Spockrates
Wonderer.
Just curious. What are the major differences between New Age, Paganism, Wicca and Goddess Spirituality?
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What Is the Difference?
- Thread starter Spockrates
- Start date
To oversimplify:
- Paganism = polytheistic, nature-centered, locality-oriented or indigenous religions
- Neopaganism = contemporary revival of Paganism which derives inspiration from historical/indigenous polytheisms
- Wicca = a specific form of Neopaganism developed in ~1960s in the UK by Gerald Gardner; focuses on sex/gender polarity, fertility, seasonal celebrations, and spellcraft; heavily influenced by Western occult traditions and much less reconstructionist
- Goddess Spirituality = a mode of religiosity that focuses on divinity and sacredness as expressed through femaleness and femininity
- New Age = a mish mash of Eastern religious inspiration and fundamentally Christian undertones that aims to evolve the higher self in a very whitelighter fashion
GoodbyeDave
Well-Known Member
My two penn'orth:
> Paganism is any religion which has developed naturally from religious experiences within a community, rather than being founded by someone claiming to be a prophet. It can have a continuous history, like Shinto in Japan or African Traditional Religion, or it can be reconstructed after having been suppressed by Christian or Muslim persecution, like the Heathen or Canaanite religions.
> Goddess spirituality is as described by Quintessence. I'd add that it can exist within a broader pagan tradition, like the cult of Isis (Hellenic or Egyptian) or Shaktidharma in Hinduism.
> Neopaganism is any religion founded in modern times which attempts to have the features of Paganism without being a continuation of an older tradition. Wicca, pagan Druidry, some forms of Satanism, eclecticism. Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca, thought he was a reconstructionist, but he was mistaken.
> New Age is a system of personal development rather than a religion.
> Paganism is any religion which has developed naturally from religious experiences within a community, rather than being founded by someone claiming to be a prophet. It can have a continuous history, like Shinto in Japan or African Traditional Religion, or it can be reconstructed after having been suppressed by Christian or Muslim persecution, like the Heathen or Canaanite religions.
> Goddess spirituality is as described by Quintessence. I'd add that it can exist within a broader pagan tradition, like the cult of Isis (Hellenic or Egyptian) or Shaktidharma in Hinduism.
> Neopaganism is any religion founded in modern times which attempts to have the features of Paganism without being a continuation of an older tradition. Wicca, pagan Druidry, some forms of Satanism, eclecticism. Gerald Gardner, the founder of Wicca, thought he was a reconstructionist, but he was mistaken.
> New Age is a system of personal development rather than a religion.
Spockrates
Wonderer.
Thank you both for the info.
I'll underbid ye, a penny-and-a-half!
Seriously, though, I might argue that New Age would probably qualify as Folk Religion, or perhaps, personal development AS religion. Either way, it is very syncretic and not clearly organized as a system, since it seems that almost anything can fit under the tent--at least as far as I've observed.