





Most modern Pagan sources interpret the word to have meant "rustic," "hick," or "country bumpkin" -- a pejorative term. The implication was that Christians used the term to ridicule country folk who tenaciously held on to what the Christians considered old-fashioned, outmoded Pagan beliefs. Those in the country were much slower in adopting the new religion of Christianity than were the city folks. They still followed the Greek state religion, Roman state religion, Mithraism, various mystery religions, etc., long after those in urban areas had converted.
Some believe that in the early Roman Empire, "paganus" came to mean "civilian" as opposed to "military." Christians often called themselves "miles Christi" (Soldiers of Christ). The non-Christians became "pagani" -- non-soldiers or civilians. No denigration would be implied.
C. Mohrmann suggests that the general meaning was any "outsider," -- a neutral term -- and that the other meanings, "civilian" and "hick," were merely specialized uses of the term. 17
Be carefully defined in advance, or that
Its meaning is clearly understandable from the text's context.





The Druidic religion is based on the faith and practices of the ancient Celtic professional class;
Followers of Asatru adhere to the ancient, pre-Christian Norse religion;
Wiccans trace their roots back to the pre-Celtic era in Europe.
Other Neo-pagans follow ancient Roman, Greek, Egyptian and other traditions.
"Witchcraft, or Wicca, is considered part of the occult, but has little relationship to Satanism. Wicca is pagan (pre-Christian, as opposed to anti-Christian) and is currently gaining popularity." 1
"Witches do not worship the devil...Witches are more interested in magical arts and the divinity of nature...Wiccans are considered pagans because they worship several nature gods instead of a single god." 2
"The World Christian Encyclopedia estimates 6 million Americans profess to be witches and engage in practices like these. They are a sub-group of over 10 million persons the encyclopedia says call themselves pagans, who practice "primitive" religions such as Druidism, Odin worship and Native American shamanism." 3
Religious and social conservatives sometimes use "Pagan" as a general purpose "snarl" word to refer to cultures or religions that are very different from the speaker's. There is no general consensus as to meaning. It can be seen directed at any religious or cultural group that the speaker hates. Some examples:
Dr. John Patrick, professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada was discussing at a conference the number of abortions performed worldwide. He said: "Gods and goddesses are beginning to re-inhabit the Western world. Infant sacrifice -– there are 52 million a year. It is paganism." 4
Dr. Richard Swenson, director of the Future Health Study Center. said at the same conference: "We went into post-Christian and neopaganism very quickly...We want the culture to change, we want some spiritual sanity, but we need to understand that this is a pluralistic and even neopaganist society." 4
Jerry Falwell appeared as a guest on Pat Robertson's "700 Club" program on 2001-SEP-13. He said that God became sufficiently angry at America that he engineered the terrorist attack on New York City and Washington-- presumably to send Americans a message. He said: "I really believe that the Pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians ...all of them who have tried to secularize America - I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.' " Pat Robertson responded: "Well, I totally concur..." 15 [We have asked Falwell's office via repeated Emails to tell us exactly to whom he was referring with the word "Pagans." They declined to respond.] More details.
There are allegations that these societies engaged in human sacrifices:
II Kings 3:26-27: "...the king of Moab...took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall."
Psalms 106:37-38: "Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood."
Their altars were often referred to as "high places:"
II Kings 16:4: "And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree."
Surrounding tribes were viewed as committing idolatry by worshiping golden images of animals:
II Kings 17:16: "And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal."
Referring to sun wheels and obelisks: "...These symbols of pagan sun worship were associated with Baal worship, or Baalim, which is strongly condemned in scripture. So why are they so prevalent in the Roman Catholic Church, if they are associated with paganism and apostasy?" An anti-Catholic essay on a conservative Protestant Christian web site. 5
Ancient faiths of ancient Celtic, Egypt, Greece, Norse, Rome, and other cultures are frequently referred to as Pagan religions. Even though many of these religions had strict social and sexual behavioral codes, their followers are often portrayed as hedonist and immoral:
1 Peter 4:3: "For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries."

A rare use of "Pagan" is to describe a person who does not follow an main Abrahamic religion. That is, their faith does not recognize Abraham as a patriarch. The individual is neither Christian, Muslim, Baha'i nor Jew. This includes Agnostics, Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Humanists, Taoists, etc. About 45% of the people of the world are Pagans, by this definition.






Some individuals identify themselves with a particular religion, even though they have never been to a religious service in years.
Some are reluctant to reveal their religious affiliation to a census taker or pollster who might be a neighbor. Some religious groups are widely hated by some Canadians. Examples include Wicca, other Neopagan faiths, Satanism, Atheism, Agnosticism and Humanism.
According to Statistics Canada anyone who says they are of a certain faith is counted as being from that faith. But many people use other definitions. Many conservative Protestants, for example, do not regard Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Spiritualists, etc. as Christian.
Canada is becoming increasingly secular, as more people no longer associate with any organized religion.
Wiccans and other Neopagans had the highest percentage growth rate, at over 280%.
Native Canadian Spirituality is recovering from centuries of oppression, with a growth rate of about 175%.
The growth of many non-Christian religions is influenced by immigration.
"NOTAs" (None Of The Above) -- persons with no religious affiliation -- had the greatest numerical growth; they increased by 1,463,080 individuals.
Christianity remains the largest religious group.
Christianity in Canada is growing slowly in total membership, by about 1.5% over the decade.
Within Christianity, the conservative Protestant groups have the greatest growth.
However, Christians are declining as a percentage of the population.




"Religion (95A), Age Groups (7A) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas 1 and Census Agglomerations, 1991 and 2001 Censuses - 20% Sample Data," Statistics Canada, at: http://www12.statcan.ca/ This list also gives membership breakdowns by age groups. This appears to be no longer a valid URL. A chart remains online at the Stats Can web site at: http://www12.statcan.ca/




















































