View source for Paganism

{{Short description|Polytheistic religious groups}}
{{Distinguish|Modern paganism}}<!-- often referred to as simply "paganism" -->
{{redirect|Pagan||Pagan (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
[[File:Die Gartenlaube (1887) b 016.jpg|thumb|Engraving depicting two Roman women offering a [[sacrifice]] to the pagan goddess [[Vesta (mythology)|Vesta]], 1887]]
'''Paganism''' ({{etymology|la|paganus|rural, rustic}}, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by [[Early Christianity|early Christians]] for people in the [[Roman Empire]] who practiced [[polytheism]],<ref name="Bowersock1999p625">{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Brown |editor-first=Glen Warren |editor-last=Bowersock |editor-first2=Peter |editor-last2=Brown |editor-first3=Oleg |editor-last3=Grabar |chapter=Pagan |title=Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World |url=https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe |url-access=registration |year=1999 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-51173-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lateantiquitygui00bowe/page/625 625]–26}}</ref> or [[ethnic religion]]s other than [[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], and [[Samaritanism]]. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not ''[[milites Christi]]'' (soldiers of Christ).<ref name=CF>J. J. O'Donnell (1977), [http://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/paganus.html ''Paganus'': Evolution and Use] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329170344/http://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/paganus.html |date=29 March 2019 }}, ''Classical Folia'', '''31''': 163–69.</ref><ref>Augustine, Divers. Quaest. 83.</ref> Alternative terms used in Christian texts were ''[[hellene]]'', ''[[gentile]]'', and ''[[wikt:heathen|heathen]]''.<ref name="Bowersock1999p625" /> [[Ritual sacrifice]] was an integral part of ancient [[Greco-Roman religion]]<ref name="James2014">{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Christopher P. |title=Between Pagan and Christian |date=2014 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-72520-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TG22AgAAQBAJ&q=pagan+sacrifice&pg=PT74}}</ref> and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian.<ref name="James2014" /> Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the [[peasant]]ry".<ref name="Bowersock1999p625" /><ref name="Davies2011p1">{{cite book |author=Owen Davies |title=Paganism: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pjP8Cr28GCIC |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-162001-0 |pages=1–2}}</ref>

During and after the [[Middle Ages]], the term ''paganism'' was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in [[false god]]s.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kaarina |last=Aitamurto |title=Paganism, Traditionalism, Nationalism: Narratives of Russian Rodnoverie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5c4eDAAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-08443-3 |pages=12–15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Owen Davies |title=Paganism: A Very Short Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pjP8Cr28GCIC |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-162001-0 |pages=1–6, 70–83}}</ref> The origin of the application of the term ''"pagan"'' to polytheism is debated.<ref name="Davies, Owen 2011">Davies, Owen (2011). ''Paganism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0191620010}}.</ref> In the 19th century, paganism was adopted as a self-descriptor by members of various artistic groups inspired by the [[ancient world]]. In the 20th century, it came to be applied as a self-descriptor by practitioners of [[modern paganism]], [[List of modern pagan movements|modern pagan movements]] and [[Polytheistic reconstructionism|polytheistic reconstructionists]]. Modern pagan traditions often incorporate beliefs or practices, such as [[nature worship]], that are different from those of the largest world religions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170305114225/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/paganism Paganism], Oxford Dictionary (2014)</ref><ref>[http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199754670.001.0001/acref-9780199754670-e-659?rskey=Uq4ZiB&result=9 Paganism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625021530/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199754670.001.0001/acref-9780199754670-e-659?rskey=Uq4ZiB&result=9 |date=25 June 2018 }}, ''The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature'', Bron Taylor (2010), Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0199754670}}</ref>

Contemporary knowledge of old pagan religions and beliefs comes from several sources, including [[anthropological]] [[field research]], the evidence of [[Archaeology|archaeological artifacts]], the philology of ancient language, and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to [[Classical antiquity]]. Most modern pagan religions existing today express a [[worldview]] that is polytheistic, [[pantheistic]], [[panentheistic]], or [[animistic]], but some are [[monotheistic]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=James R. |title=The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-514986-6 |page=13 |author-link=James R. Lewis (scholar)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hanegraff |first=Wouter J. |title=New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought |year=1006 |publisher=Brill |isbn=90-04-10696-0 |page=84}}</ref>{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=28, 30}}

== Etymology and nomenclature ==

=== Pagan ===
{{Further|Pagus}}
{{Blockquote|It is crucial to stress right from the start that until the 20th century, people did not call themselves pagans to describe the religion they practiced. The notion of paganism, as it is generally understood today, was created by the early Christian Church. It was a label that Christians applied to others, one of the antitheses that were central to the process of Christian self-definition. As such, throughout history it was generally used in a derogatory sense.|[[Owen Davies (historian)|Owen Davies]]|Paganism: A Very Short Introduction, 2011{{sfn|Davies|2011}}}}

The term ''pagan'' derives from [[Late Latin]] {{lang|la|[[wikt:paganus|paganus]]}}, revived during the [[Renaissance Latin|Renaissance]]. Itself deriving from [[classical Latin]] {{lang|la|[[wikt:pagus|pagus]]}} which originally meant 'region delimited by markers', {{lang|la|paganus}} had also come to mean 'of or relating to the countryside', 'country dweller', 'villager'; by extension, '[[wikt:rustic|rustic]]', 'unlearned', '[[wikt:yokel|yokel]]', '[[wikt:bumpkin|bumpkin]]'; in Roman military [[jargon]], 'non-combatant', 'civilian', 'unskilled soldier'. It is related to {{lang|la|[[wikt:pangere|pangere]]}} ('to fasten', 'to fix or affix') and ultimately comes from [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''*pag-'' ('to fix' in the same sense):<ref name="etymonline_pagan">{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |title=pagan (n.) |url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=pagan&allowed_in_frame=0 |work=The Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=18 July 2013}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The adoption of ''paganus'' by the Latin Christians as an all-embracing, pejorative term for polytheists represents an unforeseen and singularly long-lasting victory, within a religious group, of a word of Latin slang originally devoid of religious meaning. The evolution occurred only in the Latin west, and in connection with the Latin church. Elsewhere, Hellene or gentile (''[[Wikt:ethnicon|ethnikos]]'') remained the word for pagan; and paganos continued as a purely secular term, with overtones of the inferior and the commonplace.|[[Peter Brown (historian)|Peter Brown]]|''Late Antiquity'', 1999<ref name="Peter Brown 1999">Peter Brown, in Glen Warren Bowersock, Peter Robert Lamont Brown, Oleg Grabar, eds., ''Late Antiquity: a guide to the postclassical world'', 1999, ''s.v.'' Pagan.</ref>}}

[[Medieval]] writers often assumed that ''paganus'' as a religious term was a result of the conversion patterns during the [[Christianization of Europe]], where people in towns and cities were converted more easily than those in remote regions, where old ways tended to remain. However, this idea has multiple problems. First, the word's usage as a reference to non-Christians pre-dates that period in history. Second, paganism within the Roman Empire centred on cities. The concept of an urban Christianity as opposed to a rural paganism would not have occurred to Romans during [[Early Christianity]]. Third, unlike words such as [[wikt:rusticitas|''rusticitas'']], ''paganus'' had not yet fully acquired the meanings (of uncultured backwardness) used to explain why it would have been applied to pagans.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=14–15}}

''Paganus'' more likely acquired its meaning in Christian nomenclature via [[Roman military]] jargon (see above). Early Christians adopted military motifs and saw themselves as ''[[Milites Christi]]'' (soldiers of Christ).<ref name="etymonline_pagan" />{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=14–15}} A good example of Christians still using ''paganus'' in a military context rather than a religious one is in [[Tertullian]]'s ''De Corona Militis'' XI.V, where the Christian is referred to as ''paganus'' (''civilian''):{{Sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=14–15}}
{|
 |style="padding-left: 6em; padding-right: 1em;"|''Apud hunc [Christum] tam miles est paganus fidelis quam paganus est miles fidelis.''<ref>[[s:la:De corona militis#11|''De Corona Militis'' XI.V]]</ref>
 |style="padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 6em;"|With Him [Christ] the faithful citizen is a soldier, just as the faithful soldier is a citizen.<ref>[[s:Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume III/Apologetic/The Chaplet, or De Corona/Chapter XI|Ante-Nicene Fathers III, De Corona XI]]</ref>
 |}

''Paganus'' acquired its religious connotations by the mid-4th century.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=14–15}} As early as the 5th century, ''paganos'' was metaphorically used to denote persons outside the bounds of the Christian community. Following the [[Sack of Rome (410)|sack of Rome]] by the [[Visigoths]] just over fifteen years after the [[Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14577d.htm |title="Theodosius I",'' The Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1912}}</ref> murmurs began to spread that the old gods had taken greater care of the city than the Christian God. In response, [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote [[The City of God|''De Civitate Dei Contra Paganos'']] ('The City of God against the Pagans'). In it, he contrasted the fallen "city of Man" with the "city of God", of which all Christians were ultimately citizens. Hence, the foreign invaders were "not of the city" or "rural".<ref>"The City of God". [[Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD]], 2003.</ref><ref>Orosius <u>Histories 1. Prol.</u> ''"ui alieni a civitate dei..pagani vocantur."''</ref><ref>C. Mohrmann, ''Vigiliae Christianae'' 6 (1952) 9ff; [http://dictionary.oed.com/ ''Oxford English Dictionary'', (online) 2nd Edition (1989)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625103623/http://dictionary.oed.com/ |date=25 June 2006 }}</ref>

The term pagan was not attested in the English language until the 17th century.<ref>The ''[[OED]]'' instances [[Edward Gibbon]]'s ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]'', Vol. II, "Chapter XXI: Persecution of Heresy, State of the Church. Part VII" (1776): "The divisions of Christianity suspended the ruin of {{sic|hide=y|reason=Gibbon capitalized here, though did not do so consistently throughout the work.|Paganism}}."</ref> In addition to ''[[wikt:infidel|infidel]]'' and ''[[wikt:heretic|heretic]]'', it was used as one of several [[pejorative]] Christian counterparts to ''[[wikt:goy|goy]]'' ({{lang|he|[[גוי]]|rtl=yes}} / {{lang|he|נכרי|rtl=yes}}) as used in Judaism, and to ''[[kafir]]'' ({{lang|ar|كافر|rtl=yes}}, 'unbeliever') and ''[[mushrik]]'' ({{lang|ar|مشرك|rtl=yes}}, 'idolater') as in Islam.<ref>Eisenstadt, S.N. (1983). "Transcendental Visions – Other-Worldliness – and Its Transformations: Some More Comments on L. Dumont. ''Religion''" 13:1–17, at p. 3.</ref>

=== Hellene ===
{{Further|Hellenes (religion)}}

In the Latin-speaking [[Western Roman Empire]] of the newly [[Christianization of the Roman Empire|Christianizing Roman Empire]], [[Koine Greek]] became associated with the [[Religion in ancient Greece|traditional polytheistic religion]] of [[Ancient Greece]] and was regarded as a foreign language (''lingua peregrina'') in the west.<ref>Augustine, ''Confessions'' 1.14.23; Moatii, "Translation, Migration, and Communication", p. 112.</ref> By the latter half of the 4th century in the Greek-speaking [[Eastern Empire]], pagans were—paradoxically—most commonly called ''Hellenes'' ({{lang|grc|Ἕλληνες}}, lit. "Greeks") The word had almost entirely ceased being used in a cultural sense.<ref name="Cameron93">{{cite book |last1=Cameron |first1=Alan G. |last2=Long |first2=Jacqueline |last3=Sherry |first3=Lee |title=Barbarians and Politics at the Court of Arcadius |year=1993 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-06550-5 |pages=66–67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=9780520065505 |chapter=2: Synesius of Cyrene; VI: The ''Dion''}}</ref>{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=16–17}} It retained that meaning for roughly the first millennium of Christianity.

This was influenced by Christianity's early members, who were [[Jewish Christian|Jewish]]. The Jews of the time distinguished themselves from foreigners according to religion rather than [[Ethnicity|ethno]]-[[cultural]] standards, and early Jewish Christians would have done the same. Since Hellenic culture was the dominant pagan culture in the Roman east, they referred to pagans as Hellenes. Christianity inherited Jewish terminology for non-Jews and adapted it to refer to non-Christians with whom they were in contact. This usage is recorded in the [[New Testament]]. In the [[Pauline epistles]], ''Hellene'' is almost always juxtaposed with ''Hebrew'' regardless of actual ethnicity.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=16–17}}

The usage of Hellene as a religious term was initially part of an exclusively Christian nomenclature, but some Pagans began to defiantly call themselves Hellenes. Other pagans even preferred the narrow meaning of the word from a broad cultural sphere to a more specific religious grouping. However, there were many Christians and pagans alike who strongly objected to the evolution of the terminology. The influential [[Archbishop of Constantinople]] [[Gregory of Nazianzus]], for example, took offence at imperial efforts to suppress Hellenic culture (especially concerning spoken and written Greek) and he openly criticized the emperor.<ref name="Cameron93" />

The growing religious stigmatization of Hellenism had a [[chilling effect]] on Hellenic culture by the late 4th century.<ref name="Cameron93" />

By late antiquity, however, it was possible to speak Greek as a primary language while not conceiving of oneself as a Hellene.<ref>Simon Swain, "Defending Hellenism: Philostratus, in Honour of Apollonius", in ''Apologetics,'' p. 173.</ref> The long-established use of Greek both in and around the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] as a [[lingua franca]] ironically allowed it to instead become central in enabling the spread of Christianity—as indicated for example, by the use of Greek for the [[Epistles of Paul]].<ref>Treadgold, ''A History of the Byzantine State,'' p. 5.</ref> In the first half of the 5th century, Greek was the standard language in which bishops communicated,<ref>Millar, ''A Greek Roman Empire,'' pp. 97–98.</ref> and the ''Acta Conciliorum'' ("Acts of the Church Councils") were recorded originally in Greek and then translated into other languages.<ref>Millar, ''A Greek Roman Empire,'' p. 98.</ref>

=== Heathen ===
"Heathen" comes from {{langx|ang|hæðen}} (not Christian or Jewish); cf. [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|[[wikt:heiðinn|heiðinn]]}}. This meaning for the term originated from [[Gothic language|Gothic]] {{lang|got|[[wikt:haiþno|haiþno]]}} ([[gentile]] woman) being used to translate Hellene<ref>cf. {{bibleverse||Mark|7:26|KJV}}</ref> in [[Gothic Bible|Wulfila's Bible]], the first translation of the Bible into a [[Germanic language]]. This may have been influenced by the Greek and Latin terminology of the time used for pagans. If so, it may be derived from Gothic {{lang|got|[[wikt:haiþi|haiþi]]}} (dwelling on the [[heath]]). However, this is not [[attested language|attested]]. It may even be a borrowing of Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ἔθνος|ἔθνος]]}} ({{Transliteration|el|ethnos}}) via [[Armenian language|Armenian]] {{lang|hy|[[wikt:հեթանոս#Armenian|hethanos]]}}.<ref>{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |title=heathen (n.) |url=http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=heathen&allowed_in_frame=0 |work=The Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=18 July 2013}}</ref>

The term has recently been revived in the forms "Heathenry" and "Heathenism" (often but not always capitalized), as alternative names for the [[modern Germanic pagan]] movement, adherents of which may self-identify as Heathens.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

== Definition ==
{{blockquote|It is perhaps misleading even to say that there was such a religion as paganism at the beginning of [the Common Era] ... It might be less confusing to say that the pagans, before their competition with Christianity, had no religion at all in the sense in which that word is normally used today. They had no tradition of discourse about ritual or religious matters (apart from philosophical debate or antiquarian treatise), no organized system of beliefs to which they were asked to commit themselves, no authority-structure peculiar to the religious area, above all no commitment to a particular group of people or set of ideas other than their family and political context. If this is the right view of pagan life, it follows that we should look on paganism quite simply as a religion invented in the course of the second to third centuries AD, in competition and interaction with Christians, Jews and others.|J A North 1992, 187–88|{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=26–27}}}}

Defining paganism is very complex and problematic. Understanding the context of its associated terminology is important.{{sfn|Davies|2011|loc=Defining paganism}} [[Early Christian]]s referred to the diverse array of [[Cult (religious practice)|cults]] around them as a single group for reasons of convenience and [[rhetoric]].{{sfn|Cameron|2011|p=26}} While paganism generally implies [[polytheism]], the primary distinction between classical pagans and Christians was not one of [[monotheism]] versus polytheism, as not all pagans were strictly polytheist. Throughout history, many of them believed in a [[Creator deity|supreme deity]]. However, most such pagans believed in a class of subordinate gods/[[daimon]]s—see [[henotheism]]—or divine [[Emanationism|emanations]].{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=28, 30}} To Christians, the most important distinction was whether or not someone worshipped the ''[[one true God]]''. Those who did not (polytheist, monotheist, or [[atheist]]) were outsiders to the [[Christian Church|Church]] and thus considered pagan.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|pp=27, 31}} Similarly, classical pagans would have found it peculiar to distinguish groups by the number of [[deities]] followers venerate. They would have considered the priestly colleges (such as the [[College of Pontiffs]] or [[Epulones]]) and cult practices more meaningful distinctions.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|p=29}}

Referring to paganism as a pre-Christian indigenous religion is equally untenable. Not all historical pagan traditions were pre-Christian or indigenous to their places of worship.{{sfn|Davies|2011|loc=Defining paganism}}

Owing to the history of its nomenclature, paganism traditionally encompasses the collective pre- and non-Christian cultures in and around the [[classical world]]; including those of the Greco-Roman, Celtic, Germanic, and Slavic tribes.{{sfn|Cameron|2011|p=28}} However, modern parlance of [[folklorist]]s and [[contemporary pagan]]s in particular has extended the original four millennia scope used by early Christians to include similar religious traditions stretching far into [[prehistory]].{{sfn|Davies|2011|loc=Chapter 1: The ancient world}}

== Perception and Ethnocentrism ==
Paganism came to be equated by Christians with a sense of [[hedonism]], representing those who are sensual, materialistic, self-indulgent, unconcerned with the future, and uninterested in more mainstream religions. Pagans were usually described in terms of this worldly [[stereotype]], especially among those drawing attention to what they perceived as the limitations of paganism.<ref>Antonio Virgili, Culti misterici ed orientali a Pompei, Roma, Gangemi, 2008</ref> 

Recently, the [[ethnocentric]] and [[moral absolutist]] origins of the common usage of the term pagan have been proposed,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hanegraaff |first1=Wouter |title=Reconstructing "Religion" from the Bottom Up |journal=Numen |year=2016 |volume=63 |issue=5/6 |pages=576–605 |doi=10.1163/15685276-12341439 |jstor=44505310 |hdl=11245.1/8b66dd94-5e6c-4c56-95ec-dbf822201e46 |s2cid=171686966 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44505310}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Blumberg |first1=Antonia |title=What Not To Say When You Meet Someone Who Is Pagan |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-not-to-say-when-you-meet-someone-who-is-pagan_n_57474735e4b055bb11719b22 |access-date=23 March 2021 |agency=Huffington Post |date=27 May 2016}}</ref> with scholar David Petts noting how, with particular reference to Christianity, "...local religions are defined in opposition to privileged 'world religions'; they become everything that world religions are not, rather than being explored as a subject in their own right."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Petts |first1=David |title=Pagan and Christian: Religious Change in Early Medieval Europe |date=26 May 2011 |publisher=Bristol Classical Press |location=London |isbn=978-0-7156-3754-8 |page=31}}</ref> In addition, Petts notes how various spiritual, religious, and metaphysical ideas branded as "pagan" from diverse cultures were studied in opposition to Abrahamism in early anthropology, a binary he links to ethnocentrism and colonialism.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kourbage |first1=Melanie |title=Kourbage on Petts, 'Pagan and Christian: Religious Change in Early Medieval Europe' |url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/35008/reviews/42650/kourbage-petts-pagan-and-christian-religious-change-early-medieval |website=Humanities and Social Sciences Online |publisher=H-German |access-date=23 March 2021}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Prehistoric ===
*[[Prehistoric religion]]
**[[Paleolithic religion]]

==== Bronze Age to Early Iron Age ====
* [[Religions of the ancient Near East]]
** [[Ancient Egyptian religion]]
** [[Ancient Semitic religion]]
** [[Ancient Iranian religion]]
** [[Ancient Mesopotamian religion]]

=== Ancient history ===
==== Classical antiquity ====
{{Main|Ancient Greek religion|Ancient Roman religion|Hellenistic religion|Roman imperial cult}}
[[Ludwig Feuerbach]] defined the paganism of [[classical antiquity]], which he termed {{lang|de|Heidentum}} ('heathenry') as "the unity of religion and politics, of spirit and nature, of god and man",<ref>cf. the civil, natural and mythical theologies of [[Marcus Terentius Varro]]</ref> qualified by the observation that man in the pagan view is always defined by [[ethnicity]], i.e., As a result, every pagan tradition is also a national tradition. Modern historians define paganism instead as the aggregate of cult acts, set within a civic rather than a national context, without a written creed or sense of [[orthodoxy]].<ref>A summary of the modern view is given in Robin Lane Fox, ''Pagans and Christians'' 1989, pp. 31 ''ff.'': "The modern emphasis on {{sic|hide=y|reason=Fox appears to have used "pagan", lower case, per external sources quoting him.|paganism}}'s cult acts was also acknowledged by {{sic|hide=y|pagans}} themselves. It shaped the way they tried and tested Christians."</ref>

==== Late Antiquity ====
{{further|Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism|Hellenic philosophy and Christianity}}
''Pagan'' as a religious concept arose out of the development of Christianity, as an [[exonym]] to refer to certain non-Christian peoples and practices, both at the center of and in the outer reaches of the [[Roman Empire]].

Early Christianity was one of several monotheistic cults within the Roman Empire, emerging from [[Second Temple Judaism]] and [[Hellenistic Judaism]]. It developed in context, relationship, and competition with other religions advocating both monotheism and polytheism. Early Christianity distinguished itself from these other religions through the concept of paganism, naming those "pagan" who did not worship "the one true God".

Notable monotheistic cults contemporary with Early Christianity included those of [[Dionysus]],<ref>E. Kessler, ''Dionysian Monotheism in Nea Paphos, Cyprus''
"two monotheistic religions, Dionysian and Christian, existed contemporaneously in Nea Paphos during the 4th century C.E. [...] the particular iconography of Hermes and Dionysos in the panel of the Epiphany of Dionysos [...] represents the culmination of a {{sic|hide=y|Pagan|reason=Kessler capitalized; verified with source.}} iconographic tradition in which an infant divinity is seated on the lap of another divine figure; this {{sic|hide=y|Pagan}} motif was appropriated by early Christian artists and developed into the standardized icon of the Virgin and Child. Thus the mosaic helps to substantiate the existence of {{sic|hide=y|Pagan}} monotheism." [https://books.google.com/books?id=y1-hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91]</ref> [[Neoplatonism]], [[Mithraism]], [[Gnosticism]], and [[Manichaeanism]].{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} The cult of [[Dionysus]] is thought to have strongly influenced Early Christian themes, and is an example of how Christianity defined itself against "paganism" while incorporating "pagan" religious themes and practices. Numerous scholars have concluded that the conceptual construction of [[historical Jesus|Jesus the wandering rabbi]] into the image of [[Christ the Logos]], reflects direct influence from the cult of Dionysus, and the symbolism of wine and the importance it held in the mythology surrounding both Dionysus and Jesus Christ exemplifies this.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' 6. 26. 1–2</ref><ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''Deipnosophistae'' 2. 34a</ref> Peter Wick argues that the use of wine [[religious symbolism|symbolism]] in the [[Gospel of John]], including the story of the [[Marriage at Cana]] at which Jesus turns water into wine, was intended to show Jesus as superior to Dionysus.<ref name="Wick 2004 179–198" /> The scene in ''The Bacchae'' wherein Dionysus appears before King Pentheus on charges of claiming divinity can be compared to the New Testament scene of Jesus being interrogated by [[Pontius Pilate]].<ref name="Wick 2004 179–198">{{cite journal |last=Wick |first=Peter |title=Jesus gegen Dionysos? Ein Beitrag zur Kontextualisierung des Johannesevangeliums |journal=Biblica |volume=85 |issue=2 |pages=179–98 |publisher=Pontifical Biblical Institute |location=Rome |year=2004 |url=http://www.bsw.org/?l=71851&a=Comm06.html |access-date=2007-10-10}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0fLPOx1B-AwC&dq=%22dionysus+had+been+at+home+in+palestine+for+a+long+time%22&pg=PA331 Studies in Early Christology], by [[Martin Hengel]], 2005, p. 331 ({{ISBN|0567042804}})</ref><ref name="Powell">Powell, Barry B., ''Classical Myth'' Second ed. With new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M. Howe. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.</ref>

==== In Albania ====
[[File:Gjama.jpg|thumb|Men of [[Theth]] ([[Shala (tribe)|Shala]]) practicing the [[gjâmë]] – the [[Albanians|Albanian]] lamentation of the dead – in 1937. The earliest figurative representations of this practice in traditional Albanian-inhabited regions appear on [[Dardani]]an funerary stelae of classical antiquity.{{sfn|Joseph|Dedvukaj|2024|pp=1–3}}]]
Paganism in Albania serves as an example of how indigenous folk religious practices persisted under official policies of Christian conversion. [[Proto-Albanian]] speakers were Christianized under the [[Latin]] sphere of influence, specifically in the 4th century CE, as shown by the basic [[Christianity|Christian]] terms in Albanian, which are of [[Latin]] origin and entered Proto-Albanian before the [[Gheg]]–[[Tosk]] dialectal diversification.{{sfn|Malcolm|1998|pp=36–38}}{{sfn|Fischer|Schmitt|2022|p=16}} Regardless of Christianization, [[Albanian paganism|paganism persisted among Albanians]], and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior{{sfn|Norris|1993|p=34}} where [[Albanian folklore]] evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated [[Albanian tribes|tribal culture and society]].{{sfn|Elsie|2001|pp=vii–viii}} It has continued to persist, despite partially transformation by Christian, and later Muslim and Marxist beliefs, that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force.<ref>{{harvnb|Norris|1993|p=34}}; {{harvnb|Qafleshi|2011|pp=43–71}}; {{harvnb|Hykolli|Krasniqi|2020|p=78}}</ref> The Albanian traditional customary law ([[Kanun (Albania)|Kanun]]) has held a longstanding, unwavering, and sacred – although secular – unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the [[Albanian tribes]].{{sfn|Tarifa|2008|p=11}} Historically, the Christian clergy has vigorously fought, but without success, to eliminate the [[Albanian paganism#Rituals and practices|pagan rituals]] practiced by Albanians for [[Albanian paganism#Traditional festivals|traditional feasts]] and particular events, especially the fire rituals ([[Zjarri (Albanian paganism)|Zjarri]]).{{sfn|Tirta|2004|p=250}}{{sfn|Qafleshi|2011|p=49}}

=== Postclassical history ===

==== The Byzantine lineage ====

Christianity was introduced late in Mani, with the first Greek temples converted into churches during the 11th century. Byzantine monk [[Saint Nikon the Metanoeite|Nikon "the Metanoite"]] (Νίκων ὁ Μετανοείτε) was sent in the 10th century to convert the predominantly [[pagan]] Maniots. Although his preaching began the conversion process, it took over 200 years for the majority to accept Christianity fully by the 11th and 12th centuries. [[Patrick Leigh Fermor]] noted that the Maniots, isolated by mountains, were among the last Greeks to abandon the old religion, doing so towards the end of the 9th century: {{blockquote|Sealed off from outside influences by their mountains, the semi-[[rock-cut architecture|troglodytic]] Maniots themselves were the last of the Greeks to be converted. They only abandoned the old religion of Greece towards the end of the ninth century. It is surprising to remember that this peninsula of rock, so near the heart of the Levant from which Christianity springs, should have been baptised three whole centuries after the arrival of [[Augustine of Canterbury|St. Augustine]] in far-away [[Kent]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Leigh Fermor |first=Patrick |title=Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese |year=1958 |publisher=John Murray |page=46}}</ref>}} According to [[Constantine VII]] in ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'', the Maniots were referred to as 'Hellenes' and only fully [[Christianized]] in the 9th century, despite some church ruins from the 4th century indicating early Christian presence. The region's mountainous terrain allowed the Maniots to evade the Eastern Roman Empire's Christianization efforts, thus preserving pagan traditions, which coincided with significant years in the life of [[Gemistos Plethon]].

===== The End of the Athenian and Alexandrian Schools (5th–6th Century) =====
The continuity of classical philosophical thought, especially [[Neoplatonism]] and [[Aristotelianism]], within the [[Byzantine Empire]] necessitated a strategic management of theological risk, given that the Hellenic tradition implied pagan cosmology and metaphysics contradicting Christian orthodoxy. Modern scholarship posits that key Byzantine intellectuals employed conscious strategies of intellectual accommodation, or [[Oikonomia (theology)|oikonomia]], which secured the transmission of non-Christian material, often discussed under the framework of crypto-pagan dissimulation.<ref>Siniossoglou, N. (2011). ''Plato and Theodoret: The Christian Appropriation of Hellenic Philosophy and the Hellenic-Christian Synthesis''. Routledge, pp. 2–10.</ref> These strategies allowed for the academic preservation of texts while publicly adhering to Christian orthodoxy.

The final generation of Neoplatonists established the survival strategies that would be inherited by Byzantium:

[[Proclus]] (412–485) and [[Damascius]] (458–538): As the successive heads of the [[School of Athens|Athenian School]], both were overt practitioners of [[Hellenic religion|Hellenic paganism]] and [[Theurgy]]. The intellectual survival of their doctrines relied on structural abstraction: Proclus's systematic method in works like the ''Elements of Theology'' made him an indispensable philosophical quarry for later Christian theologians seeking a rigorous conceptual framework, thus ensuring his content's survival under the guise of intellectual utility.<ref>Dodds, E. R. (1963). ''Proclus: The Elements of Theology''. Clarendon Press, Introduction, pp. xix–xxii.</ref> Damascius, the last head of the school before its closure in 529, is implicated in the most radical act of dissimulation: the [[Pseudepigraphy|pseudepigraphy]] of [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]] (c. 500), which placed advanced Proclean [[Henology]] under apostolic authority, a strategy interpreted by scholars like Tuomo Lankila as a conscious "resurrect[ion of] the polytheistic religion" through concealment.<ref>Siniossoglou, N. (2012). ''Radical Platonism in Byzantium: Illumination and Utopia''. Cambridge University Press, pp. 54–57; Lankila, T. (2014). ''The Corpus Areopagiticum and the Neoplatonic Succession: A Comparative Study''. Helsinki University Press, p. 191.</ref>

[[Ammonius Hermiae]] (440–520): In [[Alexandria]], Ammonius employed a pragmatic strategy of accommodation. Although a pagan, he negotiated with the Christian authorities (specifically the patriarch Proterius) to keep the school open, ensuring the continuous teaching of the Aristotelian and Neoplatonic curriculum. This public compliance allowed for the technical preservation of philosophical texts.<ref>Sorabji, R. (2005). ''The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200–600 AD: A Sourcebook''. Cornell University Press, Vol. 1, p. 19.</ref>

[[Simplicius of Cilicia]] (6th century): Following the closure of the Athenian School, Simplicius moved to [[Persia]]. His immense commentaries on [[Aristotle]] served as a primary strategy of intellectual neutrality. By focusing on the historical and technical exposition of his predecessors' pagan arguments without overtly endorsing them, Simplicius became the essential vehicle for the objective transmission of Greek philosophy into the Byzantine and later [[Islamic Golden Age|Islamic worlds]].<ref>Hadot, P. (1995). ''Qu'est-ce que la philosophie antique?''. Gallimard, pp. 245–248.</ref>

[[Dionysius Thrax|Dionysius of Thrace]] (5th–6th century commentator): The tradition surrounding the Tékhnē grammatikḗ ensured the survival of pagan myth references within a dry, academic structure. Scholars note that the accompanying Christianized scholia (commentaries), written by Unknown early Byzantine commentators (7th–8th centuries), preserved the detailed mythological content, only adding perfunctory Christian disclaimers that did not meaningfully engage with or neutralize the pagan knowledge, thus ensuring its continuity.<ref>Wilson, N. G. (1983). ''Scholars of Byzantium''. Duckworth, p. 74.</ref> This group of commentators are precursors to the later Aristotelian circle in [[Constantinople]]. Figures like [[John Philoponus]] (490–570), a student of Ammonius, also preserved Hellenism through the strategic refutation of pagan doctrines, such as in ''Against Proclus on the Eternity of the World'', preserving the detailed philosophical arguments under the guise of neutralization.<ref>Wildberg, C. (2007). "Philosophy in the Age of Justinian." In A. Cameron (ed.), ''The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Justinian''. Cambridge University Press, pp. 316–318.</ref>

===== The Macedonian Renaissance and Komnenian Era (9th–12th Century) =====
The revival of scholarship formalized the use of disclaimers and political strategy:

[[Leo the Mathematician]] (c. 790–869) and [[Theodore of Smyrna]] (8th–9th century): Leo's promotion of advanced mathematics and Platonic-inspired thought while Archbishop and head of the [[Magnaura School]] led to explicit accusations of crypto-paganism from contemporaries, who charged him with "having rejected Christianity and adopted Greek paganism." His public disclaimers—or the political defenses he was forced to mount—were essential for his institutional survival.<ref>Senina, T.A. (2017). "Leo the Mathematician and his role in the Macedonian Renaissance." In S. Mariev (ed.), ''Byzantine Science and Technology''. Routledge, pp. 112–121.</ref> Theodore of Smyrna, often cited as a student of Leo, participated in this transmission, though direct evidence of his own use of disclaimers is less prominent in scholarship.

[[Photius]] (c. 810–893) and [[Arethas of Caesarea]] (c. 860–935): Both utilized a strategy of archival preservation. Photius’s [[Myriobiblon]] preserved lost pagan philosophical and historical works by framing them as academic reviews.<ref>Wilson, N. G. (1983). ''Scholars of Byzantium''. Duckworth, pp. 106–107.</ref> Arethas’s patronage secured the physical copying of vital pagan texts, including [[Plato|Plato's dialogues]]. Arethas further used a political disclaimer by publicly attacking others (like Leo) for being "Hellenic," rhetorically distancing himself from the theological risk while actively enabling pagan scholarship.<ref>Siniossoglou, N. (2012), pp. 88–92.</ref>

[[Michael Psellos]] (1017–1078): Psellos refined the strategy of the explicit disclaimer through dissimulation (oikonomia). He openly studied Proclus, [[Plotinus]], and the [[Chaldaean Oracles]], while publicly disavowing belief in pagan practices (like [[Astrology|astrology]]) to "distance himself from heretical doctrines," a necessary facade to secure Hellenic philosophical concepts within the Christian educational system.<ref>Criscuolo, A. (2004). ''Michael Psellos: De omnifaria doctrina''. L'Erma di Bretschneider, p. 18; Siniossoglou, N. (2012), pp. 138–145.</ref>

[[John Italos]] (1025–1085), [[Eustratios of Nicaea]] (960–1030), and [[Michael of Ephesus]] (11th century): This group formed the core of the 11th-century Aristotelian circle. Italos's reliance on [[Apodeictic proof|apodeictic proof]] over patristic authority was perceived as a failure of his disclaimers, leading to his condemnation and ten anathemas in 1082 for promoting "(crypto-)pagan" doctrines, recorded in the [[Synodikon of Orthodoxy]].<ref>Bucossi, A. (2017). "John Italos and the Condemnation of 1082." In A. Calof, et al. (eds.), ''The Routledge Handbook of Byzantine Philosophy''. Routledge, pp. 162–163.</ref> Eustratios, his student, continued the tradition but his strategy of survival lay in focusing commentary on the [[Nicomachean Ethics]] (practical philosophy), a less theologically dangerous area, while Michael of Ephesus focused on monumentalizing the complete Aristotelian corpus (e.g., Parva Naturalia), a crucial act of systemic preservation for philosophical completeness.<ref>Baron, R. (2010). ''Eustratios of Nicaea's Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics''. PhD Thesis, King's College London, Introduction, pp. 15–18;</ref><ref>Demetracopoulos, J. A. (2014). "Michael of Ephesus and the Byzantine Aristotelianism." In R. K. W. J. G. Sluiter (ed.), The Afterlife of the Platonic Tradition. Brepols, pp. 88–90.</ref>

===== The Palaiologan Renaissance (13th–15th Century) =====
This final period saw renewed engagement with classical sources, requiring careful strategies to manage the transmission of volatile texts:

[[Gregory Choniades]] (c. 1240–1302) and [[Maximus Planudes]] (c. 1260–1330): Choniades's contribution was the importation of advanced Hellenic astronomical and mathematical knowledge from [[Persianate society|Persia]]. His strategy involved the technical translation of these texts into Greek, focusing on their empirical utility rather than their religious or philosophical implications, a form of intellectual compartmentalization aimed at protection.<ref>Pingree, D. (1993). "The Teaching of the Almagest in Late Byzantium." In M. B. J. K. J. V. K. D. V. D. D. C. F. K. M. L. E. P. G. S. T. F. (eds.), Transit to the Modern World: Hellenic Science and Scholarship in the Age of Transition. University of Crete Press, pp. 31–32.</ref> Planudes, a grammarian, employed the strategy of literary preservation, compiling and commenting on potentially controversial texts, such as the [[Greek Anthology]] and [[Ptolemy|Ptolemy's works]], ensuring their survival through the guise of academic philology.<ref>Wilson, N. G. (1983). ''Scholars of Byzantium''. Duckworth, pp. 240–242.</ref>

[[Theodore Metochites]] (1270–1332): Metochites championed the preservation of classical science and philosophy through a strategy of apologetic structural integration. His literary projects employed sophisticated apologetic language, positioning pagan customs and prophecies as historical precursors fulfilled by Christian truth. This structure functioned as an overarching disclaimer that neutralized the theological threat of Hellenism through reinterpretation and "Hellenic-Christian synthesis."<ref>Heyden, A. (2000). "Theodore Metochites and the Defense of Philosophy." In E. Koutrakou (ed.), ''The Legacy of Theodore Metochites''. University of Athens, p. 210.</ref>

[[Georgios Gemistos Plethon]] (c. 1355–1452): Plethon was arguably the most radical proponent of Platonism in the Byzantine world. His intellectual survival strategy was based on radical dissimulation and secrecy: while publicly engaging in political and philosophical debates, he authored the [[Nómoi (Plethon)|Nómoi]] (Laws), a text that proposed a comprehensive, state-sanctioned neo-pagan, polytheistic religious system intended to replace Christianity in the reformed Byzantine state. Scholars view this concealed work as the ultimate statement of crypto-paganism, intended for a secret intellectual elite. The failure of this deep concealment led to its discovery after his death by [[Gennadios Scholarios|Patriarch Gennadios Scholarios]], who condemned Plethon and ordered the destruction by fire of the Nómoi, saving only the table of contents.<ref>Woodhouse, C. M. (1986). ''George Gemistos Plethon: The Last of the Hellenes''. Clarendon Press, pp. 240–242.</ref><ref>Siniossoglou, N. (2012). ''Radical Platonism in Byzantium: Illumination and Utopia''. Cambridge University Press, pp. 200–215.</ref>

==== The Arabic transmission ====
In the near east, the survival of specific technical and intellectual traditions from late antiquity, including advanced astrology, specialized mathematical techniques, and the corpus of [[Hermeticism|Hermetic alchemy]], was secured through organized non-Muslim communities integrated within the [[Islamic Golden Age|Arabic intellectual world]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |date=2002 |title=The Sabians of Harran and the Transmission of Greek Astronomy |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=95 |pages=17–25 |quote=p. 17}}</ref> This transmission route was centered on the non-Islamic community of the [[Sabians of Harran]], who employed religious dissimulation (kitmān) while serving as essential scholars and translators.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossein |year=1968 |title=Science and Civilization in Islam |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=112 |quote=p. 112}}</ref> Their technical expertise allowed them to preserve and transmit non-orthodox cosmological frameworks within scientific pursuits.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dhanani |first=Alnoor |date=1996 |title=Islamic Alchemy and Neoplatonism |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=22–39 |quote=pp. 22–23}}</ref>

===== Harran =====
The city of [[Harran]] served as a geographically and politically resilient center for a unique syncretic religion that blended Mesopotamian paganism with [[Neoplatonism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |date=2002 |title=The Sabians of Harran and the Transmission of Greek Astronomy |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=95 |pages=17–25 |quote=p. 17}}</ref> This persistence allowed the community to function as a crucial hub for intellectual continuity well into the Abbasid period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossein |year=1968 |title=Science and Civilization in Islam |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=114 |quote=p. 114}}</ref>

Harran negotiated a peaceful surrender to the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] in 639–640.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |date=2002 |title=The Sabians of Harran and the Transmission of Greek Astronomy |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=95 |pages=17–25 |quote=p. 17}}</ref> The city gained particular political prominence under the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad Caliph]], [[Marwan II]] (r. 744–750), serving as his capital.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edmund |year=2003 |title=The Umayyad Caliphate |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |pages=13}}</ref> Although it later lost this status, its established schools and university flourished, actively participating in the [[Translation Movement]] during the reign of [[Harun al-Rashid]] (r. 786–809).<ref>{{citation |last=Pingree |first=David |date=1993 |chapter=The Teaching of the ''Almagest'' in Late Byzantium |editor-last=B. J. K. J. V. K. D. V. D. D. C. F. K. M. L. E. P. G. S. T. F |title=Transit to the Modern World: Hellenic Science and Scholarship in the Age of Transition |publisher=University of Crete Press |pages=31}}</ref> Following a decree by Caliph [[Al-Ma'mun]] in 830, the community successfully adopted the protected legal status of "Sabians" mentioned in the [[Quran]], ensuring the survival of their distinct religious and intellectual identity.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |date=2002 |title=The Sabians of Harran and the Transmission of Greek Astronomy |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=95 |pages=17–25 |quote=p. 23}}</ref>

===== The Sabian Core: Pagan Identity and Literary Transmission =====
The Sabians explicitly maintained a pagan identity, viewing their scientific and esoteric studies as integral to their religious practice.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |date=2002 |title=The Sabians of Harran and the Transmission of Greek Astronomy |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=95 |pages=17–25 |quote=p. 19}}</ref> Their devotion to the Chaldean-style astral cultus and their claim that [[Hermes Trismegistus]] was their primary prophet made them the natural custodians of the esoteric Greek and Babylonian scientific lineages.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dhanani |first=Alnoor |date=1996 |title=Islamic Alchemy and Neoplatonism |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=22–39 |quote=p. 25}}</ref>

The most influential scholarly line was founded by [[Thābit ibn Qurra]] (836–901), a Harranian scholar and major figure in the [[Translation Movement]]. Thābit was an open pagan; his funeral inscription explicitly refers to him as a "Sabian, son of a Sabian."<ref>{{cite book |last=Dodge |first=Bayard |year=1970 |title=The Fihrist of al-Nadim |publisher=Columbia University Press |volume=I |pages=759}}</ref> He was a mathematician, astronomer, and translator whose works introduced the theoretical framework for celestial mechanics and the technical basis for talismanic operations into Arabic.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |date=2002 |title=The Sabians of Harran and the Transmission of Greek Astronomy |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=95 |pages=17–25 |quote=p. 20}}</ref> His lineage continued through his descendants, including his son Sinān ibn Thābit ibn Qurra (c. 880–943) and grandson Ibrāhīm ibn Sinān ibn Thābit (c. 908–946), who served as elite court physicians and mathematicians.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dodge |first=Bayard |year=1970 |title=The Fihrist of al-Nadim |publisher=Columbia University Press |volume=I |pages=759}}</ref>

The foundational corpus of Arabic [[Alchemy|alchemy]] is associated with [[Jābir ibn Ḥayyān]] (Geber) (c. 721–815). The intellectual history surrounding Geber firmly links his esoteric knowledge to the Harranian scholarly network.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nasr |first=Seyyed Hossein |year=1968 |title=Science and Civilization in Islam |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=114 |quote=p. 114}}</ref> This connection is rooted in the Sabian tradition of viewing Hermes as the prophet of alchemy.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dhanani |first=Alnoor |date=1996 |title=Islamic Alchemy and Neoplatonism |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=22–39 |quote=p. 30}}</ref> Geber is understood to have served as a conduit for the technical and intellectual currents connected to the Sabian traditions, embedding a Hermetic and Chaldean-influenced cosmology into early Islamic chemical arts.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dhanani |first=Alnoor |date=1996 |title=Islamic Alchemy and Neoplatonism |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=22–39 |quote=p. 39}}</ref> Scholars such as Ibn Waḥshiyya (d. 930s) helped codify and transmit texts rooted in ancient Babylonian–Sabian priesthoods, ensuring the literary survival of magical and alchemical lore for subsequent generations of Arabic scholars.<ref>{{citation |last=Burnett |first=Charles |date=2001–2011 |chapter=Michael Scot and the Transmission of the Sciences |title=The Coherence of the Arabic Hermetic Tradition |editor-last=multiple editors |pages=191}}</ref>

===== The Transmission to the Latin West (13th Century) =====
The established Arabic intellectual heritage, which contained the Sabian cosmological influences, was transmitted directly into the Latin West via the court of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] (1194–1250) and his primary translator.

Frederick was a unique patron who explicitly sought Arabic esoteric knowledge during the [[Sixth Crusade]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Richard C. |year=2018 |chapter=Ibn Rushd (Averroes) |editor-last=Black, U. M. K. K. B. E. R. M. N. |title=The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=267 |quote=p. 267}}</ref> His host, the [[Al-Kamil|Ayyubid ruler al-Kāmil,]] patronized scholars preserving Harranian-style astral science.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pingree |first=David |date=2002 |title=The Sabians of Harran and the Transmission of Greek Astronomy |journal=Studia Islamica |issue=95 |pages=17–25 |quote=p. 24}}</ref> Contemporary sources <ref>{{citation |title=Chronicon Maius |last=Richard of San Germano |date=1229 |type=Primary Source}}</ref> confirm that Frederick requested specific books on astrology, treatises on talismans, and Greek philosophical works preserved in Arabic—the very material in which Harranian scholars specialized.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Richard C. |year=2018 |chapter=Ibn Rushd (Averroes) |editor-last=Black, U. M. K. K. B. E. R. M. N. |title=The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=268 |quote=p. 268}}</ref> Historians (Burnett, Pingree, Akasoy) concur that Frederick's exposure to this lineage of intellectual knowledge is extremely plausible.<ref>{{citation |last=Burnett |first=Charles |date=2001–2011 |chapter=Michael Scot and the Transmission of the Sciences |title=The Coherence of the Arabic Hermetic Tradition |editor-last=multiple editors |pages=191}}</ref> This contact was established through meeting scholars associated with the Ayyubid court, rather than through direct contact with the Harranian community itself.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Richard C. |year=2018 |chapter=Ibn Rushd (Averroes) |editor-last=Black, U. M. K. K. B. E. R. M. N. |title=The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=268 |quote=p. 268}}</ref>

[[Michael Scot]] (c. 1175–1232): Frederick II's chief court scholar. His work was the primary literary vector for this transmission into Europe.<ref>{{citation |last=Burnett |first=Charles |date=2001–2011 |chapter=Michael Scot and the Transmission of the Sciences |title=The Coherence of the Arabic Hermetic Tradition |editor-last=multiple editors |pages=191}}</ref> his writings show clear signs of working within the Arabic Hermetic–astral tradition, a lineage that incorporated elements preserved by the Sabians of Harran;<ref>{{citation |last=Burnett |first=Charles |date=2001–2011 |chapter=Michael Scot and the Transmission of the Sciences |title=The Coherence of the Arabic Hermetic Tradition |editor-last=multiple editors |pages=191}}</ref> Scot’s corpus reflects a strong indirect link to the Sabian tradition through his translation and use of works by Thābit ibn Qurra and his connection to the intellectual network that produced Picatrix-type material (the [[Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm]]), which drew upon Harranian cosmology.<ref>{{citation |last=Burnett |first=Charles |date=2001–2011 |chapter=Michael Scot and the Transmission of the Sciences |title=The Coherence of the Arabic Hermetic Tradition |editor-last=multiple editors |pages=191}}</ref>

===== Islam in Arabia =====
{{See also|Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia}}
Arab paganism gradually disappeared during [[Muhammad]]'s era through [[Islamization]].<ref name="sealednectar2">{{citation |title=The sealed nectar: biography of the Noble Prophet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r_80rJHIaOMC&pg=PA245 |first=Saifur Rahman Al |last=Mubarakpuri |year=2005 |publisher=Darussalam Publications |isbn=978-9960-899-55-8 |pages=245–46}}</ref><ref name="online">Muhammad Saed Abdul-Rahman, [https://books.google.com/books?id=nmUrN0B8cvQC&pg=PA139 Tafsir Ibn Kathir Juz' 2 (Part 2): Al-Baqarah 142 to Al-Baqarah 252 2nd Edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102164909/https://books.google.com/books?id=nmUrN0B8cvQC&pg=PA139 |date=2 January 2023 }}, p. 139, MSA Publication Limited, 2009, {{ISBN|1861796765}}. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20090529214150/http://www.fda.gov/fsrscripts/triggerParams.js online])</ref> The sacred months of the Arab pagans were the 1st, 7th, 11th, and 12th months of the Islamic calendar.<ref name="The Sealed Nectar Free Version">Mubarakpuri, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA129 The Sealed Nectar (Free Version)]{{dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, p. 129</ref> After Muhammad had conquered [[Mecca]] he set out to convert the pagans.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite book |last=Sa'd |first=Ibn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dfnXAAAAMAAJ&q=Hatim |title=Kitab al-tabaqat al-kabir, By Ibn Sa'd, Volume 2 |year=1967 |publisher=Pakistan Historical Society |asin=B0007JAWMK |page=380}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{citation |title=The Sealed Nectar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA269 |first=Saifur |last=Rahman al-Mubarakpuri |year=2005 |publisher=Darussalam Publications |page=269 |isbn=9798694145923}}</ref><ref name="Mufti Dec 2007 103">{{citation |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oiAtbfbHgVoC&pg=PA103 |first=M. Mukarram Ahmed |last=Mufti |year=2007 |publisher=Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-81-261-2339-1 |page=103}}</ref> One of the last military campaigns that Muhammad ordered against the Arab pagans was the [[Demolition of Dhul Khalasa]]. It occurred in April and May 632 AD, in 10AH of the Islamic Calendar. [[Dhul Khalasa]] is referred to as both an idol and a temple, and it was known by some as the [[Ka'ba]] of Yemen, built and worshipped by polytheist tribes.<ref name="b3">{{cite book |title=Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHufEXRlR6EC&pg=PA297 |first=William |last=Robertson Smith |year=2010 |publisher=Forgotten Books |isbn=978-1-4400-8379-2 |page=297}}</ref><ref name="b2">{{cite book |title=Who Was Jesus?: Conspiracy in Jerusalem |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yWzcsddrx_wC&pg=PA146 |first=Kamal |last=S. Salibi |year=2007 |publisher=Tauris Parke Paperbacks |isbn=978-1-84511-314-8 |page=146}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=When the Moon Split |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xJL6gxPUV4EC&pg=PA296 |first=Saifur Rahman Al |last=Mubarakpuri |year=2002 |publisher=DarusSalam |isbn=978-9960-897-28-8 |page=296}}</ref>

=== Modern history ===
==== Early Modern Renaissance ====
The [[Osirian Egyptian Order|Ordine Osirideo Egizio]] claimed direct descent from a colony of Alexandrian priests who, fleeing persecution after the 4th century AD, sought refuge in Naples, preserving ancient pagan liturgies almost intact.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lo Monaco |first=Gaetano |title=The Osirian Egyptian Order and the Pythagorean Transmission |publisher=Letture S…consigliate |location=Marostica (Vicenza) |year=2000}}</ref> Through the Middle Ages (5th–15th centuries) these rites persisted in secret esoteric circles and re-emerged during the Renaissance (14th–17th centuries), later inspiring figures such as [[Raimondo di Sangro]] (1710–1771), Prince of Sansevero.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Iah-Hel |title=La Pietra Angolare Miriamica. Storia documentata della Fratellanza di Miriam di Giuliano Kremmerz |publisher=Rebis |location=Viareggio |year=1989}}</ref>

Interest in reviving [[ancient Roman]] religious traditions can be traced to the [[Renaissance]], with figures such as [[Gemistus Pletho]] and [[Julius Pomponius Laetus]] advocating for a revival,<ref name="marre" /> when [[Renaissance magic]] was practiced as a revival of [[Greco-Roman magic]]. Gemistus Plethon, who was from Mistras (near the [[Mani Peninsula]]—where paganism had endured until the 12th century) encouraged the Medici, descendants of the Maniot Latriani dynasty, to found the [[Platonic Academy (Florence)|Neoplatonic Academy]] in [[Florence]], helping to spark the [[Renaissance]].
In addition Julius Pomponius Laetus (student of Pletho) established the [[Roman academies|Roman academy]] which secretly celebrated the [[Natale di Roma]], a festival linked to the [[foundation of Rome]], and the birthday of [[Romulus]].<ref>Raphael Volaterranus, in his Commentaries presented to [[Julius II]], declared that the enthusiasms of these initiates were "the first step towards doing away with the Faith" (Pastor IV 1894:44).</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=La 'conguira' degli umanisti: Platina e Pomponio Leto |url=http://www.castelsantangelo.com/tl_3a.asp |work=Castel Sant'Angelo |publisher=castelsantangelo.com |access-date=25 November 2013 |location=Rome |language=Italian |archive-date=3 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003347/http://www.castelsantangelo.com/tl_3a.asp |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Academy was dissolved in 1468 when [[Pope Paul II]]  ordered the arrest and execution of some of the members, [[Pope Sixtus IV]] allowed Laetus to open the academy again until the [[Sack of Rome (1527)|Sack of Rome]] in 1527.

After the [[French Revolution]], the French lawyer [[Gabriel André Aucler]] (mid 1700s–1815) adopted the name '''Quintus Nautius''' and sought to [[Modern paganism|revive paganism]], styling himself as its leader. He designed [[religious clothing]] and performed pagan rites at his home. In 1799, he published ''La Thréicie'', presenting his religious views. His teachings were later analyzed by [[Gérard de Nerval]] in ''[[Les Illuminés]]'' (1852).{{Sfn|Lamoureux|1843|p=397}}
Admiring [[ancient Greece]] and [[ancient Rome]], Aucler supported the [[French Revolution]] and saw it as a path to restoring an ancient republic.{{sfn|Gaume|1856|p=208}} He took the name Quintus Nautius, claimed Roman priestly lineage, and performed [[Orphic]] rites at his home.{{sfn|Gérardin|1974|p=226}} His followers were mainly his household.{{sfn|Lamoureux|1843|p=397}} In 1799, he published ''La Thréicie'', advocating a revival of paganism in France, condemning Christianity, and promoting [[Pythagoreanism|universal animation]].{{sfn|Merkin|2014a|p=257}}

In the 17th century, the description of paganism turned from a theological aspect to an [[ethnological]] one, and religions began to be understood as part of the [[ethnic]] identities of peoples, and the study of the religions of so-called primitive peoples triggered questions as to the ultimate historical [[origin of religion]]. [[Jean Bodin]] viewed pagan mythology as a distorted version of Christian truths.<ref name="Franklin 2017 p. 413">{{cite book |last=Franklin |first=J.H. |title=Jean Bodin |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-351-56179-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DkQrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA413 |access-date=2023-01-24 |page=413}}</ref> [[Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc]] saw the pagan [[religions of Africa]] of his day as relics that were in principle capable of shedding light on the historical paganism of Classical Antiquity.<ref>"It would be a great pleasure to make the comparison with what survives to us of ancient {{sic|hide=y|paganism|reason=Miller used lower case; verified with online copy found in search results.}} in our old books, in order to have better [grasped] their spirit." Peter N. Miller, "History of Religion Becomes Ethnology: Some Evidence from Peiresc's Africa" ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' 67.4 (2006) 675–96.[http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_the_history_of_ideas/v067/67.4miller.html]</ref>

==== Late Modern Romanticism ====
The 19th century saw much scholarly interest in the reconstruction of pagan mythology from folklore or fairy tales. Depictions of reconstructed themes in theater, poetry, and music flourished alongside political invocations of reimagined pagan codes and ethics.

Folklore reconstructions were notably attempted by the [[Brothers Grimm]], especially [[Jacob Grimm]] in his ''Teutonic Mythology'', and [[Elias Lönnrot]] with the compilation of the ''[[Kalevala]]''. The work of the Brothers Grimm influenced other collectors, both inspiring them to collect tales and leading them to similarly believe that the fairy tales of a country were particularly representative of it, to the neglect of cross-cultural influence. Among those influenced were the Russian [[Alexander Afanasyev]], the Norwegians [[Peter Christen Asbjørnsen]] and [[Jørgen Moe]], and the Englishman [[Joseph Jacobs]].<ref>Jack Zipes, ''The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: From Straparola and Basile to the Brothers Grimm'', p. 846, {{ISBN|0-393-97636-X}}</ref> 

Poetic examples display how paganist themes were mobilized in ethical and cultural discourse of the era. [[G. K. Chesterton]] wrote: "The {{sic|hide=y|reason=Chesterton used "pagan", lower case; verified with source.|pagan}} set out, with admirable sense, to enjoy himself. By the end of his civilization he had discovered that a man cannot enjoy himself and continue to enjoy anything else."<ref>''[[Heretics (book)|Heretics]]'', G. K. Chesterton, 2007, Hendrickson Publishers Inc., p. 88</ref> In sharp contrast, the poet [[Algernon Charles Swinburne]] would comment on this same theme: "Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath; We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death."<ref>'Hymn to Proserpine'</ref>

Romanticist interest in non-classical antiquity coincided with the rise of [[Romantic nationalism]] and the rise of the [[nation state]] in the context of the [[1848 revolutions]], leading to the creation of ''[[national epic]]s'' and [[national myth]]s for the various newly formed states. Pagan or folkloric topics were also common in the [[musical nationalism]] of the period. Paganism resurfaces as a topic of fascination in 18th to 19th-century [[Romanticism]], in particular in the context of the literary [[Celtic Revival|Celtic]], [[Slavic reconstructionism|Slavic]] and [[Viking Revival|Viking]] revivals, which portrayed historical [[Celtic polytheism|Celtic]], [[Slavic paganism|Slavic]] and [[Germanic polytheism|Germanic]] polytheists as [[noble savage]]s.{{rquote|right|Great God! I'd rather be<br />A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;<br />So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,<br />Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;<br />Have sight of [[Proteus]] rising from the sea;<br />Or hear old [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]] blow his wreathèd horn.|[[William Wordsworth]], "[[The World Is Too Much with Us]]", lines 9–14}}

===== In Italy =====
With the fall of the [[Papal States]] the process of [[Italian unification]] fostered [[anti-clerical]] sentiment among the intelligentsia. 
The Brotherhood of Myriam, founded in 1899, inherited its lineage from the [[Osirian Egyptian Order|Ordine Osirideo Egizio]] and can be understood as a form of modern neopaganism that revives and adapts ancient Egyptian and Greco-Egyptian rituals for contemporary spiritual practice.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Iah-Hel |title=La Pietra Angolare Miriamica. Storia documentata della Fratellanza di Miriam di Giuliano Kremmerz |publisher=Rebis |location=Viareggio |year=1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lo Monaco |first=Gaetano |title=The Osirian Egyptian Order and the Pythagorean Transmission |publisher=Letture S…consigliate |location=Marostica (Vicenza) |year=2000}}</ref> Intellectuals like archaeologist [[Giacomo Boni (archaeologist)|Giacomo Boni]] and writer [[Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo]] promoted the restoration of Roman religious practices.<ref name="giudice">{{cite journal |last=Giudice |first=Christian |year=2012 |url=https://www.academia.edu/9521300 |title=Pagan Rome was Rebuilt in a Play: Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo and the Representation of Rumon |journal=The Pomegranate |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=212–232 |doi=10.1558/pome.v14i2.212 |issn=1743-1735}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Buscemi |first=Francesco |year=2019 |chapter=The Sin of Eating Meat: Fascism, Nazism and the Construction of Sacred Vegetarianism |editor1-last=Gentilcore |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Smith |editor2-first=Matthew |title=Proteins, Pathologies and Politics: Dietary Innovation and Disease from the Nineteenth Century |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |page=144 |isbn=978-1-350-05686-2}}</ref> In 1927, philosopher and esotericist [[Julius Evola]] founded the [[Gruppo di Ur]] in Rome, along with its journal ''Ur'' (1927–1928), involving figures like [[Arturo Reghini]]. In 1928, Evola published ''[[Imperialismo Pagano]]'', advocating Italian political paganism to oppose the [[Lateran Pacts]]. The journal resumed in 1929 as ''Krur''. A mysterious document published in ''Krur'' in 1929, attributed to orientalist [[Leone Caetani]], suggested that Italy's [[World War I]] victory and the rise of [[fascism]] were influenced by Etruscan-Roman rites.<ref>{{cite web |first=Sandro |last=Consolato |date=18 October 2017 |title=La Grande Guerra degli esoteristi |url=https://www.tempi.it/la-grande-guerra-degli-esoteristi/ |work=Tempi |language=it}}</ref>

=== Late 20th century ===
The 1960s and 1970s saw a resurgence in [[neo-Druidism]] as well as the rise of [[modern Germanic paganism]] in the United States and in [[Iceland]]. In the 1970s, [[Wicca]] was notably influenced by feminism, leading to the creation of an eclectic, [[Goddess]]-worshipping movement known as [[Dianic Wicca]].{{Sfn|Adler|2006|pp=178–239}} The 1979 publication of [[Margot Adler]]'s ''[[Drawing Down the Moon (book)|Drawing Down the Moon]]'' and [[Starhawk]]'s ''[[The Spiral Dance]]'' opened a new chapter in public awareness of paganism.{{sfn|Adler|2006|p=ix}} With the growth and spread of large, pagan gatherings and festivals in the 1980s, public varieties of [[Wicca]] continued to further diversify into additional, eclectic sub-denominations, often heavily influenced by the [[New Age]] and [[counter-culture]] movements. These open, unstructured or loosely structured traditions contrast with [[British Traditional Wicca]], which emphasizes secrecy and initiatory lineage.{{sfn|Adler|2006|pp=429–456}}

The public appeal for pre-Christian Roman spirituality in the years following [[fascism]] was largely driven by [[Julius Evola]]. By the late 1960s, a renewed "operational" interest in pagan Roman traditions emerged from youth circles around Evola, particularly concerning the experience of the ''Gruppo di Ur''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Giudice |first=Christian |title=Occultism and Traditionalism: Arturo Reghini and the Antimodern Reaction in Early Twentieth-Century Italy |publisher=[[University of Gothenburg]] |year=2016 |pages=19–20}}</ref> Evola's writings incorporated concepts from outside classical Roman religion, such as [[Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], [[sexual magic]], and private [[ritual nudity]]. This period saw the rise of the ''Gruppo dei Dioscuri'' in cities like Rome, Naples, and Messina, which published a series of four booklets, including titles such as ''L'Impeto della vera cultura'' and ''Rivoluzione Tradizionale e Sovversione'', before fading from public view.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Del Ponte |first=Renato |title=Studi su Evola e la Tradizione |publisher=Indipendente |year=1990 |language=it}}</ref> The Evolian journal ''Arthos'', founded in [[Genoa]] in 1972 by Renato del Ponte, expressed significant interest in Roman religion. In 1984, the ''Gruppo Arx'' revived Messina's ''Dioscuri'' activities, and Reghini's ''Pythagorean Association'' briefly resurfaced in [[Calabria]] and [[Sicily]] from 1984 to 1988, publishing ''Yghìeia''.

Other publications include the Genoese ''Il Basilisco'' (1979–1989), which released several works on pagan studies, and ''Politica Romana'' (1994–2004), seen as a high-level Romano-pagan journal. One prominent figure was actor Roberto Corbiletto, who died in a mysterious fire in 1999.The 1980s and 1990s also saw an increasing interest in serious academic research and [[Polytheistic reconstructionism|reconstructionist pagan]] traditions. The establishment and growth of the Internet in the 1990s brought rapid growth to these, and other pagan movements.{{Sfn|Adler|2006|pp=429–456}}

By the time of the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|collapse]] of the former [[Soviet Union]] in 1991, [[freedom of religion]] was legally established across Russia and a number of other newly independent states, allowing for the growth in both Christian and non-Christian religions.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=45}}

== Modern paganism ==
{{anchor|Neopaganism}}
{{Main|Modern paganism}}

[[File:Celebrazione del 2777 Natale di Roma - Pietas Comunità Gentile 2.jpg|thumb|The Pietas Comunità Gentile Celebrates the 2777th [[Natale di Roma]] at the [[Circus Maximus]] ]]
=== 21st century ===
[[File:Thyrsus, YSEE e Pietas Comunità Gentile.jpg|thumb|Meeting between Thyrsus, YSEE, and Pietas Comunità Gentile]]
In the 2000s, [[Pietas Comunità Gentile|Associazione Tradizionale Pietas]] began reconstructing temples across Italy and sought legal recognition from the state, drawing inspiration from similar groups like [[YSEE]] in Greece. In 2023, Pietas participated in the [[European Congress of Ethnic Religions|ECER]] meeting, resulting in the signing of the Riga Declaration, which calls for the recognition of European ethnic religions.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 July 2023 |title=Riga Declaration | url=https://ecer-org.eu/?s=riga+declaration |access-date=2024-05-04}}</ref> Public rituals, such as those celebrating the ancient festival of the [[Natale di Roma]], have also resumed in recent years.<ref>{{cite web |title=PROGRAM |url=https://www.natalidiroma.it/programma |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=GRUPPO STORICO ROMANO |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=12 April 2024 |title=Gruppo Storico Romano for the 2777th Natale di Roma |url=https://www.turismoroma.it/it/eventi/gruppo-storico-romano-il-2777esimo-natale-di-roma |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Turismo Roma |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Natale di Roma all'ETRU |url=https://www.museoetru.it/natale-di-roma-alletru |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Museo ETRU |language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Ritual of the summer solstice - 2023 YSEE & Pietas Comunità Gentile.jpg|thumb|Summer Solstice Ritual held in collaboration by YSEE and Pietas Comunità Gentile ]]

The idea of practicing Roman religion in the modern era has spread beyond Italy, with practitioners found in countries across Europe and the Americas. The most prominent international organization is [[Nova Roma]], founded in 1998, with active groups worldwide.<ref>Chryssides, George D. ''Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements'' (2011, 2nd ed.).</ref> [[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 practice]] 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 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802152116/https://www.ecauldron.net/dc-faq.php#4 |url-status=dead }}</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 journal |url=http://www.wyrdwords.vispa.com/heathenry/callusheathen.html |title=Call us Heathens! |access-date=7 September 2007 |journal=Journal of the Pagan Federation |year=1997 |first1=Arlea |last1=Anschütz |first2=Stormerne |last2=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=History of modern Paganism |website=BBC |date=2 October 2002 |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]] 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 or other nature-based spiritual paths, and frequently incorporating contemporary liberal values.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} This definition may include groups such as [[Wicca]], Neo-Druidism, Heathenry, and Slavic Native Faith.

;{{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 [[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 [[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 nearly 2% 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> therefore being nearly six 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. [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Heathenry]] 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>

== Ethnic religions of pre-Christian Europe ==
{{further|Christianization}}
{{columns-list|
* [[Proto-Indo-European mythology]]
* [[Albanian paganism]]
* [[Baltic mythology]]
* [[Basque mythology]]
* [[Celtic polytheism]]
* [[Etruscan mythology]]
* [[Finnic mythologies]]
* [[Germanic paganism]]
* [[Ancient Greek religion]]
* [[Minoan religion]]
* [[Mari religion]]
* [[Norse mythology]]
* [[Religion in ancient Rome]]
* [[Sámi shamanism]]
* [[Slavic paganism]]
* [[Thracian religion]]
}}

== Reconstructionist groups ==
* [[Hellenism (modern religion)|Hellenism]]
** [[Romuva (religion)|Romuva]]

== See also ==
{{columns-list|
* [[Animism]]
* [[Anitism]]
* [[Crypto-paganism]]
* [[Dharmic religions]]
* [[East Asian religions]]
* [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]
* [[Henotheism]]
* [[Jungian psychology]]
* [[Kemetism]]
* [[List of pagans]]
* [[List of modern pagan movements]]
* [[List of modern pagan temples]]
* [[List of religions and spiritual traditions]]
* [[Myth and ritual]]
* [[Naturalistic pantheism]]
* [[Nature worship]]
* [[Panentheism]]
* [[Polytheism]]
* [[Secular paganism]]
* [[Sentientism]]
* [[Totemism]]
* [[Virtuous pagan]]
* [[Worship of heavenly bodies]]
}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
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* {{cite book |last=Qafleshi |first=Muharrem |title=Opoja dhe Gora ndër shekuj |trans-title=Opoja and Gora During Centuries |publisher=[[Albanological Institute of Pristina]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-9951-596-51-0}}
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* Robert, P. & Scott, N. (1995). ''A History of Pagan Europe''. New York, Barnes & Noble Books, {{ISBN|0-7607-1210-7}}.
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* {{cite journal |last=Tarifa |first=Fatos |title=Of Time, Honor, and Memory: Oral Law in Albania |journal=Oral Tradition |volume=23 |issue=1 |year=2008 |pages=3–14 |doi=10.1353/ort.0.0017 |url=https://journal.oraltradition.org/wp-content/uploads/files/articles/23i/02_23.1tarifa.pdf}}
* {{cite book |last=Tirta |first=Mark |title=Mitologjia ndër shqiptarë |language=sq |editor=Petrit Bezhani |publisher=Mësonjëtorja |year=2004 |place=Tirana |isbn=99927-938-9-9}}
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* York, Michael (2003). ''Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion'' NYU Press, {{ISBN|0-8147-9708-3}}.
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|pagan|heathen}}
* {{wikiquote-inline}}

{{Paganism}}
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[[Category:Paganism| ]]
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