Paganism
paganism indicate the whole of the religions of pagan.
Synopsis |
The word
Christians of the Western part of called "pagan", in Latin pagani all those which, apart from the Jews, practised another worship that theirs. Paganus mean "which is pagus ", i.e. canton," country "(this last word comes from pagus). Like paganus can mean more particularly, by , "country", one believed a long time that "pagan" wanted to say "country", "country" and that its employment referred to the fact that people of the campaigns, because of their insulation and their rusticity, had tardily remained attached to the old worships.
Actually, the "pagan" word is employed rather early in this direction (as of Tertullien, with IIE century), whereas the majority of the townsmen still had pagan worships, them too. Moreover, paganism remained a long time still well anchored in the cities and spread in the intellectual elites, it is the case in particular of , of which it was still with pagan majority under Théodose Ier. It is thus not within the meaning of "peasant" only paganus was used in the religious field.
Today, one considers rather than the "pagan one" was "the man of the country", the native, who preserved the local practice, by contrast with the inhabitants come from other parts of the empire. Moreover, up to one rather late time, a good part of the clergy in the Western areas is of Eastern origin, Greeks, Syriens, Égyptiens, etc.
History of the concept
Within the geographical limits of the ancient world, centered on The Mediterranean, of many religions existed. In , in Egypt, in then in Rome, the divinities multiple, local or were imported. The antiquated, often rural divinities or chtoniennes, evolved to more human divinities, organized, of which them Olympian are the best example.
However, there was not word to indicate the whole of the religions, although it had consolidated the exchanges of all nature between these people.
Other religions still existed, in the north of Europe, in the East or the Far East, in Africa, etc.
Through millenia, two characters seem constant in these religions: , i.e. belief in several gods, and the tolerance for the gods of the others, together with frequent loans: had its temple in Rome, and Césars theirs with .
In the Mediterranean world, the first dissonance was to come from the Hebrews: monotheists and populates elected, Judaea was a quite particular Roman province, with its religious capacity articulated with the political power of Rome, whose Bible tells the contentions. The Jews did not recognize the other gods, nor the divinity of César. César put up with it, the elected people being inevitably limited.
Then Christianity came. Articulated on the monotheism Hebrew, this religion excluded also the recognition from any other god. Mithraism recent, monotheist also, did not have this exclusive. But opened with all, Christianity was not long becoming major and in obtaining a church, then as from the emperors in its rows. Of its emergence to the conquest of the supreme capacity, the business had hardly taken three centuries.
These Christians then indicated like "paganism" all the known religions others that theirs, that the "pagan ones practised". The etymology of the word shows the pejorative intention. Only the Hebraic Jews, which divided same God, kept a distinct identity.
In 391 and 392, the word is used officially in the legislation by Théodose Ier, Roman emperor catholic, to prohibit these religions in all the empire, already Christian since 380. Then will come, at the beginning of the 5th Century, the massive destruction and plunderings, some massacres, which these scattered religions, without clergy and dogma, will hardly survive.
This word, invented by a minority to indicate a majority, became thus gradually the qualifier of a minority, presumedly rough and rural, therefore uncultivated. The word widens then with Moslems, then exceeding the only field of the religion, qualified as social practices as Christian morals rejected. Even widened, there remains a point of view of of Christian, interfered ostracism, a discrimination.
Although Christianity, religion official and single of the Roman empire since 380, extends then largely in Europe (, Saint Worsens Romain Germanique), of the worships and practical paiennes still takes place the following centuries, but clandestinity becomes a question of survival. Under these conditions, the absence of crowned texts, the oral tradition, the secrecy of the worships, will contribute to make disparaitre these religions old. Some "traditional festivals" of our campaigns exist still nowadays, but do not have any more religious significance. Our log of is a pagan survival, like Carnival, etc.
Religious resurgences will take place in Europe, of "néo-paganisms", in particular with the Rebirth, but also at the XIXème century (Germanisme, celtism), and still nowadays (Wicca, YSEE).
Nowadays, one qualifies also paganism, at least with the glance of the Christian culture of Europe, of the remote religions which never took part in the foundation of the word, like.
Within the framework of universalization, the modern néo-pagan movements made their junction in 1998 with the other religions polytheists, within the WCER (world congress of the ethnic religions), and hope to be recognized. At one time or the development of Islam in Europe questions the reports/ratios of Christianity to the capacity, calls in question the balances established since the XIXème century, reducing the monotheisms recognized to make common cause, the matter is not more utopian.
The concept
- "Pagan" is thus in the beginning a specifically Christian concept which indicated all those which, put aside the Jews (for obvious reasons), are not Christian. With still, Song of Roland call "pagan" those who are actually Moslems. This concept has thus the defect to make an amalgam between very diverse realities and which, until the time when became religion official (or quasi official), were not by no means perceived by the interested parties like formant a whole.
- Nevertheless, from the time has passed for this time and, seen today, the concept is not deprived of relevance (and the word seems more convenient than the substitutes than one could find to him, "traditional religion", "polytheism", which has them also their imperfections), provided that one keeps in mind which it determines a multiple reality. Paganism is a practical term to indicate overall the religious practices of Antiquity (Europe, Proche and the Middle East, Africa of Nord)en outside of Christianity and .
- From Rebirth appeared religious or philosophical movements claiming paganism again:
- the néo-paganism of of XVIE century
- néo-paganisms Celt (neo-druidism), Germanic, Scandinavian, Egyptian ( khemitism) and Greek ( hellenism) of the end of XIXE century, of XXE century
- One should not confuse paganism with atheism. The pagan ones have a crowned mystical direction and the, foreign one with the atheists.
- Is the satanism a paganism? Although it enters perfectly the initial definition of the word, one can deny with difficulty that it is a misadventure of Christianity, and would not exist without him. The fact that the Devil is a Christian misadventure of Dionysos does not simplify the question.
External bonds
- Paramount Wisdom, treating site of Paganism and the pagan ones
