Paganism Growing in Several Countries

One place is in the former Soviet Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. New groups are forming in Scandinavia. There are several scattered across the U.S.

In the Bible, Paganism is referred to as the villain. I had a poster here several years ago who said she would not celebrate Winter Solstice because it is a Pagan ritual.

The link reports several reasons for people adopting Paganism. One is that it is "tradition." Certainly the Pagan religion preceded Christianity. One could argue some other religion probably preceded Paganism so that on would be even more traditional. In either case, this points out that Christianity was an innovation that came along relatively late in the human experience.

Another reason for Paganism is environmental. The Pagan faith is more focused on nature than is Christianity. In conservative Christianity, environmentalists are seen a liberals and to do God's will one must oppose environmentalism.

While no doubt there are dark sides to Paganism, it may well be a more honest religion than Christianity. Focusing on real problems, like the environment, is more honest that focusing on sin and a non existent (so far as we know) afterlife.

Also, I've never heard of a Pagan leader bilking his followers out of millions of dollars by promising they will be wealthy if they follow a leader. I want to stress I have not heard of one--there may have been some.

The problem Pagans face is that the market for religion is shrinking. It's easier for a religion to grow when increasing numbers of people are searching to find one they like. With fewer tire kickers there are fewer sales.

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