Language is a living thing, and appeals to the dictionary are among the weakest of arguments \u2013 originalism and textualism aren\u2019t just bad legal theories<\/a>. At the same time, not every definition is a good and useful definition.<\/p>\n The English word \u201cPagan\u201d comes from the Latin word paganus<\/em>. Most of us in the Pagan community were taught that paganus<\/em> means \u201ccountry dweller\u201d and was used as a term of derision to refer to the native Britons who kept their ancestral religions instead of converting to the religion of the invading Romans.<\/p>\n When I wrote What Makes Paganism Pagan?<\/a> in 2018, Dr. Edward Butler said we have that wrong. Paganus<\/em> was a way of othering the native Britons, but the charge was not that they were country hicks. The charge was that they were following a particular<\/em> religion instead of the supposedly universal<\/em> religion of the Romans \u2013 and that religious othering did not begin until after the Romans converted to Christianity.<\/p>\n Whatever the origin, the word stuck. Then, when the British Empire expanded in the modern era, it was used as a catch-all term for any religion that was insufficiently like \u201cproper\u201d Anglican Christianity. Ancient Greeks and Romans were lumped in with Hindus and Buddhists and with any people still practicing their own indigenous religions. The only thing they had in common was that they were \u201cnot like us, therefore wrong and in need of correction.\u201d And so it was perfectly good and moral to take their lands and steal their resources and treasures.<\/p>\n Linguistic othering is far from the British (now Anglo-American) Empire\u2019s worst sin. At the same time, intellectual honesty and basic decency demand that we not combine people and traditions that have nothing in common other than they\u2019re \u201cnot like us.\u201d Calling people \u201cPagan\u201d when what you really mean is \u201cirreligious\u201d isn\u2019t just an insult to the Pagans (both ancient and contemporary) who were and are highly religious, it\u2019s inaccurate.<\/p>\n The word \u201ccatholic\u201d means \u201cuniversal.\u201d You\u2019re not wrong if you use it to mean \u201cuniversal\u201d in a way that doesn\u2019t refer to the Church of Rome (at least indirectly) but you are likely to confuse your readers. Choosing a different word would result in better communication of ideas.<\/p>\n Likewise, when you use \u201cPagan\u201d in a way that does not refer to the pre-Christian religions of Europe and the Near East or to their contemporary re-creations and reimaginings, you may not be wrong, but there are better ways to get your message across \u2013 ways that do not needlessly antagonize those of us who follow those religions today.<\/p>\n In his essay in The Atlantic<\/em>, David Wolpe used Donald Trump as a contemporary example of a Pagan. Trump isn\u2019t Pagan \u2013 he\u2019s irreligious, and highly so.<\/p>\n Trump claims to be a Christian and he\u2019s very popular with certain kinds of Christians, but his life and his politics show a complete lack of understanding of religion of any kind. That doesn\u2019t make him Pagan: he doesn\u2019t worship Nature, or the Many Gods, or his ancestors, or pretty much anything other than himself. He\u2019s irreligious, and those of us who disagree with him \u2013 a group that presumably includes Rabbi Wolpe \u2013 would be better served by accurately describing him as such, rather than inaccurately describing him as part of a religious tradition he does not follow.<\/p>\n Likewise, the bulk of those who are leaving Christianity are not becoming Pagans. I wish they were. They\u2019re becoming \u201cnone of the above.\u201d They\u2019re keeping a few high-level generic beliefs and some of \u201ccultural Christianity\u201d but they\u2019re not part of any group and they don\u2019t want to be.<\/p>\n The irreligious, the non-religious, and the none-of-the-aboves are not Pagan. Call them what they are.<\/p>\n There are still some cultures in the world that have not been wiped out by Christianity or by Islam. They\u2019re still doing what their ancestors did for thousands of years. That doesn\u2019t make them Pagan. It makes them Yoruba or Ojibwe or whatever they call themselves.<\/p>\n It took modern Pagans a while to understand that these people aren\u2019t part of our movement, as much as we\u2019d like to include them. There is much we can learn from indigenous people \u2013 especially about how to relate to the land \u2013 to the extent that they\u2019re willing to share.<\/p>\n Likewise, there is much we can learn from Hinduism. Hinduism shares Indo-European roots with the indigenous religions of Europe, and existing Hindu practices can sometimes point us in the direction of the practices of ancient Europeans that are lost to history. But Hinduism is its own thing, and it\u2019s not Pagan \u2013 it\u2019s Hindu.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no devil in the Craft.\u201d So said Sandra Bullock in Practical Magic<\/em> and so say most \u2013 but far from all<\/a> \u2013 contemporary witches.<\/p>\n Satanism is not Paganism. Satanism is the inversion of Christianity. It says \u201cyour religion is so bad and so unhelpful I would rather follow your \u2018adversary\u2019 than to follow your God.\u201d Interestingly, the largest Satanic group today \u2013 The Satanic Temple \u2013 is explicitly atheistic. They reject the idea of a literal Satan, but embrace the Satanic archetype as a way of rebelling against the repression of conservative Christianity.<\/p>\n I consider The Satanic Temple to be allies in the cause of religious freedom, but their anti-theism extends to polytheists \u2013 I would not be welcome in their organization and I have no intentions of joining it.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a brief list of people who are often misidentified as Pagan. But if they aren\u2019t Pagan, who is?<\/p>\n If you asked me to define Christianity, I\u2019d talk about Jesus (but as a teacher, a God, or a sacrifice?), the Bible (but which translation? and is it inerrant and infallible?), and the myth of the Universal Church. But a simple look at the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the United Church of Christ shows huge differences in beliefs, spiritual practices, and in how those beliefs and practices impact the social, economic, and political actions of their followers. An outside observer would likely conclude that while these groups have a common heritage, as practiced today they are different religions.<\/p>\n Modern Paganism is very similar. We have some commonalities but the core of what we do and who we are is different. Gardnerian Wicca, Heathenry, Kemetic Reconstructionism, and the seemingly-infinite variety of witches believe different things, do different things, and express their core values in different ways.<\/p>\n People get to define and identify themselves. Some people I think of as Pagans don\u2019t use that term for themselves, and so I don\u2019t use it for them either.<\/p>\n The core of my religion<\/a> is polytheism \u2013 the belief in and worship of the Many Gods. Many contemporary polytheists don\u2019t identify as Pagans. I respect that, but I do, for the reasons I outline in What Makes Paganism Pagan?<\/a><\/p>\n About ten years ago, several people in the wider Pagan community did some religious studies work to try to come up with a definition of Paganism. Our conclusion was that while it\u2019s not possible to define Paganism, it is possible to describe it. Paganism is not an institution with clearly defined boundaries. Rather, it\u2019s a movement with a center. People aren\u2019t \u201cin\u201d or \u201cout\u201d of Paganism, they\u2019re closer to or further away from the center.<\/p>\n![\"photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2024\/01\/Paganism-01.02.24-02-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe irreligious are not Pagans<\/h2>\n
Followers of indigenous religions are not Pagans<\/h2>\n
Satanists are not Pagans<\/h2>\n
Pagans don\u2019t agree on who is and isn\u2019t Pagan<\/h2>\n
![\"photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2020\/05\/Ring-of-Brodgar-2016-06.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Four Centers of Paganism<\/h2>\n