((disclaimer: i am a pagan, specifically a hellenic polytheist))
Pagan is a nothing word. Historically it means any religion not judaism, christianity, or islam. Not always, though. Muslims and Jews have also been referred to as pagan, along with some groups of Christians who didn’t subscribe to the orthodox. In more recent history, like twentieth century, I’ve seen pagan used to mean any religion not part of the Big Five, the three previously mentioned plus buddhism and hinduism. In short, my analysis of the word “pagan” is that it essentially means whatever is not standard to the speaker, a catch-all term like heathen. That’s why I don’t like this word. It doesn’t mean anything, only that you’re not subscribing to a certain standard. While the feeling of rebellion associated with that is alluring, I think that religion is far too diverse a category for this. A comparison I’ve used before is to imagine the sciences were divided into biology and not-biology. It doesn’t really make sense to treat physics and environmental science like they’re the same thing, so why do we use “pagan” to describe the witchtok girlies and also indigenous folk traditions? (no shade to the witchtok girlies tho lmao)
To me personally, it just feels like it means Not part of one of the main religions. It only defines me as opposed to the “big” religions. I don’t want my religious beliefs to be defined by what they're not. I also don’t think it’s fair to treat the thousands of minority religions, new religious movements, indigenous practices, folk traditions, and literally every religious movement besides the “popular enough to be regarded as normal” ones. I believe that religious traditions, especially from peoples and places that have faced colonization and extreme discrimination, deserve to be talked about, honored, and analyzed in a category that isn’t just “everything else.”
Basically, I think it would be better for most people of minority religions to shed the term pagan in favor of something more specific that reflects the nuances of that tradition. I understand pagan is also an easy blanket label for eclectic practices that don’t neatly fit into a box, but I implore people to think of a term that highlights the beauty of their own practice, or just fuck labels all together and say you’re a witch, or spiritual, or on your own path!
At the end of the day I am simply a nineteen-year-old with probably too many opinions and too much confidence. If you want to call yourself a pagan, that’s fine. Just be aware of the history and malleability of the word.
