Paganism is an umbrella term for many spiritual paths—mostly nature‑focused and often polytheistic—that sit outside the major monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Today it often refers to a mix of revived ancient religions and modern “neopagan” movements such as Wicca, Druidry, and Heathenry.

Core idea in one line

Paganism is usually understood as nature-centered spirituality that honors multiple gods, spirits, or an immanent sacred universe, rather than a single, transcendent deity.

Basic definition

  • Dictionaries often define paganism as religious beliefs and practices other than Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, especially ancient polytheistic religions.
  • Historically, early Christians used “pagan” for those in the Roman Empire who still followed the old polytheistic or ethnic religions, and the word comes from Latin paganus , meaning “rural” or “country dweller.”

What modern pagans believe

Modern paganism is diverse, but some common threads show up again and again.

  • Many gods or sacred forces
    • Some pagans are polytheists (honoring distinct gods like Odin, Brigid, or Athena).
* Others are pantheists or animists, seeing divinity in all of nature and in spirits of places, plants, and animals.
  • Nature as sacred
    • Nature is usually seen as holy, alive, and worthy of reverence, with the seasons, moon phases, and agricultural cycles shaping rituals.
* Many pagan paths celebrate festivals tied to the agricultural or solar year, like solstices and equinoxes.
  • Personal experience over dogma
    • Paganism is generally non‑dogmatic: there is no single creed or central authority everyone must obey.
* People often build their own practice through study, intuition, and direct relationship with deities or spirits, sometimes within a tradition and sometimes alone.

Types and examples

  • Ancient / historical paganisms
    • Pre‑Christian religions of Greece, Rome, the Celts, Germanic peoples, Slavs, and many other cultures are often called “pagan” in a historical sense.
* These religions were typically polytheistic, with gods tied to cities, families, crafts, or natural forces.
  • Neopaganism (modern revival)
    • Neopaganism is a modern movement reviving or reimagining pre‑Christian, nature‑revering religions while often blending in contemporary values like gender equality and environmentalism.
* Examples often included under the neopagan umbrella are Wicca, Neo‑Druidism, modern Heathenry (Germanic/Norse), and Slavic Native Faith, among others.
  • Not just Wicca
    • Online communities of pagans repeatedly emphasize that Wicca is only one kind of paganism, and many pagans are not Wiccan at all.
* Forum discussions often stress that “there are as many ways to be pagan as there are pagans,” highlighting the movement’s diversity.

How the term is used socially

  • The word “pagan” was historically used by Christians in a negative or dismissive sense for non‑Christian religions, and sometimes still carries that baggage.
  • Modern pagans often reclaim the term positively, using it as a self‑chosen label for their religion or spirituality and building online spaces, like dedicated forums and subreddits, to explain their beliefs and answer newcomers’ questions.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.