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The Triumph of Christianity over Paganism, a painting by Gustave Doré (1899). Paganism is commonly used to refer to various religions that existed during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, such as the Greco-Roman religions of the Roman Empire, including the Roman imperial cult, the various mystery religions, religious philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and more localized ethnic ...
Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion [4] and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. [4] Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry". [1] [5] During and after the Middle Ages, the term paganism was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a ...
Christo-Paganism is a set of beliefs held by some neopagans that encompasses Christian teachings. Christo-Pagans may identify as witches, [1] [2] druids, [3] [4] or animists. [5] Most, but not all, worship the Christian God. [1] Some Christo-Pagans may consider the Virgin Mary to be a goddess, or a form of the Goddess.
The right half of the front panel of the 7th-century Franks Casket, depicting the Anglo-Saxon (and wider Germanic) legend of Wayland the Smith. Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, or Anglo-Saxon polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th ...
[134] [135] This does not in any way indicate that Christianity itself was derived from paganism, [134] only that early Christians made use of the pre-existing symbols that were readily available in their society. [134] Sometimes Christians deliberately used pagan iconography in conscious effort to show Jesus as superior to the pagan gods. [136]
[235]: 49 Scholars such as Cameron, Brown, Markus, Trombley and MacMullen have lent considerable weight to the notion that the boundaries between pagan and Christian communities in the 4th century were not as stark as some prior historians claimed because open conflict was actually something of a rarity. [168] [169] [170] [240]: 6–8
The Christianization of the Germanic peoples was a long process during which there are many textual and archaeological examples of the co-existence and sometimes mixture of pagan and Christian worship and ideas. [51] Christian sources frequently equate Germanic gods with demons and forms of the devil (Interpretatio Christiana). [52]
[271] Further, there is a common belief in the pagan community that Christianity and paganism are opposing belief systems. [271] This animosity is flamed by historical conflicts between Christian and pre-Christian religions, as well as the perceived ongoing Christian disdain from Christians. [271]