Atheistic Paganism

[spiritually inclined]

I've heard that some forms of paganism are atheistic in that the gods are not considered literal entites but aspects of the self. Can anyone tell me anything about this?

James

 

[MaddLlama]

"Paganism" isn't really a religion. It's an umbrella term that encompasses lots of different belief systems. If you define it in a certain way, even Buddhists could be considered Pagan.

The only neo-pagan like belief system I know that is strictly atheistic is naturalistic pantheism, but they don't really consider themselves Pagan most of the time.

Most Pagans have thier own ideas about God, and they run the gamut from atheistic to strict polytheistic, with tons of other stuff inbetween. In that sense its a "do it yourself" kind of system.

That probably doesn't answer your question, but "Paganism" is a vague term, so its hard to answer with specifics.

 

[FerventGodSeeker]

paganism
nounany of various religions other than Christianity or Judaism or Islamism

Llama, is this how you're defining Paganism as an umbrella term? Atheists usually have a problem with it being said that they belong to any "religion," so if this definition is accurate then how can there be Atheistic Pagans?

 

[MaddLlama]

Llama, is this how you're defining Paganism as an umbrella term? Atheists usually have a problem with it being said that they belong to any "religion," so if this definition is accurate then how can there be Atheistic Pagans?

Paganism is an umbrella term in several ways. first, it can refer to any religion other than the big three. Atheism isn't a religion, so that's not what I mean.

Paganism is also an umbrella term in that its a catch-all for the "new" reconstruction type religions that base their beliefs and practices partly on the old polytheistic religions, and some others who build a belief around nature. There are some Pagans who believe that the Gods are archetypes, and don't exist anywhere outside our own minds, and others who simply believe there are no gods at all, but that the universe itself is a sort of "consciousness", and both of these types usually have some sort of belief system that revolves around nature. Now, there are exceptions to that, but generally I find that a Pagan who doesn't put a lot of focus on nature follows a more reconstructional path, like the Asatru (who, really aren't recons, but terms get really sticky, so Zephyr don't get mad ).

But, other than the naturalistic pantheism, which "adherents" may or may not identify as Pagans, I don't know of any sect of Paganism that is atheistic by nature.

 

[Gentoo]

That's one way to define it, but there are so many more. I have yet to find another pagan that defines paganism in the same way that I do.

 

[MaddLlama]

Yeah, thats sort of the problem. There really is no universal way to define it. The only way you get precise definitions is when talking about sub-sets, and even then it's fuzzy.

 

[spiritually inclined]

Many religious humanists are atheists who still put value on religious ritual and symbols, so I guess an atheistic pagan could be something like that?

Personally, I think that the concept of gods and goddesses as well as spirituality are hardwired into the human brain and DNA, but I still have spiritual inclinations and don't really know what to do with them.

I'm interested in many paths -- secular paths, pantheistic, pagan, even liberal/Anglo-Catholic Christian paths. Maybe someone can relate to this?!

James

 

[TaraMoon]

"Paganism" isn't really a religion. It's an umbrella term that encompasses lots of different belief systems. If you define it in a certain way, even Buddhists could be considered Pagan.

The only neo-pagan like belief system I know that is strictly atheistic is naturalistic pantheism, but they don't really consider themselves Pagan most of the time.

Most Pagans have thier own ideas about God, and they run the gamut from atheistic to strict polytheistic, with tons of other stuff inbetween. In that sense its a "do it yourself" kind of system.

That probably doesn't answer your question, but "Paganism" is a vague term, so its hard to answer with specifics.

Uh...that would be gods, not God. Monotheism and duotheism are not pagan concepts unless you're using the New Age Wiccan "anything goes" definition.

 

[Stash]

sorry i didnt see this before i posted my own thread on virtually the same subject.. Interesting things to consider.. I cant really give my own advice as I am sorta struggling with it myself.

I consider myself pagan.. my meaning of pagan doesnt really have anything to do with gods, or the lack thereof, anymore. I went from one God, to multiple Gods, and have now gone to no gods. I still feel that affinity to nature which led me to a pagan path, but the need to beleive that there is a god who created it is no longer present. I will have to learn more about some of the interesting things others posted...

 

[Tyr]

in my experiance no offence to any christians here but anything that isnt a christian like them is a pagen or a heathen thats just with christians i have tangled with

 

[MoonWater]

Many religious humanists are atheists who still put value on religious ritual and symbols, so I guess an atheistic pagan could be something like that?

Personally, I think that the concept of gods and goddesses as well as spirituality are hardwired into the human brain and DNA, but I still have spiritual inclinations and don't really know what to do with them.

I'm interested in many paths -- secular paths, pantheistic, pagan, even liberal/Anglo-Catholic Christian paths. Maybe someone can relate to this?!

James

I certainly can as my faith borrows from numerous faiths the three largest being of course Paganism(following the definition of the older as well as reconstructed versions of older polytheistic, nature based religions) but also Christianity and Zen buddhism. I'm also a budding religious scholar of sorts hoping to learn about all kinds of different religions and find religion in general a fascinating subject. So yeah, I can definitely relate

 

[Storm]

I've heard that some forms of paganism are atheistic in that the gods are not considered literal entites but aspects of the self. Can anyone tell me anything about this?

James

Here's a rather good article on the topic: Dancing With the Gods.

 

[cheddarsox]

I'm a non-theistic pagan. I practice natural pantheism as a religion. I understand the Universe to be my ultimate reality.

There are also atheistic pagans, who understand (as I do) spirituality to be a normal human brain function, nothing supernatural, but a worthy and fulfilling pursuit.

I've been part of the pagan community for over 15 years. Maybe saying "pagan" is a cloud term rather than an umbrella term would suit some, it's a big hazy fuzzy family of faiths that kinda sorta have something in common, but not if you are too logical about it. It's a connection you can intuit rather than prove through history or theology.

 

[XR4-IT]

Well for some one who doesn't know what to call his religious views with these definitions for pagan It looks as good of a place as any.