You've probably heard the word thrown around in movies or history books. Maybe you've seen it on a social media profile. But if you ask five different people what "pagan" actually means, you’re going to get five very different, very confused answers. It’s a mess.
Honestly, the word pagan is one of the most misunderstood labels in the English language.
Some people use it to describe ancient Greeks throwing lightning bolts and hanging out on Mount Olympus. Others use it as a slur for anyone who isn't Christian. Then you have the modern crowd—the people at Renaissance faires or those practicing Wicca—who wear the label with pride. So, what’s the deal? Where did it come from, and why does the definition keep shifting like sand?
The "Country Bumpkin" Origins
Let’s go back to Rome. Not the Rome of the gladiator movies, but the Rome of the 4th century. At that point, the Roman Empire was undergoing a massive, messy religious pivot toward Christianity.
The word itself comes from the Latin paganus.
If you were a Roman soldier back then, you’d use paganus to describe a civilian. It basically meant "someone who doesn't serve." But for the general population, it usually meant a person from the pagus—the rural countryside. Think of it as calling someone a "hillbilly" or a "country bumpkin."
It wasn't a compliment.
Historians like Peter Brown, who wrote The Rise of Western Christendom, have pointed out that the rural folks were the last to convert to Christianity. They stuck to their old ways, their local gods, and their seasonal festivals long after the cool kids in the cities had moved on to the new state religion. So, "pagan" became a shorthand for "that uneducated person in the woods who still thinks the sun is a god."
It was a label slapped on people by outsiders. Nobody in 300 AD was walking around saying, "Hi, I’m a pagan." They would have said, "I’m a follower of Isis," or "I honor Jupiter." Using the word back then was a way of saying someone was out of the loop.
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What Does the Word Pagan Mean Today?
Fast forward to right now. The meaning has fractured into three or four distinct buckets.
First, there’s the historical bucket. This refers to the polytheistic religions of the ancient world. Think Egyptians, Norsemen, Celts, and Romans. When a history professor talks about paganism, they're usually talking about these pre-Abrahamic traditions.
Then, you have the religious studies bucket. In this context, it’s often used as an umbrella term for anyone who isn't "People of the Book" (Jews, Christians, or Muslims). It’s a bit of a lazy category, honestly. It lumps together a Shinto priest in Japan and a Mayan astronomer from 800 AD as if they’re doing the same thing. They aren't.
Finally, we have the most vibrant version: Neo-paganism.
This is a modern movement. It started gaining steam in the mid-20th century with people like Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente. These folks weren't just reading history; they were trying to reconstruct or reimagine ancient earth-based spirituality for the modern world. For them, being pagan is a specific, chosen identity. It's about a connection to nature, the cycles of the moon, and often a belief in multiple deities or a divine feminine.
The Big Misconception: Is it Satanism?
Let's address the elephant in the room. No.
Hollywood loves to blur these lines for the sake of a scary plotline. You’ve seen the scenes: dark robes, scary masks, maybe a goat. It’s great for selling movie tickets, but it’s historically and theologically illiterate.
Satan is a figure specifically from Abrahamic traditions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism). To believe in Satan, you generally have to believe in the Christian worldview. Most pagans—whether ancient or modern—don't even have "Satan" in their vocabulary. Their "bad guys" are usually things like chaos, greed, or just really cranky spirits, not a fallen angel from the Bible.
It’s actually kinda funny when you think about it. Most modern pagans are more concerned with composting and the summer solstice than they are with anything "evil."
Why the Word Still Feels Weird
Words carry baggage. Because "pagan" was used as a weapon for over a thousand years to justify colonization and forced conversions, it still feels "edgy" or "dangerous" to some people.
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In the 19th century, the Romantic movement tried to change the vibe. Poets like Keats and Wordsworth started looking back at the "pagan" past with nostalgia. They were tired of the Industrial Revolution and smoke-filled cities. They saw the old gods as symbols of a lost connection to the earth.
This tension—between paganism as "primitive/evil" and paganism as "natural/pure"—is still where we are today.
A Quick Reality Check on the "Old Ways"
There is a common myth that modern paganism is an unbroken line of secret tradition stretching back to the Druids.
It’s a cool story. But it’s not really true.
The reality is that most ancient pagan traditions were effectively wiped out or absorbed into other cultures. We don't actually know exactly how the Druids worshipped because they didn't write things down. Modern paganism is more of a "remix." It’s a beautiful, intentional reconstruction based on archaeology, folklore, and a lot of creative imagination.
Ronald Hutton, a heavy-hitter historian from the University of Bristol, has written extensively about this in his book The Triumph of the Moon. He argues that while modern pagans draw inspiration from the past, the religion itself is a product of the modern era. And that’s okay. Something doesn't have to be 3,000 years old to be meaningful to someone today.
How to Use the Word Without Being a Jerk
If you’re talking to someone who identifies as pagan, the best thing to do is ask what they actually believe. Since it’s an umbrella term, it covers a wild variety of people.
- Wiccans: Follow a specific path formalized in the 20th century, often involving a God and a Goddess.
- Heathens: Focus on Norse and Germanic traditions (Odin, Thor, etc.).
- Hellenists: Focus on the Greek pantheon.
- Druids: Focus on Celtic spirituality and nature.
Basically, "pagan" is the "sports" of the religious world. Just like "sports" covers everything from professional hockey to a casual game of pickleball, "pagan" covers a massive spectrum of belief and practice.
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What You Can Do Next
Understanding the word pagan is really about understanding how we categorize "the other."
If you want to get a better handle on this, stop looking at "pagan" as a single thing. Start looking at specific cultures. Read about the actual rituals of the Romans or the Norse. Look into the environmental ethics of modern Earth-centered movements.
The word is a bridge between the ancient world and our modern search for meaning. Whether you use it as a historical marker or a personal identity, knowing the weight of the word makes you a lot more informed than the person just using it as a plot point in a horror movie.
Check out the works of Margot Adler—specifically Drawing Down the Moon—if you want the most thorough look at how this identity formed in the modern West. It’s long, but it’s the gold standard.
Stop treating it like a dirty word. Start treating it like a history lesson.