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What Is Contemporary Paganism?

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What Is Contemporary Paganism? Acknowledgement of the principles of magick . Many Foundations 4-week Courses Pagans believe that ritual acts performed with intention Open to both students and the public can alter consciousness, and therefore, reality. Such Certificate of Continuing Education What Is rituals function similarly to prayer in other religions. 19 units learning in specific area Pagans who practice magick (sometimes spelled with a ‘k’ to differentiate it from stage magic) often refer to Certificate of Lifelong Learning themselves as witches or magicians . 14 units learning in ministry topics Contemporary Pluralism . Pagans usually Certificate of Chaplaincy consider the traditions of other Contemporary 48 units preparation for chaplains Paganism has religions to be equally legitimate Certificate of Pagan Pastoral Care been growing Paganism? as their own. No one spiritual path for Helping Professionals can be right for everyone because rapidly since 24 units learning people have different spiritual Wicca was first needs. Even within a Pagan group, publicized in Master of Pagan Studies 48 credits in a selected discipline members’ beliefs may vary widely. England in the 1950s. Master of Pagan Pastoral Counseling For Clergy and 60 credits in learning & practice Pagans are forming nonprofits and Students of Religion educational institutions and Master of Pagan Ministry participating in interfaith groups in 48 credits in ministry specialization increasing numbers. Cherry Hill Master of Divinity Seminary hopes that the distribution 72 credits learning & practice of accurate information about contemporary Paganism will encourage positive Cherry Hill Seminary is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organi- interfaith dialogue and relationships. zation providing quality higher education and practical training in Pagan ministry. For more information, to apply as a student, or to make a contribution, contact us below. For Further Reading: Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America. Revised and Updated. Penguin, 2006. Harvey, Graham. Contemporary Paganism: Religions of P.O. Box 5405 the Earth from Druids and Witches to Heathens and Columbia, SC 29250-5405 Ecofeminists. NYU Press, 2011. 888.503.4131 Strmiska, Michael, ed. Modern Paganism in World www.cherryhillseminary.org Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. ABC-CLIO, 2005. Text copyright © 2011 by Christine Hoff Kraemer, Ph.D. Cherry Hill Seminary May be reproduced with this notice. ontemporary Paganism is an Pagan religious practice focuses on ritual. Rituals Pagan beliefs and practices are diverse, but there are may celebrate the seasons or the cycles of the still some recurring themes among individuals and C umbrella term for a variety of moon; honor a deity or deities; or mark life between traditions. transitions such as births, deaths, and weddings. Pantheism, panentheism, or animism . Pagans loosely associated religious paths. Rituals may also attempt to raise energy for healing experience the divine in the physical world. Pantheists or to otherwise improve the lives of Pagans or The word “Pagan” comes from the Latin paganus, see the world itself as divine (“All is God/dess”). their loved ones. meaning a person from a rural area. For many Panentheists see the divine as more than the world, contemporary Pagans, the word Pagan reflects a nature and the world as immersed in the divine (“God/dess is Pagan rituals often employ drumming; dance; -oriented spirituality. in all things, and all things are in God/dess”). Animists ceremonial fires; incense; physical representations see a spirit or soul in all things (or sometimes, all Wicca is the largest of earth, air, fire, and water; and other sensory Current estimates put natural things), and may or may not acknowledge a contemporary Pagan tradition elements. the number of North and contains many paths and unifying deity. American Pagans at lineages. Other traditions Polytheism . Pagans honor about one million. include Asatru or Heathenry A Pagan does multiple gods and goddesses in There are other (Northern European not have to hold their religious practice. Some significant Paganism), Druidry, feminist these attitudes Pagans are soft polytheists and see populations of Pagans Goddess worship, non- to be Pagan, but the many gods as aspects of one in Europe, the United most Wiccan forms of religious Pagans God/dess, as aspects of a Goddess Kingdom, Australia, most witchcraft, and hold of and a God, as Jungian archetypes, South Africa, and reconstructionism (the them. or as metaphors for natural forces. Brazil. attempt to recreate ancient Others are hard polytheists and religions such as those of understand the gods as individual beings, separate and Greece and Egypt). unique in the same way that human beings are. Paganism can be part of an ethnic or Reverence toward nature and the body . Most Pagans use personal experience as the basis national identity, as in Eastern Europe, Pagans often celebrate natural cycles and for their beliefs, and they resist doctrine and where Baltic Pagans are reviving the may be passionate environmentalists. The dogma. Pagan ethical principles often focus on religious elements of folk traditions. body and sexuality are treated as a sacred relationships, and ethics are tailored to individual Some practitioners of Afro-Caribbean part of nature. siituations. Virtues and values are considered more religions also identify as Pagan, though important than rules. Reference to pre-Christian myths and traditions and/ most do not. or indigenous traditions . Pagans look to pre-Christian Not all Pagans belong to traditions. Most Pagans value cultivating the self, religions, or to religions that have resisted conversion Pagans can practice as solitaries (by one’s community, and the earth while to Christianity, for a more authentic connection to the themselves) or eclectics (drawing avoiding harm to others. Celebration, land, to themselves, or to the divine. from many traditions). North community service, creativity, harmony, Trust in personal experience as a source of divine American Pagans tend to be and love are often emphasized. Pagans knowledge (sometimes called gnosis ). With some innovative and creative while also who look to ancient warrior traditions, exceptions, Pagans give personal experiences more studying ancient and indigenous religious traditions for such as Germanic and Celtic cultures, may stress authority than texts or received tradition. They inspiration. honor, truth, courage, and fidelity. emphasize intuition and knowledge felt in the body. .
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