Contemporary paganism

Modern Paganism, also known as Contemporary Paganism and Neopaganism, is a group of new religious movements influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe. Although they do share similarities, contemporary Pagan religious movements are diverse and no single set of beliefs, practices, or texts are shared by them all. Most academics studying the phenomenon have treated it as a movement of different religions, whereas a minority instead characterise it as a single religion into which different Pagan faiths fit as denominations. Not all members of faiths or beliefs regarded as Neopagan self-identify as "Pagan".

Adherents rely on pre-Christian, folkloric and ethnographic sources to a variety of degrees; many follow a spirituality which they accept as being entirely modern, while others attempt to reconstruct or revive indigenous, ethnic religions as found in historical and folkloric sources as accurately as possible. Academic research has placed the Pagan movement along a spectrum, with Eclecticism on one end and Polytheistic Reconstructionism on the other. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features in Pagan theology. Rituals take place in both public and in private domestic settings.

The Pagan relationship with Christianity is often strained. Contemporary Paganism has sometimes been associated with the New Age movement, with scholars highlighting both similarities and differences. From the 1990s onward, scholars studying the modern Pagan movement have established the academic field of Pagan studies.

There is "considerable disagreement as to the precise definition and proper usage" of the term "modern Paganism". Even within the academic field of Pagan studies, there is no consensus regarding how contemporary Paganism can best be defined. Most scholars describe modern Paganism as a broad array of different religions rather than a singular religion in itself. Endorsing this position, the Pagan studies scholar Ethan Doyle White suggested that the category of modern Paganism could be compared to the categories of Abrahamic religion and Dharmic religion in its structure. A second, less common definition found within Pagan studies – where it has been promoted by the religious studies scholars Michael F. Strmiska and Graham Harvey – characterises modern Paganism as a singular religion, into which groups like Wicca, Druidry, and Heathenry fit as denominations. Doyle White however critiqued this perspective, arguing that there lacked enough core commonalities in "such issues as theology, cosmology, ethics, afterlife, holy days, or ritual practices" to unite the Pagan movement as a singular faith.

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