Robert Head

11/18/2015
RELS 2400
MWF 9:00

Neo-Paganism
Introduction
Neo-paganism is considered one of the oldest religions to be practiced on this earth. I
chose to do my project on Neo-paganism because of that simple fact. It caught my eye and I
became very interested. I wanted to know more about this religion. What were its basic
practices, what is its history, etc. In this paper I strive to do exactly that. I have broken down my
paper into 4 body paragraphs where I will share what I have come to learn about Neo-Paganism
and especially, Neo-Paganism in the United States. First, I will discuss its basic history. Second,
I will discuss the beliefs and practices found in this ancient religion and for the third final
paragraph to the body of my paper, I will talk about the challenges that Neo-Paganism has faced
and currently faces in the United States.
History
The word Pagan comes from the Latin word villager. It got its meaning that we
understand in todays society from the Roman Empire after it adopted Catholicism. Pagans were
considered those who were not part of the organized national church. They were non-believers.
Paganism is said to have derived from ancient agricultural societies that came out as early as
22,000 BCE. This makes sense seeing that paganism is considered a nature based religion. It is
said to be the Father of Religions. Paganism is said to mainly have started in Northern Europe.
One famous ancient artifact of this theory is the famous Stone Hedge. Said to have been used in

various rituals and ceremonies dating back to the third millennium BCE. Another name that
paganism in the modern world is known by is, Wicca. Essentially it is Witchcraft taken from
ancient practices that include rituals, myths, etc. Wicca was invented by two individuals in the
1940s named Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente in England. However, this still isnt where
Neo-paganism is essentially from. The movement can be dated back to 1967 where a number of
Neo-Pagan groups were formed. I dont know if they would be called churches really because
they were never really recognized as an organized church. However, the first real recognized
Neo-Pagan church was founded by Tim Oberon Zell. He founded the Church of All Worlds.
Also known as CAW in 1968. Just like ancient times, modern Neo-Paganism focused on the
natural world. I will cover more on their beliefs and practices in the next paragraph. Today,
Paganism, Witchcraft, or Wicca, however you wish to call it, is growing. As people leave
organized religion as we know it, many are flooding to a type of religion that has a more
psychological and loose feeling. They are exploring new things and the numbers are
increasing. There are even certain societies devoted to the practice of witchcraft.
Beliefs and Practices
As I briefly stated in the last paragraph, Neo-paganism and witchcraft in general is and always
has been a nature based religion. Performing numerous rituals and ceremonies. Some even date
back to ancient times when paganism was first practiced as a religion. Some of these ceremonies
can include singing and dancing. The main objective really is to become one with nature. To
really come to respect it at a high level. Now, beliefs and practices vary between people really.
As I mentioned earlier, it is a very "loose" religion. There is no set doctrine or type of
organization associated with Neo-Paganism. Churches and groups have sprung up here and there,
but they all have their way of worshipping. However, they all center around nature and some

ancient rituals, but they dont all do things "exactly" the same. One article states, "Perhaps the
most fundamental belief of Neo-Paganism is the recognition of the divine in nature." A type of
calendar worship is used. Also, there are usually a number of deities involved and each one is
worshipped during certain times of the year. As the quote I used from a certain article says, most
Neo-Pagans do believe in a head God. The God above all other Gods. To go into more depth
about the rituals done in Neo-Paganism. Circles are casts with the purpose of, "inviting the
elements and the gods to come into the circle" They focus a lot in the energy that one can feel
in a certain ritual in order to worship the god they are worshipping at that time. Like all
religions, thanks and praise is always given during each ritual. Another specific belief that I wish
to point out in my paper is the belief of reincarnation. Like I have stated previously, everyone
practices differently and I can't say that all Neo- Pagans believe in reincarnation. However, most
do. With the belief of "the cycle of the world," reincarnation is yet another belief, but not with
just humans and animals. Plants are believed to be reincarnated as well. Humans, animals and
plants. All living things that exist on this earth are involved in an endless circle of reincarnation.
There is a wide range of beliefs in Neo-Paganism. If one were to go to numerous ceremonies,
they would quickly learn of this for themselves.
Challenges
No religion can really be called a religion until it has had challenges including persecution,
disagreements on certain doctrinal points, etc. Neo-Paganism is certainly one that has faced
persecution. Even dating back to its ancient roots. Pagans were looked at as savages. Early
American colonizers referred to Indians as "uncivilized people" primarily based off of the fact
that they were not Christians and that they worshipped nature and held ceremonies that were
very different to Christian beliefs. Now, Native Americans are not essentially considered to have

Pagan roots. The early Christian explorers referred to them as Pagans, but one specific detail
that is unique to Paganism is witchcraft. What is referred to today as Paganism dates back to
ancient European times. However, the Native Americans were treated much like all other Pagans
in ancient times. They were fought and many tried to convert them. In order to spread the
Christianity that they believed in. They were looked at as barbarians. The Salem witch trials can
be another example of persecution. They were not people killing Pagans, however, because
Paganism is related to witchcraft essentially, we can relate the trials to the persecution of the
Pagan religion seeing that people were killed because they were believed to be witches. Why are
witches so bad one might ask? Witches have always be associated with things of hell, the devil
and Satan. In other words, they were on the wrong side to a world being drowned by
Christianity. Because of all this people have always looked at Paganism as a Satanic religion.
Where people worship the devil and not Christ. We know this isn't the case, but some refuse to
listen and like every religion, Neo-Paganism has many people that disagree with their beliefs and
verbally abuse them. All of this is due to a lack of understanding and ignorance. Some even go
out of their way to do so. Trying as if to convert them to a religion with God and not Satan.
Some other challenges faced is the amount of people practicing. This is faced in almost every
single church and religion that you encounter. Even though numbers have increased throughout
the years of the amount of people exploring and investigating, it is nothing abnormal to the world
of religions.

Conclusion
In conclusion to my paper on Neo-paganism, I hope that I have been able to clearly provide
information on their history, beliefs and practices, and the challenges they have faced and
continue to face. I dont necessarily agree with Neo-Paganism, but I do believe that it is
important that we all come to understand what one another believes in so that we can come to
understand where one another comes from.

Bibliography
"History of Neo-Paganism." NeoPaganismcom. N.p., 28 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2015
<http://neo-paganism.com/history-of-neo-paganism/>
"The Pluralism Project." Essays. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.pluralism.org/religion/paganism>
Neopagan Beliefs. ReligionFacts.com. 10 Nov. 2015. Web. Accessed 20 Nov. 2015.
<www.religionfacts.com/neopaganism/beliefs>