Modern Paganism's Rise

Given the suppression of Pagan religions in Europe in the past, as well as the predominantly Christian affiliation of the European colonies and settlements that eventually became Canada and the United States, it's worth considering why Neopagan religion is flourishing today in Europe, North America, and elsewhere.

Although a number of causal variables may be identified, it is important to remember that these factors exist in various forms and to varied degrees in many locations and countries.

It's worth mentioning that the emergence of contemporary Paganism runs counter to a number of previously held beliefs.

The rise of Paganism should not be occurring, according to a historical perspective long supported by many Christians, who viewed the Christianization of Europe and, by extension, North America as inevitable and permanent. Pagan faiths were allegedly debunked and supplanted by a better faith a long time ago.

It is, nevertheless, occurring. Paganism should not appeal to people living in an era of high technology and scientific wizardry because it appears to be little more than a repackaging of random bits of folklore, mythology, and superstition, according to modern science, particularly the "secularism hypothesis," which saw religious faith decline relative to a growing confidence in a scientific view of the world.

But it remains appealing; many other faiths, of course, are growing in popularity despite the apparent supremacy of scientific reason in our high-tech contemporary society.

As a result, attempting to answer why Paganism is gaining popularity in the current social and cultural climate entails examining the failure of previously dominant explanatory systems such as Christianity and science to provide people of this era with a fully satisfactory understanding of and relationship to the world we live in.

The earliest stirrings of public interest in pre-Christian religious traditions in Europe emerged in the shape of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Romanticism and national liberation movements.

Scholars and intellectuals such as Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744–1803) and the Grimm brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm sparked interest among the peasantry and lower classes in collecting, documenting, and preserving folk songs, traditional customs, and other forms of folklore, as these folkloric traditions were thought to embody the unique “folksoul” or spirit of a given people, ethnic group, or region.

Movements for ethnic, cultural, and, eventually, national self-determination arose as cultural self-consciousness grew.

Iceland is a good example of this. Iceland was a Danish colony at the turn of the nineteenth century, and the monarch of Denmark had complete authority. In the 1800s, educated Icelanders were more aware of the richness of their local mythology and literary legacy, owing in part to the intellectual environment of Romantic nationalism and folklore passion.

This sparked a popular campaign for greater independence from Denmark, with one prominent demand being that Copenhagen restore the valuable Old Icelandic manuscripts holding the Eddas, Sagas, and other early Icelandic literature to Iceland.

In the aftermath of World War II, Iceland gained complete independence from Denmark, and the manuscripts were received with heroism in Reykjavk.

The contemporary Asatru movement in Iceland has its origins in nineteenth-century cultural revival and independence movements, which were founded on a romantic love of Icelandic culture.

Other Neopagan groups in Europe have origins in cultural revival movements of the 1800s, in which a new appreciation of indigenous folklore and mythology led to a new feeling of national value, as well as a new understanding of indigenous cultural history as a national spiritual inheritance.
Native dances, rituals, fashions, and songs, as well as myths and gods, were not only regarded as markers of ethnic identity, but also as live connections to Pagan religious traditions.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when European immigrants arrived in the United States and Canada, they brought with them the same pride in their ethnic folkloric history.
This ethnic legacy had a spiritual component for certain immigrants and their descendants, which would later form the basis for Reconstructionist Paganism in North America.

If nineteenth-century Romantic nationalism may be regarded as one significant element in the formation of contemporary Paganism, a widespread disenchantment with modern world conventional authority systems can be seen as another .

The horrendous wars and totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century, the ongoing threat of nuclear weapons and other forms of high-tech annihilation, pollution and devastation of the natural environment, and other crises such as the mass suffering and death caused by the spread of AIDS have all shattered public trust in government, science, and other authority structures.

Modern technical advancement is no longer regarded as a key to human development or security, but rather as a tragic contrast to humanity's overall failure to care for its own.
With conventional authority losing their capacity to demand respect and force obedience, a freewheeling quest for new sources of direction and identity has opened up, with contemporary Paganism being one of many cultural responses.
The continued proliferation of new channels of information and communication, from radio and television to the personal computer and, particularly, the Internet, has enabled modern Pagans to quickly and easily disseminate their religious ideas, attract new members, and facilitate communication between communities around the world.

Electronic media, such as the Internet, can facilitate contact and cross-pollination among various social and political groups with similar or overlapping goals.

In Europe, the United Kingdom, and Canada, decreasing church membership and involvement in Christian activities is a third reason.

In the United States, however, the situation is slightly different, with Pentecostal, Evangelical, Fundamentalist, and other types of Christianity gaining in strength and popularity.

However, Christianity is on the decrease in most of these other countries and areas, at least in terms of active support and involvement. Part of the explanation for this decrease seems to be the overall lack of trust in conventional authority institutions, which extends to Christianity for certain sectors of the population, which is seen as an ideological stronghold of a failing social order by others. Another reading, though, is conceivable.

Europe and North America's inhabitants had limited religious options not long ago.

The Christian faith was intimately linked to governmental authority, putting a lot of pressure on individuals to join one of the many Christian sects.

Citizenship in European countries with an official state church entailed being a Christian, and infants were routinely baptized into the state church. Being a non-Christian was to invite prejudice and abuse, as the brutal treatment of Jews in Europe and North America in not-too-distant periods demonstrated.

As a result, it's unclear whether the higher percentages of Christian church membership and general participation in church activities seen in centuries past reflected a higher level of sincere Christian piety than what we see today or simply a higher degree of pressure and compulsion used to force Christian membership and participation.

The power disparity between Christianity, the long-dominant religion, and other religious traditions is shifting now.

Europe and North America have rejected a previous societal structure in which Christianity was given a significant advantage over other religious traditions, allowing church officials to force adherence to their demands and penalize dissent and disobedience.

Europe and North America are working together to establish a new social order that emphasizes people' freedom to follow the religion of their choosing, whether it be a version of Christianity or something else entirely.

Religious liberties have therefore been much better recognized and fiercely defended than at any other time in the past 1,000 years, allowing Europeans and North Americans to opt out of Christianity entirely if they so choose and join with other faiths or none at all.

Non-Christian religious groups may freely operate and organize without fear of open retaliation from church or state authorities, which was formerly a very real and deadly threat.

As previously stated, public recognition of membership in Pagan religious organizations is not without risk, but there is a growing consensus in a growing number of countries that Paganism and other "alternative" and minority religions are legitimate religious expressions that should be protected by the law rather than persecuted by it.

In this regard, the rise of modern Paganism is both a result and a measure of increased religious liberty and tolerance for religious diversity in modern societies, a liberty and tolerance made possible by the reduction of Christian authorities' sometimes oppressive power to compel obedience and participation in centuries past.

To put it another way, contemporary Paganism is one of multiculturalism's and social pluralism's happy stepchildren.

Another significant aspect to consider in Eastern Europe is the fall of Soviet communism in the late 1980s. For ideological and political reasons, the governments of the different Soviet republics suppressed and punished religious activities to varied degrees.

As a result of the fall of Soviet authority, new religious freedom arose, with both Christian and nonChristian religious communities flourishing in the newly open environment, and modern Pagan groups gaining a reputation as faithful bearers of non-Soviet, native traditions and ethnic identity in some places.

Finally, the development of Pagan advocacy and support networks at both the national and worldwide levels should be highlighted.

The Pagan Federation offers information on Pagan religion, informs individuals to local discussion groups and other community events, and gives legal assistance to Pagans who face religious persecution or other legal problems in the United Kingdom and Western Europe.

The Circle Network in the United States serves a similar educational and coordinating function, with an associate group, the Lady Liberty Network, offering legal help on Pagan-related issues.

The Ring of Troth is an American-based, but growing worldwide, network dedicated to Norse-Scandinavian paganism.

The World Congress of Ethnic Faiths, headquartered in Lithuania, is an effort to establish a worldwide support network for contemporary Pagan and Indigenous religions, as previously stated.

All of these groups rely heavily on the Internet to disseminate information and organize activities. As a result, a number of reasons have contributed to the development of contemporary Paganism.

The seeds of fresh appreciation for pre-Christian religious traditions of the European past, as reflected in mythology, folklore, and other elements of cultural heritage, were sown by intellectual movements of the nineteenth century, especially Romanticism.

Alternative faiths became more appealing when conventional authority structures crumbled, and new communication technologies made them more accessible. Another important aspect is the shifting relationship between government and religion.

Whether we look at the gradual de-linking of government and Christianity in North America and Western Europe, or the sudden collapse of the Soviet Communist state with its anti-religious policies, the removal of government authorities from an active role in religious affairs has allowed citizens in most modern countries to participate in Pagan religious activities and communities.

It will be shown that these variables operate differently in different contemporary nations in North America and Europe, resulting in a wide range of outcomes.

You may also want to read more about Paganism here.

Be sure to check out my writings on Religion here.