Neo-Paganism is the term for a spiritual movement that means "new" (neo) "pagan". A pagan was, traditionally, someone who lived on the outskirts of a city and hadn't adopted the Christian religion, but kept to the "old ways", and many Neo-Pagans today are similar!
Generally, a Neo-Pagan is someone who is religious but doesn't follow an Abrahamic religion (Christianity, Judaism, Islam). Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and other older established religions from around the world also don't consider themselves pagan.
It is easier to say what a Pagan isn't than to say what they are, but here's a general list of beliefs and behaviors that most Neo-Pagans share!
- A belief that the divine is immanent (fully present) in the material world and that nature, the body, and sexuality are sacred.
- The practice of honoring multiple deities, sometimes as actual beings who exist outside of us (dualistic paganism), and sometimes as archetypes, concepts or aspects of reality (non-dualistic paganism or atheistic paganism)
- Trust in personal experience as a source of divine knowledge, this is sometimes called "UPG" or unverified personal gnosis, but usually "UPG" has a bit of a negative connotation.
- Complex ritual practice, which may include extensive liturgies, dancing, drumming, making offerings, building altars, and more. Often these can be traced back to indigenous culture's shamanic practices or borrowing and re-writing of rituals found in other religions.
- Reference to pre-Christian myths and traditions and/or indigenous traditions as authentic sources of inspiration for belief and practice. This would be the "verified gnosis"
- Acknowledgement of the principles of magic (sometimes spelled “magick” to differentiate it from stage magic or the magic of fantasy fiction), the belief that ritual acts performed with intention can alter consciousness, and therefore, reality.
- Virtue ethics, an approach to decision-making that focuses on values and relationships rather than on inflexible rules. This helps neo-pagans avoid dogma, though there are several neo-pagan groups who do have a rule set.
- Religious pluralism, the belief that other religious traditions are potentially as legitimate as one’s own.
I hope this short guide helps you discover your own spiritual path!