The term “Pagan” can bring about a domino effect of associations when used. For most people who are unfamiliar with what Paganism or, as it is more modernly being referred to, Neo-Paganism is, the term “Pagan” may conjure to mind images of witchcraft, magic, pentacles, and satanic rituals. Not all of these associations are completely unwarranted, but the negative association surrounding the term “Pagan” is.

Neo-Paganism is the modern revival of ancient Pagan beliefs and traditions drawn from a variety of cultures including Roman, Norse, Greek, and Celtic. According to the Pagan Federation, the exact definition of Paganism is, “A polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion,” which makes the definition of a Pagan any person who follows a polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion.

The term “Pagan” has evolved overtime, but the central beliefs of Pagan and Neo-Pagan religions have not. In 313 AD Emperor Constatine issued a decree that made it legal for Christianity to be practiced in Rome. Up until that point most Roman religious beliefs had been centered on nature and a variety of, usually with multiple being worshiped, Roman gods and goddesses.

With the introduction of Christianity, the term “Pagan” which most likely originated from the Latin paganus, Roman military slang for "civilian, incompetent soldier,” began to be used to describe anyone who continued to practice the old polytheistic ways of religion. In other words, the term “Pagan” when used in Rome circa AD mid-300s meant someone who was not a practicing Christian, even after Christianity became the official religion of Rome in 323 AD.

Since its initial use, the term “Pagan” has picked up many associations over the course of history, which led to the misconceptions surrounding it today. According to Google’s Ngram viewer, which shows the use of a word in recorded texts throughout history, the use of the term “Pagan” spiked in the mid-1600s, around the time when, despite the rediscovering of many religious ideas during the Renaissance, including Pagan ideas, a great deal of religious persecution was taking place.

From 1692 to 1693, the infamous Salem witch trials were taking place in Massachusetts, and similar witch hunts and trials also took place in Europe. Few of the people accused of practicing witchcraft were likely witches at all, more likely they simply did not conform to the accepted religion of the time.

After the 1600s, it became more acceptable for people to explore religions outside of Christianity without having to fear for their lives, but it wasn’t until after this period known as the Enlightenment that historians began to suggest that the “supposed witches of the 16th-17th centuries were in fact underground practitioners of Pagan religion.”

For this reason, many people often confuse the religion of witchcraft, Wicca, with Paganism and Neo-Paganism. As stated before, in the days of ancient Rome, “Pagan” was simply a term used to describe anyone who was not Christian, who had retained the old ways of religion; nowadays however, “Pagan” is used as an umbrella term to refer to anyone who follows a Neo-Pagan religion.

Wicca is the largest and most prevalent of the Neo-Pagan religions, which also include Druidism, Asatru (Norse Paganism), Odinism, and other ethnic variations of Pagan beliefs, values, and traditions. Essentially, all Wiccans are Pagans, but not all Pagans are Wiccans, so despite the similarities and common association, Paganism and Wicca are not the same thing. The characteristics of magic and the symbol of the pentacle that are associated with Paganism are correct associations, but in Paganism, magic is a way of healing and helping others and the pentacle is a Wiccan symbol of protection.

Neo-Paganism recognizes the female presence of the goddess in nature, and all forms of Neo-Paganism involve a reverence for nature. Some forms of Neo-Paganism, like Wicca, recognize the power of energy, magic, and divination, but for the most part the experience of Neo-Paganism is very individualized and open to interpretation and variation. Despite what some people believe, no Neo-Pagan religion actually worships Satan.

In fact, adherents of Neo-Pagan religions are not required to worship a deity of any kind. Neo-Paganism can be atheistic, monotheistic, polytheistic, pantheistic, and every variety of theism in between. Many adherents to Neo-Pagan religions practice on their own, or are a part of small communities of Neo-Pagans who share their same, or similar, beliefs.

Many popular religious, and now widely cultural, holidays that people from all across the world enjoy are descended from Pagan holidays. The celebration of the Winter Solstice (Christmas), Spring Equinox (Easter), Beltaine (May Day), Summer Solstice (Longest Day of the Year), and Samhain (All Hallows Eve/Halloween) all have their origins in Pagan religions and cultures, long before any other cultures or religions formed associations with them. It’s surprising to think that an ancient group of religions that has such an influence on our culture, even today, is so easily misunderstood.

In the 1960s and 70s, during the years of social changes brought on by the hippy movement, Paganism, along with many other Eastern religions and philosophies, were being explored and introduced in the United States. The official birth of Neo-Paganism in the United States is dated to 1967 when the Church of All Worlds was filed for incorporation, and then was accepted in 1968, making it the first recognized Neo-Pagan church.

The face of Neo-Paganism is extremely diverse, and the ideas and values of the religion should not be overlooked due to false negative associations. While Neo-Paganism has seen the addition of new traditions as it has emerged in the modern age, the majority of values remain the same: to love, respect, and commune with nature, to be free to pursue your own personal idea of the Divine, to recognize the female face of divinity, to value individuality and freedom of expression, and to love and care for others.

We live in a country that prides itself on freedom; the ability to practice Neo-Paganism without having to fear being burned at the stake or tried for being a witch is just one more of many hard-won freedoms that we are granted. The stigma surrounding Paganism still remains in the minds of some, but in time, if we open our minds and hearts, we can come together, just as our gods, goddesses, deities, and lack thereof, would want us to.