Knowra Modern paganism Modern paganism Modern paganism is a family of contemporary religions drawing on pre-Christian traditions, nature reverence, polytheism, and related spiritual practices. Its traditions vary widely in theology, ritual, and organization.
Ritual : A prescribed or patterned action performed for symbolic, social, or religious purposes. Seasonal ceremonies and personal rites give many pagan traditions a recurring structure.
Wicca : A modern pagan religion that emerged in mid-twentieth-century Britain, often centered on ritual, witchcraft, and a Goddess and God. Wicca is one of the most influential and widely recognized modern pagan religions.
Romanticism : An intellectual and artistic movement that emphasized emotion, imagination, nature, and the past. Romantic interest in folklore and pre-Christian pasts helped shape modern pagan sensibilities.
Abrahamic religions : Religions that trace spiritual heritage to Abraham, especially Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Their dominant monotheistic frameworks differ from the polytheism found in some pagan traditions.
Polytheism : Belief in or worship of multiple gods. Some pagan traditions honor many deities, though others are monotheistic or non-theistic.
Druidry : A modern spiritual movement inspired by the ancient Druids and Celtic traditions, with diverse religious and nonreligious forms. Modern Druidry adapts Celtic themes without being a direct continuation of ancient Druid institutions.
James Frazer : A Scottish social anthropologist best known for The Golden Bough, a comparative study of myth and religion. Frazer's influential theories helped popularize ritual interpretations later adapted by some pagan writers.
New Age : A loose spiritual milieu combining ideas and practices drawn from diverse religious and esoteric sources. New Age spirituality overlaps with pagan practice but is not itself a single pagan religion.
Animism : The view that nonhuman beings, places, or natural phenomena possess spirit or agency. Nature-centered pagan practice may treat landscapes and other beings as spiritually present.
Heathenry : A modern pagan movement drawing on pre-Christian Germanic and Norse religions and cultures. Heathenry illustrates traditions that focus on particular historical and linguistic inheritances.
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