paganus, meaning "country dweller", "rustic", "civilian", "non-combatant") [1] is a broad term typically pertaining to indigenous and historical polytheistic and non-theistic religious traditions—primarily those of cultures known to the classical world. In a wider sense, it has been used as a label for any non- Abrahamic folk / ethnic religion. It was historically used as one of several pejorative Christian counterparts to "gentile" ( יוג / ירכנ) as used in the Hebrew Bible—comparable to "infidel " or "heretic ". Modern ethnologists often avoid this broad usage in favour of more specific and less potentially offensive terms such as "polytheism", "shamanism ", "pantheism", or "animism" when referring to traditional or historical faiths. Since the 20th century, "Paganism" (or "Neopaganism") has become the identifier for a collection of new religious movements attempting to continue, revive, or reconstruct historical pre-Abrahamic religion. [2] Etymology
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 08:36:00 +0000
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