Introduction
The neopagan phenomenon is a loose collection of religious movements,
experiments and jokes that offers a healthy alternative to the
dogmatism of the Judeo/Christian/Islamic mainstream (on the one hand)
and the mushy- mindedness of most 'New Age' groups (on the other).
This article, prepared at the request of a number of curious
net.posters, offers a brief description of neopagan thought and
practice. A list of good sources for further study are listed at the
end.
II. What is a neopagan?
I used the term 'religious' above, but as you'll see it's actually
more than somewhat misleading, and I (like many other neopagans) use
it only because no other word is available for the more general kind
of thing of which the neopagan movement and what we generally think
of as 'religion' are special cases.
Neopaganism is 'religious' in the etymological sense of 're ligare',
to rebind (to roots, to strengths, to the basics of things), and it
deals with mythology and the realm of the 'spiritual'. But, as we in
the Judeo/Christian West have come to understand 'religion' (an
organized body of belief that connects the 'supernatural' with an
authoritarian moral code via 'faith') neopaganism is effectively and
radically anti-religious. I emphasize this because it is important in
understanding what follows.
Common characteristics of almost all the groups that describe
themselves as 'neopagan' (the term is often capitalized) include:
1. Anti-dogmatism
Neopagan religions are religions of practice, pragmatism and
immediate experience. The emphasis is always on what they can help
the individuals in them to *do* and *experience*; theology and
metaphysics take a back seat, and very little 'faith' or 'belief' is
required or expected. In fact many neopagans (including yours truly)
are actively hostile to 'faith' and all the related ideas of
religious authority, 'divine revelation' and the like.
2. Compatibility with a scientific world-view
This tends to follow from the above. Because neopaganism is centered
in experiences rather than beliefs, it doesn't need or want to do
vast overarching cosmologies or push fixed Final Answers to the Big
Questions -- understanding and helping human beings relate to each
other and the world as we experience it is quite enough for us. Thus,
we are generally friendly to science and the scientific world-view.
Many of us are scientists and technologists ourselve (in fact, by
some counts, a plurality of us are computer programmers!).
3. Reverence for nature, sensuality, and pleasure
Most neopaganisms make heavy use of nature symbolism and encourage
people to be more aware of their ties to all the non-human life on
this planet. Explicit worship of 'Gaia', the earth ecosphere
considered as a single interdependent unit, is common. Veneration of
nature dieties is central to many traditions. Ecological activism is
often considered a religious duty, though there is much controversy
over what form it should take.
By preference, most neopagans hold their ceremonies outdoors under
sun or moon. Seasonal changes and astronomical rhythms (especially
the solstices, equinoxes and full and new moons) define the ritual
calendar.
Ritual and festive nudity are common; to be naked before nature is
often considered a holy and integrating act in itself. Sex is
considered sacramental and sexual energy and symbolisms permeate
neopagan practice (we like to contrast this with Christianity, in
which the central sacrament commemorates a murder and climaxes in
ritual cannibalism).
4. Polytheism, pantheism, agnosticism
Most neopaganisms are explicitly polytheistic -- that is, they
recognize pantheons of multiple dieties. But the reality behind this
is more complex than it might appear.
First, many neopagans are philosophical agnostics or even atheists;
there is a tendency to regard 'the gods' as Jungian archetypes or
otherwise in some sense created by and dependent on human belief, and
thus naturally plural and observer-dependent.
