What do PAGANS believe?
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Paganism is a broad, eclectic contemporary religious movement that encompasses shamanistic, ecstatic, polytheistic, and magical religions. Most of the religions termed Pagan are characterized by nature-centered spirituality, honoring of pre-Christian deities, dynamic, personal belief systems, lack of institutionalization, a quest to develop the self, and acceptance and encouragement of diversity. Paganism is sometimes referred to as Neo-Paganism to emphasize its connections to as well as difference from pre-Christian religions.\n\nPaganism is a worldwide phenomenon and includes revived and updated ancient European practices and religions, feminist Goddess-worship, and religions inspired by science-fiction writings. For their inspiration, Pagans look to non-Abrahamic, ecstatic, and mystery religions of Europe as well as indigenous and magic-using traditions from around the world. Contemporary Paganism is interwoven with artistic, visionary, and libertarian traditions and emphasizes the free will of the individual. Many traditions celebrate rituals to mark transitions in the natural world (such as solstices, lunar phases, or a birth) as well as in a person's life (such as marriage or moving to a new home).\n\nWhile the largest segment of the Pagan population is Caucasian and middle class, Paganism cuts across all lines, whether racial, occupational, or class- or gender-based. Most Pagans, however, are avid readers with interests in ecology, creativity, and personal growth. Many come from the scientific, computer, and technical fields. Since it is not an organized movement, it is very difficult to determine the number of its practitioners, but it is estimated that there are between 100,000 and 600,000 in the U.S. alone. Some have termed Paganism the fastest-growing religion in the West.\n\nHistory & Structure\nPaganism as a movement grew out of the growing environmental awareness in the 1960s, though it encompasses some traditions from the Middle Ages and earlier. Since most Pagan religions are nature-centered, Pagans rethink the way in which we relate to the Earth. Rather than seek dominance over the environment, Pagans work to live as a part of Nature, finding a balance between the self, the biosphere, and society. Part of this rethinking goes along with the resurgence of Goddess-worship, which is widespread in the Pagan movement. Many Pagans look to the fertility Goddesses of old and find vibrant, dynamic models for ecological balance. The myriad Goddesses from the past also provide Pagans with a vision of powerful feminine divinity which is missing from other Western religions.\n\nThe Pagan movement has become somewhat coherent largely through networks, journals, and festivals. But it is not unified or structured - herein lies some of its greatest appeal. Pagans believe profoundly in freedom and the power of the individual. People are encouraged to explore paths that are most helpful to them, rather than conform to a specific code of beliefs. Through magazine columns and personal contact, Pagans participate in a dynamic marketplace of ideas, where each person is encouraged to contribute and to take away what is most appropriate for him or her. Rather than structuring the community around a particular set of beliefs or symbols, Pagans concentrate on process to create community. A variety of practices are used to fulfill spiritual needs, heal, or create change. Each person's particular technique is honored in the understanding that our aims are often the same. Most Pagans abide by some form of "If it harm none, do what you will."\n\nThere are no charismatic gurus in Paganism. Pagans do not seek to convert others. Each Pagan is independent and autonomous, even when working in groups. All value choosing one's own path and beliefs. There is no one spokesperson for Paganism.\n\nOne of the most characteristic elements of Pagan religions is their adaptability. In the case of nature-based religions, some will dif
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I've just asked a similar question, but I'll gladly give my own opinion.\n\nI'm pagan. I believe in a unified creative force that's too big for us to comprehend, just like the Catholics. \n\nI believe that communication with this creative force comes through various comprehensible agents, like Jesus, the Catholic Saints, Buddha, Krishna, Odin, Pan and Gaea. \n\nI believe that these avatars can teach you how to be yourself, and that their strength comes from your faith in them. Strong faith comes from strong people. Belief in a higher power won't help anyone if you don't believe in yourself.\n\nI believe that your actions have consequences in this life, if you do something bad you don't have to wait til you die for the punishment, it comes back threefold. Likewise, if you do something good, you'll be rewarded threefold.\n\nI also believe that if you're only being good for the payoff, like going to heaven or gaining a karmic reward, it counts as a selfish act and you'll be punished for it.\n\nI believe you can do whatever you like as long as you remember the threefold rule.
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Wiccans and Pagans don't believe in sin.  We prefer to take responsibility for our own wrong doings.
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what do you believe in?
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No a pagan worships gods other then The God.\nYou may be an athiest or agnostic.\nWhat do you worship?\nRomans 10
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I thought you said you are both Christian. Only pagans celebrate birthdays.
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None.  Everyone believes in a god.  For some it is the god of humanity for others it is the god of sports, for some it is the Divine Being in heaven.
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I am a Christian, specifically Catholic.\n\nI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.\n\nI believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.\n\nI believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
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The thing about being a Pagan is that you don't have to follow any traditions. I am a pagan because I am an individualist, and follow my heart.  I have been considered a solitary practitioner.  I read and learn about everything, and just try to enjoy life.   I don't feel comfortable with any strict practice... it smacks too muchy of Catholicism to me... I suffered enough under that.
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There is a famous story of an English Pagan king who was visited by a Missionary. He was told about Christianity and immediately accepted it!\n\nThe missionary was curious when the King took a cross from him. He asked why did you accept Christianity without question. He took the missionary to the back of his hall and showed him a table of idols and put the cross among them. \nThe Missionary asked you will have to destroy all these idols now. The King answered, I believe in all these Gods, I do not know which is the right one so I pray to them all. At least one must be the true one.\n\nYour mother is correct there is but one God with many names. Find one image of God that suits you and pray to that one alone.
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"Pagan" is hard to define; a lot of people think of it as "any religion that's not Christianity, Judaism or Islam." I don't think that's quite accurate, but it's okay to start with. \n\nSince your sister talked about a "Wiccaning" (not "wickening), she's talking about the pagan religion Wicca (and here's where I start quoting Wikipedia): Wicca is a religion, and although its adherents often identify as witches, Wicca and witchcraft are not necessarily the same thing.\n\nWiccans may worship a Goddess and/or a God; they observe the festivals of the eight Sabbats of the year and the full-moon Esbats; and they have a code of ethics that most live by. Wicca is thus generally considered to be distinct from witchcraft, which does not of itself imply any specific religious, ethical or ritual elements, and is practiced in various forms by people of many religions, as well as by atheists.\n\nWicca does, however, incorporate a specific form of witchcraft, with particular ritual forms, involving the casting of spells, herbalism, divination and other forms of magic. Wiccan ethics require that magical activities are limited to good purposes only.\n\nAccording to Gerald Gardner [the one who brough Wicca into modern public awareness], the religion derives from a secret but widespread witch-cult of early modern Europe, which incorporated all of the key religious beliefs and ideals and the distinctive ritual structures found in modern Wicca. While this historical interpretation is now much criticised, it makes it difficult to conclusively say whether Wicca is a religious form of witchcraft or a religion incorporating witchcraft.
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I believe in Wicca, which is very loosely defined religion. Wiccan doctrine is limited, being a Neopagan religion. Neopagan religions are faiths reformed from Pagan religions. Pagan faiths are ancient, earth-based, and predate Christianity. There are few things all Wiccans adhere to, which include the Witches' Rede (An' it harm none, do as thou wilt.), and the Threefold Law, which is similar to Karma, in that whatever you put out into the world, be it good or bad, will come back to you threefold. Wiccans also celebrate the eight Sabbats, which are comprised of the Winter and Summer Solstices, the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, and their midpoints.\n\nDuring this cycle of holidays, the Mother Goddess and Father God of Celtic origin also cycles: through different forms. Starting with the Winter Solstice, the Sabbats are called (they're approximate dates by mm/dd are) and mark these occurrences:\n\nYule (12/21): The God is Oak King and is born of the Goddess; God as Holly King prepares to depart; Goddess is Mother of the Sun God; Goddess is Crone of Winter.\n\nImbolc (2/1): Goddess is cleansed and purified; milk flows for lambs and for the baby God; quickening of the Earth occurs; Goddess is preparing to return to Maiden.\n\nOstara (3/21): Goddess is Maiden, and brings Spring; God and Goddess encourage animal fertility.\n\nBeltane (5/1): God Youth and Goddess Maiden unite in love; May Day flowers, romps, and bonfires occur.\n\nLitha (6/21): God turns from Youth to Sage; Marriage of God to Goddess occurs.\n\nLughnassadh (8/1): God enters the Earth in marriage, giving his energy into the grain, and now his body; First Harvest/Bread Harvest of grains occurs.\n\nMabon (9/21): God gives his spirit into the vines, fruit, and barleycorn; wine, cider, whisky, beer, and mead are now God’s blood; He rules Underworld; Goddess is alone and pregnant with the God.\n\nSamhain (10/31): God within the Goddess, yet also Leader of the Wild Hunt; Veil between the worlds at its thinnest; Crone and Hunter [Lord of Shadows] reign together. This is also the Wiccan New Year.\n\nOther than these few guidelines, Wiccans are free to define to their own faith. This creates vast definitions of Wicca, even within the Wiccan community. This is what makes it so hard to define, and also that which gives birth do the different Wiccan sects. Different sects will usually add to these basic doctrines, as that is what separates the sects. These include (but are not limited to): Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Dianic, Druidic, Traditionalist, Family Traditionalist, Erisian, and Protean. Many also practice solitary Wicca, like myself. While Wiccans normally worship in covens (groups of three to thirteen practitioners), some choose to work alone; these are called solitary Wiccans.\n\nWiccan belief is often not limited to one Goddess, and one God; many are considered monotheists, believing that the Goddess and God are two separate aspects of one Almighty Deity; many are considered duotheists, believing that the Goddess and God are two separate deities themselves; but many more are polytheists, believing in many gods and goddesses, most commonly borrowed from other polytheistic faiths; the most popular are Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian.\n\nMany equate Wicca with Witchcraft, which, contrary to popular belief, is not true. Wicca is a RELIGION, whereas Witchcraft is a PRACTICE. Witchcraft does not dictate any religious spiritual beliefs; instead it is simply an activity, similar to prayer, performed with the intention of eliciting a desired result. Although many Wiccans also practice Witchcraft, there are other religions that also practice other forms of Witchcraft. These include (but are not limited to): other Neopagan faiths like Asatru, many of the surviving Pagan faiths like Shamanism, as well as others like Vodun, Santeria, and Romani. There are many non-religious Witches as well. Witch is a general, non-gender specific term for any practitioner of Witchcraft; w
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Most pagans do.  Those who don't adhere to many gods, usually look upon Nature or the Universe as inherently Divine, ending up with something that looks a lot like the Force that Yoda told us so much about.  Some take on a mixture of both.\n\nPagan has traditionally referred to a member of any non-Abrahamic, monotheistic faith.  In recent times, particularly in the US, it has referred to adherents of the resurgence of tribal mythologies and expressions of belief.
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Paganism relates to religions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but normally when people talk about Paganism they are referring to Neo-Paganism. Neo-paganism is an umbrella term meaning that it covers a lot of different religions; Neo-pagans are either pantheist or polytheists, pantheism is when people believe in a single god present in all, polytheism is when people believe in multiple gods. \n\nAn example of Pantheism would be Gaia worship. \nAn example of Polytheism would be Asatru. \n\nWicca is a hard-polytheistic religion; this means that they believe in gods that have individual identities, they also do not disbelieve in other people's gods but just follow their own gods. Wicca is a very specific path because it is a religion without laity, this means that Wicca is a priesthood, they are oath-bound and initiate-only with lineage back to the founders of their religion – what this means is that Wicca keep their true beliefs, practices, doctrines and gods secret, they are only taught to people once they are initiated (brought into) Wicca and these teachings are passed from one Wicca to the next.
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Well they pray to statues.  That is a pagan tradition.
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Christians base their beliefs on the Bible- because they believe that God wrote the Bible (through men).\nAnd in the Bible, angels are mentioned. And all Christians are called "saints." Actually, Christians do believe in evil spirits, demons, etc. as well. I don't think the word "faerie" would be used, but evil spirits and demons in general.
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Pagan is a prechristian religion.  It's mainly based on understanding the cycles of nature and living with th earth.  It makes much more sense to me than modern religions like Christianity.