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3. One should not look for consistency in paganism, such a search
hered to monotheistic and dualist creeds.
will lead only to confusion and frustration.
3. Also, most paganisms are pretty vague about their concepts of
4. While some structuring exists, and a loose hierarchy of deities
deities, which I find suits my druidic view very well.
often emerges, paganism is essentially an organically grown me-
lange of beliefs with roots deep in the past. It is religion built
Chapter the THIRD: The Term Pagan
from the bottom up.
5. Deities are numerous and each has many aspects, often overlap-
1. On the other hand, pagan has periodically had a pejorative
ping. Most deities are localized.
taint, and the present is one of those periods.
6. For instance, there are some 400 deities recorded in the Celtic
2. This pejorative context did not originate with the Christians,
pantheon , the vast majority of them mentioned only once, simi-
but with the ancient pagan Romans. Pagus in Latin means
lar concepts and representations appearing under different names
countryside , and urban Romans considered pagans to be
in different locales.
hicks .
7. While the basic concepts may well be seen to be universal, the
3. Pagan religion was looked down upon by the adherents of the
deities are different for each has different accretions overlaying
more sophisticated State polytheism, much in the way that High
the basic concept.
Church Episcopalians look down upon Holy Rollers.
4. Also, Roman soldiers used paganus as an insulting term for
civilians. This usage was picked up by the soldiers of Christ Chapter the SEVENTH: Organic Religion
who used it as a generally pejorative term for non-Christians.
1. It is this very organic quality which leads me to believe that
Pagan has vacillated between being neutral and being pejora-
paganism is truer in human terms than revealed religions
tive ever since.
such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and their
5. During the 19th century it was used in both ways when
like. Such cults are fine as parts of a greater whole, but when they
colonialists applied pagan or heathen to any non-European
become the whole, much human quality is lost.
people, culture or belief system.
2. The organic quality of paganism usually leads to its being open
to new cults and religious concepts.
Chapter the FOURTH: The Term Neo-Pagan
3. The average pagan of ancient times found no difficulty or con-
tradiction in belonging to many cults. While he would respect
1. Nor do I find Neo-Pagan truly acceptable. Neo-Pagan is a
and venerate all god concepts and spirits, he would only worship
term first applied pejoratively (surprise!) to pre-Raphaelite artists
those which he believed impacted on his life or in which he had
which was later adopted as a self-description by another artistic
a particular interest. (Household gods, craft patrons, ancestral
group in the early 20th century.
spirits, etc.)
2. The history of this latter group is curiously similar to that of the
4. Intellectual and curious pagans would always find themselves
RDNA. It started as essentially a group of people who liked to
attracted to new cults.
take nature walks but had no real interest in restoring pagan
5. The normal pagan did not differentiate between religious and
religion.
secular life as we do today. Rather, religion was an integral part
3. One of its members was Francis Cornford, a follower of one
76
of life and imbued all its facets, as the spirits and gods were 13. Other persecutions for religious reasons include the Christian
imminent. church against the German, Slavic, and Baltic paganism (among
others), Islam against pagans (Islam has historically been toler-
ant toward other people of the book , i.e. Christians and Jews,
Chapter the EIGHTH: State Religion
but has always been intolerant of paganism.), the Crusades, the
1. Structured polytheism and mythology, on the other hand, were
Inquisition, the medieval witch-hunts, Communism against all
constructs of the state and literature.
other religions (counting Marxism as a religion), and Cromwell
2. Though built from native beliefs, they were constructed from
against the Irish Catholics.
the top down rather than from the bottom up.
14. The RDNA may well evolve into a true pagan religion given a
3. The political powers, priestcrafts and writers took one concept/
few centuries; it certainly has the openness to do so, but it can
god/myth from here, another from there, a third from yonder,
only so evolve if it continues to avoid over-structuring its belief
etc. and set up a hierarchy and accepted mythology.
system in a Neo-Pagan manner.
4. Essentially a state religion was built artificially. Similar deity con-
cepts are amalgamated and their powers and responsibilities more
Chapter the TENTH: Christian or Pagan?
rigidly defined.
5. For instance, under the Romans many local chieftain/thunder 1. For further illustration of the dichotomy between paganism and
gods were amalgamated and called Jupiter or Jove, using their polytheism I m making (and just for the fun), let s apply it to
original names or localities as subtitles. Differences between the present day Christianity.
original deities were either submerged or particularized to a sub- 2. Catholicism can be seen as polytheistic with a triune god at the
cult. top, a mother cult, and myriad subsidiary deities (the saints).
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