belief systems for their areas. Today, a pagan is someone who is usually polytheistic (believe in more than one god), but can be monotheistic (believes in one god) or believes in a higher energy power, but not necessarily a "god". In general, a pagan is usually has nature-based beliefs and considers him or herself an animist (a belief that souls or spirits exist in everything (animals, plants, rocks, thunder, mountains, rivers, etc).
Pagan can also use whatever pantheon they choose. A pantheon is the deity structure that one can follow, such as the christian patheon (God, Jesus, etc), Jewish (God, Moses, etc), Muslim (God, Muhammad, etc) as well as the egyptian, nordic, celtic, etc. For example, a pagan who uses the christian pantheon (god, jesus, etc...essentially the new testament) is considered a christopagan; a pagan who uses the jewish pantheon is a judeopagan; a pagan who follows wicca is considered a wiccan (generally referred to as a witch), etc. There are many different paths. Examples of commonly known pagan beliefs are buddhism, Shintoism (old religion of Japan), Native American Religions, Hinduism, Taoism, Wicca, Druidism, Shamanism, Neo-Paganism and Eclectic Paganism.
Thank you. This was really helpful and I'm learning a lot here. I think I've always felt funny about asking about other religions because as a Christian I felt like I was doing something wrong. And here I have felt guilty for having all these specific spiritual beliefs that are based on science and nature with a fundamental Christian belief structure. I guess it was guilt for not understanding what other Christians believe. Thank you all for your explainations...
