1. Ever since I turned away from christianity and converted to paganism i have felt kind of guilty. I believe this is because I am still holding on to things from Christianity. I have been raised my whole life as a christian so is that why I feel this way? Will these feelings of guilt eventually end? And 2. I believe in most of the pagan beliefs (revering nature, honoring my ancestors, etc.) but I don't think I believe in the many gods and goddesses. As a matter of fact I'm not sure if I believe in any deity. But I'm not sure. Is there such thing as an athiest pagan? If I don't believe in a deity, am I still a pagan, or is it just considered my personal religion, but not paganism?
Re: I have two questions... By: Birdlover101 / Beginner
Post # 2 Oct 23, 2011
Just tell yourself over and over again what you believe isn't wrong and and that there was a reason you left Christianity. Keep stating that reason to yourself and, it might help to talk to a friend,family member, or such who you think would understand about this.
I can answer both your questions. You don't turn away from Christianity when you become "pagan", you (this is an over-simplification) turn away from a christian church. It is the church(es) that were responsible for the eradication of pagans, not the religion itself. In fact, most pagan and christian beliefs are perfectly compatible. Also, you don't need to believe in certain deities to be pagan. Paganism is actually a very loose term that was used to refer to the small-scale religions that existed before the church decided to standardize faith. You can be (out of technicality) an atheist pagan. Being pagan, in the broadest possible sense, simply means that you aren't Catholic (I don't know what stances other churches took on pagans). Wicca, which most of us practice, is not really a religion, it's just a belief in our inner power that we call magic.
Wicca is an established religion. It has specific beliefs. Ya can't just create up a hodge-podge of different religious practices and beliefs, mix them together, and call them Wicca.
That's eclectic paganism.