Paganism Essay

In these classes, we will be going over many of the different guidelines put out that explain the rules, laws, and principles for pagans of all kinds.

Religions across the globe have their own distinctive rites and rituals, idols, traditions, and values. Each have in common a desire to explain something unexplainable by common wisdom, or attributing some aspect of life to some higher power. Many religions have at their heart etiological stories, which explain some sort of natural phenomenon through the physical manifestation of their deity or deities. From high winds and thunderstorms to love, fertility, and the sun, such religions focus on the physical world in this life. Other religions try to explain the "next" life or the afterlife. These religions usually give a moral code to live by, with stricter adherence to this code offering a better afterlife.

“Remove any of your fear with faith,” once exclaimed Elder M. Russell Ballard. Catholics and Pagans have always had an intricate relationship between their faiths. A few examples of differences and similarities are the number of gods they believe in, their places of worship, and their holidays. Although they bear some ostensible similarities, the contradiction between the two religions are prominent.

In the Anglo-Saxon culture they converted from Paganism to Christianity. Both religions exhibit many elements and values. The epic poem Beowulf illustrates both by mentioning “The Almighty” and love as mentioned in Christianity, but also monsters, revenge, and courage as mentioned in Paganism.

The second theme I explored was the nature of the religious world. This theme includes non-human actors, religious communities, and religious landscapes. Pagans believe in all sorts of different non-human actors. A non-human actor is something that’s not human, but you still believe in or talk too. Pagans believe in polytheism, meaning they believe in multiple gods or goddesses. These gods and goddesses are considered non-human actors. However, “there is no single deity or set of dieties whom they worship” (Magliocco 97). Another non-human actor they believe in are ancestral spirits. They believe their ancestors come back as spirits. They honor these ancestral spirits by worshipping them in their domestic worship practice. Religious communities are a big part of Paganism mainly because the religion is made up of different communities. Some of these communities include Wiccans and other religious groups. However, not every group focuses on the same beliefs, but they do share some commonalities. These religious communities are

There are three key patterns seen in most Native American religions they are the human relationship with nature, framing of time and space and respect for gods/ancestors. The human relationship with nature known as animism, everything is seen as part of the same reality and every object has a spirt, is a practice where there is little distinction between humans and animals. Time and space is sacred, cyclical,

A Religion where spells are acceptable, the earth is celebrated and nature is a basic mold of the major concepts, paganism. The word "pagan" originates from the Latin term paganus which is defined as country dweller, at one point any person not being an active Christian was considered to be a pagan. Pagan followers have a different view on life, such as they believe in the natural forces of the earth, and consciously try to live with it. Another example illustrating how unique this religion is the fact that pagans are polytheistic, but have the one chief god that rules over the others, it's contradicting that a pagan can also have no belief in any one god. An interesting concept about this religion is that you are not told a certain way,

     Wicca and Pagan are two religions, which have many similarities as well as many differences within each area. Wicca is a sect of Pagan in which each has their own variations on the religion. A good way to put it; all Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. Witch is a term used for any practitioner of Wicca. The Webster's II Dictionary defines witch as 1. A woman who practices sorcery or is believed to have dealings with the devil, 2. An ugly, vicious old woman; hag. Wicca is described by the American Heritage Dictionary as the cult of witchcraft. Pagan is the religion under which many different religions are practiced. Webster's II Dictionary defines pagan as one who does not

Scandinavian Paganism, more commonly known as Norse Mythology, was a popular polytheistic religion during the Anglo-Saxon time period. It is believed to have been derived from the culture of Germanic Paganism. According to Norse Mythology, at the center of the universe lies the greatest ash tree, known as Yggdrasil, whose roots and branches spread across the universe connecting each of the nine realms of Aesir, giants, and Niflheim. The world was believed to have been created by the body of Ymir, a giant that was killed and dismembered by the first gods. His flesh created the earth, his bones formed the mountains, and his blood filled the seas.

There are many who are Wiccan today that do not believe that the origin of their religion is in Witchcraft; while others believe that these religious practices are part of the foundation of Wicca. Because paganism was not an organized religion and was primarily passed on through oral traditions, there is questionable historical evidence to support a direct connection between the two.

The Pagan religion has been around for forever and is thought to originate from Europe. Paganisms traditions place an importance or homage for nature. Most Pagan groups can trace their roots to around the 1960s. Paganism is not a traditional religion because it does not have any official ideology, but it does have some familiar traits. Growth in the Pagan religion is thought to be based off of the cycles of the earth and the earth’s ecological status.

Mysticism is a word we find in many books that relate to religious experiences. Mysticism is interpreted as searching for spiritual truth and wisdom through the unification with the Divine. Many Christians today believe that the words associated with mysticism like meditation and mystic are not coherently related with Christianity, but more with many Eastern religions. Eastern religions are definitely known for their mysticism, but it is believed to not be a part of Christianity. Mysticism is actually a vital part of Christianity in ways that are more spiritual rather than only being engaged with Christian rituals. Mysticism is the faith that spiritual reality is believed to be from human knowledge and their senses. It searches for truth

When this word “myth” is used, the term is usually related to a fable, invention or a fiction story. Over the years, many scholars started approaching the study of myth differently. These scholars have approach myths in a way their meaning was traditionally regarded. In many traditions these myth are true stories and never refer to as false stories. ( http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/grecoromanmyth1/a/whatismyth.htm )

Spirituality plays a very sub sequential role in my personal life. First of all, spirituality helps me govern what is right and what is wrong in my life. Many of the decisions that I make everyday, I believe are a direct result of my spirituality. For as long as I can remember I have been raised to believe that I should live my life the way God would want me to live it. Therefore, whenever I have a decision to make, I have to consider, what is right? And what is wrong? Second of all, it also helps me to feel more secure about what will happen to my spirit once my life here on earth is over. I believe that there is a better place for our spirits once we leave this earth.

What religion am I? In my life, I have been told many things about my religion. My mother is a Roman Catholic, while my father is Jewish. I have learned about both religions, and I have tried to practice both as best I could, but I am now faced with the decision; which one am I?