This terminology is changing, even as you read this, owing to the realities of usage, and the social evolution of the communities in question. The full definition previously we used, was that a Pagan followed a religion that had its primary roots in Europe, North Africa, the Near East or the Americas, in which the Divine was worshipped under a variety of aspects, each of which require separate attention and devotion, whether they represented fully distinct beings, or not.
Thus, while Protestant Christianity does present us with multiple aspects of God, it did not qualify as Pagan, on our terms, because prayers to Jesus, were considered to reach the other two personae of the Trinity. But the groups mentioned below were, though one of them (The House of Netjer) could be termed a Reconstructionist Pagan path to Monotheism, and another (the first shrine) included at least one member whose pantheon included the Christian God.
Prior to the 1990s, this would have been a sound classication scheme, but events have forced a revision. The term "Pagan" has become associated with the Occult to such an extent, that some groups (eg. the House of Netjer) will no longer accept it. This is more than a reaction to the ignorance of those who will stubbornly assume that "Pagan" means "Wiccan", no matter what they read. It reflects a major break with the direction that the "Pagan" community had been taking.
If diversity of thought had ever been welcome there, it had ceased to be by the mid-1990s. Most of the "elders" would flatly state that "Paganism is an earth-centered religion", angrily refusing to accept that there was more than one "Pagan" religion in the past, and that those religions were not invariably "earth centered" (as opposed to Humanistic). Skepticism became equated with "persecution", as critical, rational thought not only came to be rejected, but was not even greeted tolerantly. Ethics were either discarded altogether, with pride, or treated as being merely subjective, which, in practice, works out to being the same thing in the long run. An unwholesome grab bag of "countercultural" (ie. Liberal Politically Correct) positions became dogma, for a community that prided itself on its alleged open mindedness.
"Traditionalism", as we term it, is a reaction to this trend. It is a rejection of the New Orthodoxy, in favor of a return to more traditional values, such as :
- a pious respect for those we worship
- a recognition that we connect to something greater than ourselves, in the act of worship
- a recognition that right and wrong is a matter of objective standards we may rightly be judged by (and not something that bends to our whims, or fashion)
- a respect for the value of reason, as opposed to a politicized process of haggling over positions.
This should not be mistaken for the "Traditionalism" of the House, which, by its own account, believes in a purely situational ethics (ie. Utilitarianism, as opposed to Rule Utilitarianism), but we and they are compelled to act by the same political reality. In matters of faith, as in so many others, the Culture Wars can't be resolved by negotiation, because we and our fanatically radical adversaries aren't even speaking the same language. It's time to walk away.
This change of nomenclature, reflects the break. The term "paleo-pagan" will continue to be used, as it has been before, because as much as they may try, our historically revisionist Pagan "friends" can't change the past. Mesopaganism is a "movement" that one is born into, not one that one can join, for the most part, so that term remains unchanged as well. (If there has been any breach in those communities, we haven't heard of it. At last report, they seemed united in their hostility toward Neo-Pagan intrusions).
A demipagan, pretty much, would have to be a Traditionalist by definition, and so the term "Demipaganism" remains unchanged, being considered to be a subcategory of Traditionalism. The term sees some use in non-pagan circles, so it is still relevant, though a new one is under consideration. "Synchretic Traditionalist" is a possibility, though it is seen only here, so far. Noting that some of the Astruar already seem to be independently abandoning the word "Pagan" and its associations (choosing to call themselves "Heathens" instead?!), there may be other "demipagans" who wish to distance themselves in this manner, themselves.
In the case of some of those we would have formerly called Neopagans or Pagan Reconstructionists, we now add a new category, referring to Traditionalist, and ommit any mention of the word "Pagan" out of respect for their sensibilities.
Note : Sub-Saharan African (including Afro-Carribean), Native Australian and Oceanic religions were so unfamiliar to us, that we hesitated to comment on them, at all. They still are.
Referring to the older terminology, which seems to be on its way out :
We categorized the local groups in one of two ways. One is by ideology. Here's how we defined our terms - and remember that this classification was not (and is not) universally accepted, though it has been popular in some social circles.
Word set one : The historical aspect of the religion
- Paleopaganism :
The Paganism of a society that has never been primarily non-pagan.
- Mesopaganism :
The Paganism of a now mostly non-pagan society that maintains continuity with a paelopagan past, though non-pagan elements may have crept in from the outside society.
- Pagan Reconstructionism :
(Phrase taken from "Drawing Down the Moon") The attempted recreation, in full or approximation, of a Pagan faith, when historical continuity is lost.
- Neopaganism : (popular use, mostly in the Wiccan community)
Paganism that arose after non-pagan religions became dominant in the region of its origin. Wholly separate from the religion of the non-pagan interlude.
- Demipaganism :
We've altered the definition, slightly, to separate what we see as being separate issues, that were linked together unnecessarily. See Adorational Paganism.
Both Paganism and Non-paganism are viewed as being products of the continuing entrance of divinity into the world, and any faith of this variety must account for the presence of both, tending to contain elements of each. Old pagan elements are restored to a heritage that has become non-pagan, being given a new context in the process of restoration.
Although it does seem to be true that Demipagans are usually Adorational Pagans, they wouldn't necessarily be so. Some might view the Christian saints as having been either avatars or unknowing servants of the old gods, who never really left the world.
- Pagan Revisionism : (term is unique to this site)
Pagan elements, originating after the rise of non-paganism in the region of origin, are grafted onto a non-pagan religious base.
Word set two : The plurality of the Divine
- Full Paganism :
Multiple deities are believed in, who are fully distinct beings, with all elements of non-paganism fully rejected.
- Non-paganism :
Only one deity is believed in, of whom only one aspect need be worshipped.
- Monolatrous Paganism :
One deity is worshipped, but with multiple aspects, each of which requires attention of its own.
e.g. The House of Netjer
- Adorational Paganism : (term is unique to this site)
There is a clearly supreme diety, and lesser divinities which live under its authority. Like angels, perhaps, but with far more freedom of individual action, God being viewed as being more remote and detached from events, than the lesser gods who are part of His creation.
Some will distinguish between the adoration of the lesser divinities and the worship of the Supreme Being, whom they may believe the lesser divinities worship as well.Previously, we stated :
" One can now mix and match prefixes, one might say, except in the case of non-pagan groups, for which the prefixes from the first set of words, would be relatively meaningless. One could have Full Neo-pagans (eg. some of Wicca, and most of the groups here), Full Reconstructionist Pagans (ADF and Asatru), Adorational Mesopagans (eg. Mayan Christianity), Reconstructionist Monolatrous Pagans (eg. The House of Netjer), Adorational Demipagans (The Shrine of the Sleeping Gods"), Adorational Paleopagans (eg. The synchretists of Ancient Israel), Adorational Pagan Revisionists (Christian Witches), Adorational Monolatrous Demipagans (a number of Esoteric Christians who view the Pagan gods as being lesser manifestations of the God of the Trinity), and Full Meso-pagans (present day Native American religions) among others. There is a lot of variety, out there. "
Indeed there was, more than we knew, in a way that tends to confuse attempts at classification, as we have already mentioned.
The second way of categorizing the local groups was by affiliation, but given how little use we have for the Neopagan community at this point, let's just forget about that one and continue on to other matters. (I don't know where you came here from, just hit your left arrow key and find contentment. This page is part of the Almond Jar.