Defining Paganism

As I said in my intro, nailing down some working definitions is rather important to starting a discussion--or a rambling blog. It helps others understand what one is talking about. And when it comes to religion, things can become very confusing, very fast because so many people operate under different frames of reference on something that is very important to them, and very subjective.
First, let's get down what frame of reference we're working from: Contemporary or Modern Paganism, which I sometimes refer to as "big-P Paganism" as opposed to the historically-difficult and academically-discarded "small-p paganism". Paganism in this modern sense is a cluster of new religious movements consciously influenced by pre-Christian beliefs and practices. The term is defined differently by many people, and is used differently as well, but I feel that this is the most direct and inclusive definition.

It is best described as a movement, rather than as a unified religion or spirituality, because it contains within itself a great diversity in beliefs, practices, and identities. Contemporary Paganism has a shared history through its roots and development. It has roots in traditional folklore and folk custom, modern academic study of ancient religion, and in the Western Occult tradition, and has its direct origins in the Romantic and Modernist intellectual paradigms of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Romantics had a fascination with folk customs, and it was commonly viewed that such customs had pre-Christian origins. This continued into Modernist movement of the late 19th century, which developed Romantic ideas further with notions of a progressive narrative of history, and had a preoccupation with the supposed 'pagan roots of Western civilization'. Western occultism experienced a revival in the 19th century and contributed to this milieu, adopting Modernist ideas and syncretising Near Eastern and Oriental beliefs and practices.

This does not necessarily include religions that originated prior to the 19th century that nevertheless display a syncretism of indigenous traditions and Christianity, such as North American religions derived from West African indigenous religions. These are generally seen as standing on their own, with their own rich histories and identities. I would be hesitant to wholesale define Voodoo and Santeria as Pagan, for example, because they have their own history separate from the Pagan movement, and come from a different cultural and intellectual context than Contemporary Paganism.

Paganism can broadly be categorised into two primary ends on a spectrum: Neopaganism and Reconstructionism. It should be clarified that these are not hard-set boxes, but are more like ends on a sliding scale. Rarely does a person or group fit solely in one end or the other.
Neopaganism tends to be more eclectic and syncretistic, framed less on historical precedent and more on modern synthesis, adaptation, and personal experience. Neopaganism is very strongly influenced by its Modernist roots, including more of the occult and relying on some outdated but still rather enthralling scholarship. The Neopagan end of the spectrum includes some of the more popular Pagan religions such as Wicca and other forms of modern religious Witchcraft, as well as Neodruidism. Certain forms of nationalistic mysticism and ceremonial magic also fall into this end, though some are very much their own thing separate from the Pagan movement. Neopaganism also tends to adopt more modern political and philosophical ideas, such as Environmentalism or Postmodernism or Anarchism, and Neopagans often integrate these ideas directly into the heart of their practices and beliefs.

Reconstructionism, by contrast, places great emphasis on historical precedent and typically seeks to revive the pre-Abrahamic religious and spiritual traditions, beliefs, and practices of a particular culture. Typically, these are European and Near Eastern cultures, as their indigenous customs were partially suppressed and homogenized under the dominance of dogmatic religious faiths such as Christianity and Islam. While reconstructionism has antecedents all throughout the history of Modern Paganism, the current trend f polytheistic reconstruction largely originates from an internal controversy within the Pagan community that developed between the 1960s and 1990s. An increasingly copious body of literature accumulated from the academic study of ancient religion and mythology, and from archaeological discoveries. It became increasingly clear that the Pagan movement was not quite authentic to historical tradition--though not necessarily through any deliberate fault of its own--and a significant number of people sought a closer connection to historical precedent. At the same time, various movements arose in European and Near Eastern countries, seeking a revival of the indigenous, ethnic religions of their pre-Christian past. These two trends have seen an explosion in Reconstructionist religions, and in persons identifying with reconstructionism, since the 1990s.

But, as I said, these are broad categories. Most folks are scattered across the middle. They revive and reconstruct while having new and modern methods, tools, and lifestyles. Or they might do modern magic with ancient ritual elements. Theology is likewise very diverse; while it is often assumed that Pagans are polytheistic, this is not necessarily the case. I would opine that polytheism is probably a very high majority opinion among Pagans, but it is far from the only view. There are monotheists, there are atheists, and within polytheism itself there are an array of very different beliefs about what the gods are, how they operate, and how many there may or may not be. How centred one's religion and spirituality is around one's environment and habitat is also a matter of great variety. Paganism isn't strictly "Earth-centred", though that is one of the more common uses of the term in popular literature.

And I will clarify one more point: I used "big-P" Paganism to contrast the modern movement from "small-p" paganism. But what is this "small-p" stuff? With this term, I refer to the classical conception of "paganism" as a catch-all term for any non-Abrahamic religions, especially polytheistic ones, as an academic or sociological term. It has fallen out of formal use, being abandoned for more precise terms such as "indigenous religion", "ethnic religion", and so on. But it does continue on in popular use, and it does lay at the root of why the Pagan movement picked its name and identifies as such. The revival in pre-Christian religio-spiritual traditions is tied to a reaction against Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the term "pagan" existed in a ready-use state to describe anything that wasn't Judeo-Christian or Islamic--and to an extent, anything not Buddhist, Sikh, or Hindu either. It was "reclaimed" by early Pagan revivalists, and the use has continued ever since.

Introduction

Salvete, omnes.

This will be my introductory statement for this blog, rather than anything topical. My name is Alexander, and I am a Roman syncretic reconstructionist. I am a member of the Roman revivalist group Roman Republic, where my adopted Latin name is Publius Julius Albinus Alexander.

This blog will be primarily a place for my musings on Contemporary Paganism, and my practice of reconstructionist methodologies as applied to Graeco-Roman religion. Throughout, I will delve into various topics, defining terms, discussing salient issues in modern Paganism, and sharing religious and ritual methods, ideas, and examples.

As for my personal history in Religio Romana, I must admit that it is a fairly recent transition for me. I have identified as Pagan and practised some form of modern, revivalist Paganism since 2006. I have been practising my cult to the Roman gods for around three years now, and have identified my religion as primarily Roman for about a year and a half. My beliefs and practices have changed significantly over the course of that time. And while I have experience practising, and I have discussed Paganism a great deal on a few forums and websites, blogging about it like so is a new frontier.

In doing so, I am taking some inspiration from other Greek and Roman recon blogs, but especially from Baring the Aegis, the blog of noted Hellenic Reconstructionist and traditionalist Elani Temperance. To anyone who winds up reading my blog, I strongly recommend hers. It's good reading.

After this post, I'll start with some basic working definitions.