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     1002

Subject: MODERN PAGANISM: QUESTIONS    &    ANSWERS

                 To promote community harmony and freedom of religious pra
ctice.
          Distributed  by : The Committee for Religious Freedom, Salt Lake
 City,
          Utah.

                        Thanks to LesleyPhillips andLinda Pinti ofThe Cove
nantof
          Unitarian Universalist Pagans for original material.


                        Contemporarysociety isexperiencingaresurgence ofin
terest
          in earth-  and nature-centered spirituality. Modern Paganism is
a rich
          and  diverse  religious movement  drawing the attention  of the
media,
          law-makers, and  spiritual  seekers. This pamphlet attempts  to
answer
          some of the questions  frequently asked about modern Pagan belie
fs and
          practices.

          What is Paganism?
                        Theterm"Pagan" comesfrom aLatinword for"country dw
eller"
          first  used  in  early  Christian  times to  refer  to  those  n
ot yet
          converted to Christianity. "Pagan" was an epithet that cast aspe
rsions
          on those  not seen as  "true believers." Today, it refers more g
eneral
          to the  faith of those whose  spiritual  center is drawn to nati
ve and
          natural religions,  usually pantheistic   or polytheistic,  and
almost
          always earth-centered.

          What then is "Modern Paganism"?
                        ModernPaganism,orNeo-Paganism, isamodern, Earth-ce
ntered
          religious   perspective  which borrows  and adapts  from pre-Chr
istian
          paganism  as  well  as   from  contemporary  religious  thought.
 While
          reconnecting with ancient wisdom,   it speaks eloquently to  the
 needs
          and concerns of the present.

          What is meant by "The Old Religion"?
                        The term describes the pre-Christian religion of m
uch of
          western  and northern  Europe,  which was  based  on the  agricu
ltural
          cycles  and  other natural  rhythms of  the  Earth. It  coexiste
d with
          Christianity for centuries,  from the so-called  "Dark Ages" up
 until
          the  Inquisition and  the "Burning  Times" (witch  hunts) of  th
e late
          Middle Ages. It also can refer more generally to other
          native and tribal religions of the world.

          What is the difference between Paganism and Witchcraft?
                        SomecontemporaryPagans callthemselvesWitches.The t
ermhas
          many   meanings,  some   carrying   rather  heavy   negative  ba
ggage.
          "Witchcraft"  or "The Craft" is  most properly applied  to three
 broad
          categories: Descendants of  the European witches  of the Middle
 Ages,
          practitioners of  the "reconstructed" Witchcraft of  the 20th ce
ntury,
          and  "feminist Witches"  whose  religion and  politics  center i
n  the
          contemporary womens'  spirituality movement. It can  generally b
e said
          that  all modern  Witches are Pagans,  but not  all modern  Paga
ns are
          Witches. At least one writer,  Aidan Kelly, has begun to use  th
e term
          "Neo-Pagan  Witchcraft"  to  describe   the  largest  portion  o
f  the
          contemporary Pagan community.




  1003


          What is meant by the term "Wicca"?
                        Oftenused asa synonymfor Witchcraft,"Wicca" isthou
ght to
          derive from an Anglo-Saxon root meaning to bend or to turn. It i
s more
          properly applied only to  those Witchcraft traditions which orig
inated
          in or derive from  practices in the British Isles.

          What about Shamanism?
                        Shamanismisnot areligion, butaset ofspiritual tech
niques
          used for  healing and the acquisition of knowledge through foray
s into
          non-ordinary  states     of  consciousness.  Now   gaining  incr
easing
          attention  in the counseling   profession, this  journeying is u
sually
          aided by sonic driving  (such as repetitive drumming or  chantin
g) and
          often involves interactions with totemic and archetypal figures.
 These
          techniques are used in  virtually every tribal society and  are
widely
          used by contemporary Pagans.

          What do modern Pagans believe?
                        The centralbeliefs ofmodern Pagansdiffer in specif
icsyet
          share  many   fundamentals.  Deity is  seen  as immanent  rather
  than
          transcendent.   Experience  is preferred over doctrine. It is be
lieved
          that there are and should be   multiple paths to the Divine. The
re  is
          no prescribed creed, but there are a  number of beliefs shared b
y most
          contemporary Pagans, summarized at the end of  this pamphlet.

          Isn't this just Humanism by another name?
                        Noand Yes.Likereligious Humanists,modernPagans hav
ealove
          and reverence for  this world  and the physical  plane generally
.  The
          rational is  seen as important. Great  emphasis is also placed
on the
          intuitive, however, and the belief that the  physical and non-ph
ysical
          worlds  are equally  real, and   are  interconnected, interpenet
rating
          manifestations  of nature.  This means  that  spiritual  work, w
hether
          called  meditation, prayer,  or  magic, and  whether  done as  r
itual,
          worship, or celebration, is  efficacious and can result in  chan
ges in
          the  physical  world.  The majority  of  Pagans  also  believe i
n  the
          survival of the consciousness or soul after physical death.

          How do modern Pagans worship?
                        Some groups have formalworship services or similar
 group
          meetings.  Others  conduct rituals  that have varying  degrees o
f  set
          forms. Some Pagans worship  by themselves without formal ritual.
  Most
          contemporary Pagans hold  rituals corresponding to the  turning
of the
          seasons  and the phases of the moon.  Rituals are often performe
d in a
          sacred space defined by the demarcation  of a circle, within whi
ch the
          celebration  and worship take place. Celebrations  include eight
 major
          seasonal holidays,  sometimes collectively referred to  as  "Sab
bats".
          These  Sabbats, as  most  frequently observed  by  North America
n  and
          European  Pagans,  follow  the  agricultural cycles  of  the  no
rthern
          temperate zone,   and include the  solstices and equinoxes  as w
ell as
          four intermediate festivals   which fall in between, sometimes
called
          "cross-quarters," on or near the first  days of February,
          May, August, and November. Regular public  Sabbat rituals,  refl
ecting
          a variety of contemporary Pagan styles, are held in many  commun
ities.
          Rituals  may   include  meditation,  chanting,   drumming,  myth
-  and
          story-telling, ritual drama, dance,  and so on. Deeper ritual  w
ork is
          most  often practiced at private gatherings, which for many trad
itions
          coincide  with   the phases  of the  moon. The  work may  includ
e more
          intense  raising  of energy,    healing work,  and  personal spi
ritual
          development.





  1004


          What about Satanism?
                        Contrary   to  the  claims   of  ill-informed  Chr
istian
          fundamentalists,  the practices of modern Pagans are in no way r
elated
          to Satanism.  Most Pagans  do  not even  believe  Satan exists.
 As  a
          profanation  of  Christian symbolism,  Satan  worship  is a  Chr
istian
          heresy, not a Pagan religion.

          Do Pagans proselytize?
                        No,Pagansdo notproselytize.Most modernPagantraditi
ons do
          welcome newcomers.  Most modern  Pagans also  do not  discourage
 other
          Pagans from  integrating other  religious and spiritual practice
s  and
          beliefs into their practice.
                             WHAT CONTEMPORARY PAGANS BELIEVE
          while there  is no set  of beliefs  shared by all  Pagans, most
 would
          agree that similarities far  outweigh differences. There are  a
number
          of beliefs held  by the vast majority of modern  Pagans. Some of
 these
          are:

          1. Divinity is seen as immanent.

          2. Divinity  is as likely to  manifest itself in female  as male
 form,
          the God or  the Goddess, in the interconnectedness of all life.

          3. Multiple paths to the divine exist, as symbolized by many god
desses
          and gods.  These  are often  seen  as archetypes  or  gateways t
o  the
          unconscious.

          4. We respect and love Mother Earth as a living being, Gaia,  of
 which
          we are a part.

          5. The physical world,  as an emanation of the divine, is  good
and to
          be enjoyed by all living beings in love and harmony.

          6. Ethics and morality are based on avoidance of harm to other b
eings,
          including Earth as a whole, which mandates environmental activis
m as a
          spiritual responsibility.

          7. Human interdependence implies the need for community cooperat
ion.

          8.  The  solar and  lunar  cycles  and the  cycles  of  our live
s  are
          celebrated.  This  leads to the maintenance and revival of old c
ustoms
          and the creation of new  ones.

          9.  A strong commitment  to personal and  planetary growth, evol
ution,
          and balance are vital.

          10.  One's  lifestyle  must  be  consistent  with one's  beliefs
.  The
          personal is political.

          11. A minimum  of dogma and a maximum of  individual responsibil
ity in
          all things are goals to strive for. Thus a healthy skepticism is
 to be
          fostered,   and  ideas  are  not  to   be  accepted  without  pe
rsonal
          investigation of their validity.

          12. Messiahs  and gurus are  to be  avoided. The mediation  of a
nother
          being  is  unnecessary  for  an  individual  to  commune  with
Deity.
          Power-from-within is preferred to power-over.

          13.  All  beings  are personal  emanations  of  the  Divine. Tho
u  art
          Goddess, thou art God.