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What's in a name?

As a member of the Board of Directors for Cherry Hill seminary, I am contemplating whether the term Pagan is still appropriate for all the religions now under that umbrella. Some folks in our traditions do not see themselves as pagans and some religions such a Voudon or even native or indigenous religions would not use that term, whereas we might see them as part of Paganism due to their focus on nature.


Pagan is certainly a word we "reclaimed" much as the LGBT+ community has reclaimed previously pejorative words and framed them as positive. Pagan originally meant country dweller and was used by early Abrahamic faiths to distinguish themselves from us. In the ancient world, being "pagan" was not named. It was ubiquitous and just the way everyone lived. Now we have to name our religions. This is a challenge.


So how do we name ourselves now? Does the movement from coven and initiatory paths to more solitary paths change how we name ourselves? Or are Nature focused religions what unites us? I would really love to hear peoples perspective on this topic.




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