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Paganism ?

What exactly goes into the religion of Paganism? Ive heard such a broad range of definitions...such as worshiping the devil,witchcraft,sacrifices. but ive also heard that pagans have a very peaceful religion where it surrounds much of it's energy on the seasons...
can someone clear this up for me? Because being the ignorant one stereotyping a religion is not my bag,baby.

I once wrote a lengthy essay on the topic of different pagan paths and paganism in general. I'll paste it here, I hope you don't mind VERY long answers!

"What is a pagan?"

There are a couple of ways how to answer this question. Firstly, let me point out that there is no "pagan religion" as such, therefore it should not be capitalised.
Paganism is the oldest belief known to humanity. It's origins reach back to the stone-age animism, when people tried to explain natural phenomena, explore the unknown, and honour the nature around them. Therefore, paganism originally has no founder, no earthly leaders, no prophets, no messiahs, and no saints.

Linguistically, the word pagan derives from the Latin word "paganus", which means "a villager", or a "country dweller". Romans in the big cities, who had already accepted Christianity, used this derogatory term to described simple farmer folk who lived in the countryside and still practised the old polytheistic religion. Back then, anybody not Christian was considered a barbarian, a lesser being.
Historically, the different synonyms for a "pagan" were almost always used in the derogatory way, meaning an infidel, heretic or an unbeliever. Look for example at the term "heathen". Heathen is yet another word like pagan. Heathen means "people of the heath (hearth)", and nowadays it is used to signify pagans that follow one of the norse/germanic pagan paths.
The Latin word "Pagus" means a village, and while the majority of Pagans today live in towns, this term nowadays accurately describes the Pagan heritage, and the affinity which modern Pagans feel with the natural environment.

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So what does a term "pagan" mean nowadays, for example here on Yahoo!Answers?
The word "pagan" is an umbrella term which nowadays came to mean all pre-Christian non-Abrahamic polytheistic beliefs and also many of the new polytheistic beliefs, reconstructionisms and neo-pagan beliefs.

Reconstructionisms are original polytheistic religions of old that either survived or we are trying to restore them in the form as they were practised before Christianity came. Recons don't just study the gods, but also the culture of the people who practised the old religion, and often try to re-enact both.
Such beliefs include: Heathen reconstructionism (Asatru, Odinism, Theodism, Anglo-Saxon Heathenry, Irminsweg - Germanic Heathenry), Hellenic Reconstructionism (Greek gods), Kemetic polytheism (Egyptian Gods), Celtic, Roman, Indian, African, Native American and many more. Some of those are nearly lost and only fragments are left (like Celtic), others have actually survived almost intact to the present days (like Native American with the tribes, or Asatru in some remote regions of Scandinavia.)
Neo-pagan beliefs include all practices and forms of theistic (usually poly-theistic) forms of Earth-centred religion, for example Wicca, different forms of witchcraft and eclectic paganism. Eclectic paganism is the most free, no-rules type of pagan belief, it's basically a pick-and-mix do-it-yourself religion. Eclectics often work with gods from different pantheons, sometimes even at the same time, and adopt practices from different traditions. This is often frowned upon by those who follow a specific path.

There are also HUGE differences in the way of worship. Specific-path pagans worship only one pantheon of Gods. Hard polytheists believe that every God and Goddess is a separate entity with a distinct personality, while certain Wiccans worship one mother Goddess and one God as the archetype of all female and all male gods.
There is no holy book or scripture that requires pagans to follow any prescribed manner of worship - every path has its own rules, its own texts, books and sources. Some pagans worship in a formal manner, with strictly prescribed rituals, others have a more instinctive and unconscious mode of acknowledging and communicating with the divine. Some Pagans prefer to make their worship a private affair; others gather in groups and make their worship a communion with each other, as well as with the Gods.
On the subject of magic: not all pagan paths practice magic. It seems to be quite an integral part in modern pagan paths like Wicca, but not in all pagan beliefs. Especially reconstructionists don't always practice magic. Some, of course, do, but it's not essential for the practice of their path.

Various pagan beliefs are so different that you'll have to research them as individuals. There is hardly anything at all, that all of them would have in common - apart from not being Christian, Jewish or Islamic. By this definition, even Buddhism could be counted among pagan beliefs.
Nowadays there are even a couple of people around who claim to be atheist pagans - not believing in any gods, but feeling close to nature, respecting an honour code similar to those of the pagan beliefs, being spiritual without being theist.
When someone identifies as "pagan" to you, you shouldn't presume anything without asking first: "Which tradition?"

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