Paganism 101: Introduction
I feel like resources on paganism are actually kind of lacking in the sense that there aren't very many generic introductions that are just "here is what paganism is" and there's even less that don't have a Wicca bias. Most introductions are introductions to specific paths, so I feel like a lot of people feel pressured to settle into one specific path very early on, before they even really know what paganism is. I'm trying to write an introduction that would have been helpful to me as a beginner AND to give a solid introduction to the rest of the Paganism 101 pages on this site.
I referenced the book The Path of Paganism by John Beckett while trying to figure out how to structure this, but did not borrow any points from it. I do think I generally recommend this book as a starting point. It's better than some other books I've skimmed on the topic.
As always, these are just my thoughts on the topic, other people might have a different perspective than I do.
Further thoughts and definitions can be found in the Pagan101 Introduction notes. This page has a definition that I liked and a short FAQ.
What is Paganism?
I feel like paganism is generally described as "Earth based religions", but that is kind of…eh. That's not exactly true. It's kind of hard to describe paganism. I'd say that, generally, pagan religions would be any religion that can trace its roots back to Western occultism. Of course, most people aren't going to look into every single thing to see if that is true, so this isn't a very good definition for people who are just discovering paganism and/or have no interest in occultism.
There are some common traits among different traditions of paganism. I'll elaborate on these either further down or at a later date, depending on complexity.
- Polytheistic or pantheistic
- Nature based, to some degree
- Engage in mysticism of some sort (typically witchcraft or folk magic)
- Action based rather than belief based
There are a lot of things I could have listed, but these are the top 4 that came to mind.
The main issue with any definition of paganism is that a lot of other religions that aren't paganism can get caught up in the definition (ie Hinduism, Shinto).
I see people describe paganism as practices based on historical, pre-Christian religions and, while that is generally true…there are pagan reconstructionists of Meso-American practices and, by that definition, Hindus would also be pagans because their religion can be traced back to the Iron Age. Though, I guess you could argue that modern Hinduism is very different from the religion(s) in that region and that reconstructing older forms of Hinduism would, in fact, make it Hindu paganism. But I've never seen anybody actually do that, since Hinduism still exists.
This would also include Buddhism.
You can make this definition include Meso-American by defining "pre-Christian" as "before Christianity was adopted in this particular region", but…
You get the point. There is no adequate definition of paganism that can be easily understood by everybody. And that's what paganism is. Let's move on.
What Do Pagans Believe?
Since paganism is more of a descriptor rather than one religion or practice, what pagans believe can vary widely. I'll try my best to explain the common features though.
I'd say that many pagans share a very similar worldview, which might be the best way to understand both the questions of "what is paganism" and "what do pagans believe".
Pagans, generally speaking, view the world as being interconnected and divine in and of itself. Everything in the world is a manifestation of this divine energy, though how they define it depends on the person. Personally, I am an animist and believe that everything has a "soul", for a lack of a better term. I also believe in many gods, so everything is also the gods. The earth is alive and there are many things living on it, both in the physical world and the spiritual one.
This view of the world often pushes pagans to embrace environmental activism and engage in other sorts of activities that serve to make the world better for both people and animals.
Many pagans practice witchcraft, or something similar. Witchcraft itself can also be a whole host of different things.
Many pagans believe in spirits. Typically nature spirits and spirits of the dead.
To possibly oversimplify things, pagans do not always make a clear distinction between the physical and the spiritual.
The next point I can really only describe via anecdote. So, as of the time I'm writing this, I've had a bit of an academic interest in Islam as of late. I was reading the "what is Islam" sections of various websites and found myself unsatisfied with what I was reading because I kept wondering "okay, but what do they DO" and it finally hit me that I was unsatisfied with the definitions because…that's just not how I'm used to thinking about religion.
I've been a pagan for over half of my lifespan. The pagan worldview is the most natural one for me by this point. For me, religion is not what you believe, it's about what you do. It doesn't matter if you believe in 900 gods if you do not actually do anything with that belief.
Pagans are not free from cultural biases, so a lot of pagans do engage with discussions of religion with pretty Christian assumptions. But paganism is about correct action. Of course, what is considered correct depends on your tradition and personal code of ethics.
This didn't fit in anywhere, but many pagans also follow a lunar calendar for their holidays/festivals. This is why you will see so many moon phase trackers on pagan sites. Many pagan celebrations begin at sundown. So, for example, Samhain (for Irish pagans, at least) is on November 1st, but would start at sundown the night before. So it would start at sundown on October 31st and end at sundown on November 1st.
How Do You Become a Pagan?
I see many people talk about "converting" to paganism (either asking how to convert or saying that they converted) and there is just no such thing. You are a pagan when you choose to practice paganism. There is no formal process, nor do you need to denounce other religious/spiritual beliefs. This includes Christianity, Judaism, Islam, et cetera. Paganism has no such restrictions on religious plurality.
As for becoming a pagan, there are many different traditions of paganism out there. I'm trying to keep this page as basic as possible and will cover more on this topic at a later date, but my first recommendation is to read. Look up pagans on social media, try to find books on paganism, look for websites, et cetera.
I'd recommend starting with either Patheos' Pagan section or The Wild Hunt. Patheos is just generic pagan writing on pagan topics, but the Wild Hunt also covers politics and world events.
Recommended Reading
I'll update this as I find things that feel relevant.
- The Path of Paganism by John Beckett