Recently, I’ve made the decision to re-embark on the path of the Stoic prokopton (‘one who makes progress’) after graciously accepting that my henotheistic (and pantheistic) convictions fundamentally conflict with the Christian religion of my youth. While I absolutely appreciate and cherish the story of the Exodus, the poetry of the Psalms, the Wisdom of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and the journeys of His Apostles, Fortuna has led me back to the philosophical path of Stoicism.
With my decision to more fully commit to Stoic practice comes an interesting struggle: what to do with the label ‘Pagan’. To set the broader context for where I’m coming from, a bit of history is called for.
Stoicism was one of a number of major philosophical schools in classical Greece and Rome (in addition to the Pythagoreans, the Academics, the Platonists, and Epicureans). Philosophy in the ancient world was introduced in the hopes of explaining the nature of the Universe through the use of reason and the intellect, without reliance upon the stories of the poets (i.e. classical mythology). Despite this, philosophy was never fully separated from religion and theology. In fact, the vast majority of philosophers were very deeply convicted in their belief in the multitude of gods as well as – in certain schools, such as Stoicism and Neoplatonism – a singular, supreme Ultimate Reality, also encouraging and participating in the popular religious practices of the day. So, by any stretch of the word, ancient Stoics (as well as members of the other major philosophical schools) would have been undoubtedly Pagan by religion.
What does this mean for me as a Traditional Stoic? Well, it leaves me quite intrigued but, at the same time, sort of hesitant to label myself as a Pagan by religious affiliation. It is chronologically and conceptually accurate, but given that I, like most people nowadays, live in a day and age in which the gods of classical antiquity are (virtually) no longer worshipped, would it be realistic? I’d like to think so.
If I were to engage with religious practice, how would I begin?
With my decision to more fully commit to Stoic practice comes an interesting struggle: what to do with the label ‘Pagan’. To set the broader context for where I’m coming from, a bit of history is called for.
Stoicism was one of a number of major philosophical schools in classical Greece and Rome (in addition to the Pythagoreans, the Academics, the Platonists, and Epicureans). Philosophy in the ancient world was introduced in the hopes of explaining the nature of the Universe through the use of reason and the intellect, without reliance upon the stories of the poets (i.e. classical mythology). Despite this, philosophy was never fully separated from religion and theology. In fact, the vast majority of philosophers were very deeply convicted in their belief in the multitude of gods as well as – in certain schools, such as Stoicism and Neoplatonism – a singular, supreme Ultimate Reality, also encouraging and participating in the popular religious practices of the day. So, by any stretch of the word, ancient Stoics (as well as members of the other major philosophical schools) would have been undoubtedly Pagan by religion.
What does this mean for me as a Traditional Stoic? Well, it leaves me quite intrigued but, at the same time, sort of hesitant to label myself as a Pagan by religious affiliation. It is chronologically and conceptually accurate, but given that I, like most people nowadays, live in a day and age in which the gods of classical antiquity are (virtually) no longer worshipped, would it be realistic? I’d like to think so.
If I were to engage with religious practice, how would I begin?
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