Noam Chomsky

When General Allenby conquered Jerusalem during World War I, he was hailed in the American press as Richard the Lion-Hearted, who had at last won the Crusades and driven the pagans out of the Holy Land.

American Activist

Liz Williams

There are a few people who are, let's say, personality-challenged, who would like to set up a cult, but in large part they fail due to the innate stroppiness and independence of their fellow pagans.

British Author

Jay Parini

Christmas is a story that has both religious and pagan origins, and to ignore its power is to ignore the power of myth - those symbols and legends that help us to ground our lives.

American Writer

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The pagan loves the earth in order to enjoy it and confine himself within it; the Christian in order to make it purer and draw from it the strength to escape from it.

French Philosopher

Mother Angelica

To a pagan, there is no purpose to suffering. As a result, he lives a life of loneliness and frustration.

American Educator

Lord Byron

There is something pagan in me that I cannot shake off. In short, I deny nothing, but doubt everything.

British Poet

Damon Albarn

I enjoyed history at school. I'd always had a sense of pagan England.

English Musician

Steve Earle

Funerals are a pagan rite. There's not any doubt about it.

American Musician

Matt Skiba

V. E. Schwab

American Author

Pagan often refers to polytheistic religions, those with many gods.

Polytheistic Religions

Use 'pagan' to describe ancient religions that predate Christianity.

Pre-Christianity Context

'Pagan' can also describe contemporary followers of old or earth-based religions.

Modern Usage

The adjective form describes practices or artifacts from non-monotheistic faiths.

Cultural Rituals

Pagan traditions are often closely linked to natural phenomena and seasons.

Nature Associations

Historically, 'pagan' referred to those not adhering to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.

Non-Abrahamic Faiths

Historically, 'pagan' could be derogatory, implying religious inferiority.

Historical Prejudice

Today's use of 'pagan' is more neutral and less about non-religion.

Older Usage

 this tradition survived long after belief in these spirits had faded away. Many superstitions common today in countries from Russia to Ireland are thought to be remnants of the pagan religions that Christianity replaced. But not all superstitions are religious.

Where do superstitions...

 And since the existence of a medieval Roman Empire suggested there were Europeans who’d never lost touch with antiquity, Western Europeans wanted to draw clear lines between the ages. To better distinguish the classical, Latin-speaking, pagan Roman Empire

The rise and fall of the...

 pushing folk and musical boundaries to draw out the rawness of pagan ritual. Stravinsky brought this reverie to life in collaboration with artist Nicholas Roerich. Roerich was obsessed with prehistoric times. He had published essays about human sacrifice

The ballet that incited...

 But all good things must end. In 391 AD, the Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius banned pagan practices, so the world soon bid a fond farewell to the Olympic games. But just like those early pankration athletes, you can't keep a good one down,

The ancient origins of...

 on saw 1 the villagers gathered and lit huge bonfires to drive the dead back to the spirit world and keep them away from the living but as the Catholic Church's influence grew in Europe it frowned on the pagan rituals like Sawin in the 7th

Halloween History PIPE...

 Service and say I've got a shelter a wall that I want to build I need some planning for my summer cabin or I want to build a pagan church can you help us and we say well yes we can we're producing wood now of vision boards and

Iceland Is Growing New...

 and persisted despite the church's efforts to eliminate pagan beliefs. Stories of vampires originated from misinterpretations of diseases, such as rabies, and pellagra, and decomposition.

How did Dracula become...

 We have been called hostile We have been called pagan We have been called militant We have been called many names