Paganism Essay

Paganism is the name given to the religious tradition before one has converted to a major world religion. Formed in the early 20th century it is said to be a broad group of religious traditions known best by the older world. ‘The diversity of Pagan traditions includes myths and histories from pre-Christian sources.’ (www.patheos.com) Paganism has a wide variety of people along with groups that make up their community. ‘Wiccans, Druids, Shamans, Sacred Ecologists, Odinists and Heathens all make up parts of the Pagan community.’ (www.bbc.co.uk) It is local folk traditions and beliefs of people in an area or group before they decide which religion suits them best. Paganism consists of a whopping 1,000,000 people. Of the 1,000,000 followers,

It is a mixture of modern ideas inspired by ancient ideas. The religion is growing, for many feel widely accepted in the religion. Unlike most religions where you must follow a certain God, they follow what they believe. A Pagan may believe in a goddess, a spirit or vision. Pagans speak out in their large belief in science and nature. A pagan woman wrote about her beliefs and what fascinated her into being a pagan. She said she was deeply intrigued by the sky and the stars, yet it is just a discovery. She believes it was not made by anyone, yet science. She says moon, stars, sun and clouds are apart of nature that was created before religions were made. Although all Pagans can believe in something slightly different, nature is a main belief of the religion. Paganism has a set of beliefs in which Pagans try to follow. A striking belief of the Pagan religion is the way they look at intimacy and sexualness. They do not have a belief of refraining of sex before marriage, for they see it as a sign of love and an act of human existence. Pagans frown deeply upon the use of illegal drugs. They believe one will suffer the concequences associated with the use illegal substances. Alcohol is seen as a social drink, and is acceptable when consumed in reasonable amounts. At ceremonies it is common for wine to be served, yet no other form of alcohol. The beliefs of Pagans fit the lifestyle of many people in search of being accepted. With one million pagans around the world today, it is becoming more known each and every