Neo Paganism Research Paper

According to the Oxford Dictionary, neo- means “new” and pagan means “a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions,” but what exactly are these people and what do they do? “Neo-Paganism is a group of contemporary religious movements influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe” (Lewis 13). “Paganism is a polytheistic nature religion. It is re-creating ways of relating to the earth and all its inhabitants which express human relationships with all that exists. It is a sense of being “at home” on earth” (Harvey 1). One of the most important aspects, if not the most important aspect of these modern movements is the use, according to Dennis Carpenter, of “a universe that is interconnected… and the material and/or spiritual universe are one” (quoted in Lewis 50). Some of the concepts of neo-paganism are “the idealization of nature, the perception that primitive people and peasants live lives that are in harmony with natural forces, and the imagining of an early polytheistic religion where nature itself is sacred” (Magliocco 39). Combining the importance of nature and the lives people live is “the earth and the body,” which, “ is central and celebrated” (Harvey 126). Displaying within the religion, “at their seasonal festivals pagans regularly renew their relationships and deepen their intimacy with the environment, nature,” and “the festivals teach ecology” (Harvey 126). Neo-Paganism is more rooted in environmentalistic behaviors through rituals and mythology rather than non-religion or science.

Ecology, according to the oxford dictionary, is “the branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and their phy...

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...pe spurred this contemporary religious movement. The importance of this movement is the use of ecology and nature as it is intertwined and connected with those who practice it. Neo-paganism uniquely expresses the concept of everyone being interrelated as one living organism through a polytheistic religion. Practitioners strive to promote a healthy and plentiful earth through festivals and rituals in a way of spirituality. The spirituality is shown through nature as the earth and the body connects as a primary aspect of neo-paganism. Displaying within it, this religion demonstrates nature and the earth with the use of symbols such as the seasons, elements, and animals. Neo-pagans center their religion on nature and deep ecological concerns and illustrate dramatic and colorful rituals around the changes of the seasons and the interconnectedness of nature and life.