Paganism

==Modern paganism==
{{anchor|Neopaganism}}
{{Main article|Modern paganism}}
[[File:Stonehenge Closeup.jpg|thumb|Some [[megalith]]s are believed to have religious significance.]]
[[File:Lady of Cornwall.jpg|thumb|Children standing with ''The Lady of Cornwall'' in a neopagan ceremony in England]]
[[File:Paganavebury.jpg|thumb|Neopagan [[Handfasting (Neopaganism)|handfasting]] ceremony at Avebury (Beltane 2005)]]

[[Modern paganism]], or Neopaganism, includes [[polytheistic reconstructionism|reconstructed religions]] such as [[Roman Polytheistic Reconstructionism]], [[Hellenism (religion)|Hellenism]], [[Slavic Native Faith]], [[Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism]], or [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|heathenry]], as well as modern eclectic traditions such as [[Wicca]] and its many offshoots, [[Neo-Druidism]], and [[Discordianism]].

However, there often exists a distinction or separation between some polytheistic reconstructionists such as Hellenism and revivalist neopagans like Wiccans. The divide is over numerous issues such as the importance of accurate [[orthopraxy]] according to ancient sources available, the use and concept of magic, which calendar to use and which holidays to observe, as well as the use of the term pagan itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecauldron.net/dc-faq.php#4|title=Hellenismos FAQ |work=The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum|access-date=25 March 2015}}</ref><ref name="sceh">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ysee.gr/index-eng.php?type=english&f=faq#24|title=Pagans|access-date=7 September 2007|publisher=Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes}}</ref><ref name="heath">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wyrdwords.vispa.com/heathenry/callusheathen.html|title=Call us Heathens!|access-date=7 September 2007|publisher=Journal of the Pagan Federation|year=1997|author=Arlea Anschütz, Stormerne Hunt|archive-date=12 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712021536/http://www.wyrdwords.vispa.com/heathenry/callusheathen.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1717 [[John Toland]] became the first Chosen Chief of the Ancient Druid Order, which became known as the British Circle of the Universal Bond.<ref name="BBC 2002">{{cite web | title=Religions – Paganism: History of modern Paganism | website=BBC | date=2002-10-02 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/history/modern_1.shtml | access-date=2023-01-24}}</ref> Many of the revivals, Wicca and Neo-Druidism in particular, have their roots in 19th century [[Romanticism]] and retain noticeable elements of [[occultism]] or [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]] that were current then, setting them apart from historical rural ({{lang|la|paganus}}) folk religion. Most modern pagans, however, believe in the divine character of the natural world and paganism is often described as an Earth religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/20693321|title=Pagan beliefs: nature, druids and witches|work=BBC Religion & Ethics|access-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>

[[File:A copy of the Thor's hammer from Skåne - Nachbildung des Thorshammers von Skåne 02.jpg|right|thumb|The hammer [[Mjölnir]] is one of the primary symbols of [[Germanic neopaganism]].]]
There are a number of neopagan authors who have examined the relation of the 20th-century movements of polytheistic revival with historical polytheism on one hand and contemporary traditions of folk religion on the other. [[Isaac Bonewits]] introduced a terminology to make this distinction.<ref name="Defs">[http://www.neopagan.net/PaganDefs.html "Defining Paganism: Paleo-, Meso-, and Neo-"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050403210554/http://neopagan.net/PaganDefs.html |date=3 April 2005 }}(Version 2.5.1) 1979, 2007 c.e., Isaac Bonewits</ref>

;Neopaganism: The overarching contemporary pagan revival movement which focuses on nature-revering/living, pre-Christian religions and/or other nature-based spiritual paths, and frequently incorporating contemporary [[liberalism|liberal]] values{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}. This definition may include groups such as [[Wicca]], Neo-Druidism, Heathenry, and Slavic Native Faith.
[[File:Kruszwica kolegiata swastyka.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Tursaansydän]]'' symbol, part of the [[Finnish neopaganism]].]]

;{{vanchor|Paleopaganism}}: A [[retronym]] coined to contrast with [[Neopaganism]], original polytheistic, nature-centered faiths, such as the pre-Hellenistic [[Ancient Greek religion|Greek]] and pre-imperial [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman religion]], pre-Migration period [[Germanic paganism]] as described by [[Tacitus]], or [[Celtic polytheism]] as described by [[Julius Caesar]].
;{{vanchor|Mesopaganism}}: A group, which is, or has been, significantly influenced by monotheistic, dualistic, or nontheistic worldviews, but has been able to maintain an independence of religious practices. This group includes [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|aboriginal Americans]] as well as [[Aboriginal Australians]], [[Viking Age]] [[Norse paganism]] and [[New Age]] spirituality. Influences include: [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Spiritualism]], and the many Afro-Diasporic faiths like [[Haitian Vodou]], [[Santería]] and Espiritu religion. [[Isaac Bonewits]] includes [[British Traditional Wicca]] in this subdivision.

Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick in their ''A History of Pagan Europe'' (1995) classify pagan religions as characterized by the following traits:
* [[Polytheism]]: Pagan religions recognise a plurality of divine beings, which may or may not be considered aspects of an underlying unity (the [[Polytheism#Soft versus hard|soft and hard polytheism]] distinction).
* [[Earth religion|Nature-based]]: Some pagan religions have a concept of the divinity of [[nature]], which they view as a manifestation of the divine, not as the fallen creation found in [[dualistic cosmology]].
* [[Sacred feminine]]: Some pagan religions recognize the female divine principle, identified as [[Goddess movement|the Goddess]] (as opposed to individual [[goddesses]]) beside or in place of the male divine principle as expressed in the Abrahamic [[God]].<ref>Jones, Prudence; Pennick, Nigel (1995). ''A History of Pagan Europe''. p. 2. Routledge.</ref>

In modern times, Heathen and Heathenry are increasingly used to refer to those branches of modern paganism inspired by the pre-Christian religions of the Germanic, Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/subdivisions/heathenry_1.shtml|title=Paganism: Heathenry|work=BBC – Religions|access-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>

In [[Iceland]], the members of ''[[Ásatrúarfélagið]]'' account for 0.4% of the total population,<ref>Statistics Iceland – [http://www.statice.is/?PageID=1180&src=/temp_en/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=MAN10001%26ti=Populations+by+religious+organizations+1990-2008+%26path=../Database/mannfjoldi/Trufelog/%26lang=1%26units=Number Statistics >> Population >> Religious organisations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609140557/http://www.statice.is/?PageID=1180&src=%2Ftemp_en%2FDialog%2Fvarval.asp%3Fma%3DMAN10001%26ti%3DPopulations+by+religious+organizations+1990-2008+%26path%3D..%2FDatabase%2Fmannfjoldi%2FTrufelog%2F%26lang%3D1%26units%3DNumber |date=9 June 2009 }}</ref> which is just over a thousand people. In [[Lithuania]], many people practice [[Romuva (religion)|Romuva]], a revived version of the pre-Christian religion of that country. Lithuania was among the last areas of Europe to be Christianized. [[Odinism]] has been established on a formal basis in [[Australia]] since at least the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://odinicriteofaustralia.wordpress.com/|title=The Odinic Rite of Australia|access-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>