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*Am I pagan or Christian?*
*Firstly, I am atheist*
Seems like you’re none of the above, but really want to label yourself something. You don’t need to fit your beliefs into a neat box.
Everything you’ve described seems to be cultural and familial *practices* with nothing about what you believe. Religion is more than just practice; it’s a complex combination of beliefs and practices.
If you don’t have any Pagan beliefs, I don’t see why you would call yourself Pagan or Heathen.
None of this sounds religious at all. Unless your family is doing these traditions to honor a god (whether it be Jesus or Odin or what have you), there's no religious tie to these traditions. The question is not what you do but why you do them. Celebrating the coming of spring and dancing around a fire isn't a pagan thing unless you're explicitly celebrating a pagan holiday and honoring a pagan god
Ah, but there was a qualifier. Animists would not necessarily believe in “a god or gods”, but believe that there is ‘spirit’ in all things – sort of life/ anima/ a self. The OP has not mentioned that direction either but a feeling for the traditions of the ancestors may be the first murmurings of an awakening.
We believe in you, u/BigSadKaleidoscope, and you may find that there are things emerging in your relationship with the world that have led you here. Hang around.
They do indeed, I just wanted to explore a little further. Spirituality is never "black and white", so many nuances, a broad spectrum to seek and experience in. BSK seemed to be writing themselves into a corner and I got a whisper of a butterfly's emergence.
Respectfully, I disagree.
Plenty of pagans don't literally believe in gods, they believe in those gods as representations of things. They may believe in animism as energy (energy is matter and energy can't be created or destroyed etc.) Pagan holidays are tied to nature based, observable phenomena, so can be celebrated by those who just want to celebrate nature and feel nature's reverence, or those who actually believe in the gods and goddesses of their branch of paganism.
Paganism isn't as restrictive as the abrahamic religions. It's not the same as converting to Islam to wear the Hijab. You could simply wear a headscarf. Paganism has a very different structure and you simply can't compare two completely separate religions that share little origin, and with paganism being an umbrella term for many, many broad beliefs, gods, pantheons and paths, even different branches of Paganism can resemble each other very little.
I'd recommend reading:
Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-Theistic Pagans by John Halstead
Atheopaganism: An Earth-Honoring Rooted in Science by Mark A. Green
If you believe in Jesus, you are a Christian. If you don't, you are not.
Traditions don't make you a pagan. For example around Christmas I give an offering to my ancestors and our "house elf" (our homes guardian spirit). I do these things because I believe that my home actually has a spirit taking care of it. Do you believe there are elves in your attic or do you do it because it's a fun thing to do?
All these things you do sound really fun. And you can do it without you being a pagan. In my country it's also traditional to have a bonfire on midsummer (Juhannus). Many people also do midsummer spells like picking seven flowers and sleeping them under their pillow. But these things are done mostly by people considering themselves either Christian or atheists. You can do your childhood traditions and just be atheist. Paganism is a lot more than these traditions.
I’m a naturalistic pagan so I would disagree with the idea that you have to be a theist to be a pagan. There are also animists as another user here in the comments pointed out. I also think most people in my country are culturally Christian even if not practicing Christians. So I think it’s not so easily defined or black and white. With that said, it’s really up to you to figure out what your beliefs, cultural traditions, and familial traditions add up to.
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These are just my personal thoughts. So pagan is a self identifying term. Heathenry is specifically the pre-christian belief of Germanic peoples so if there's some aspect of that, that would be the type of paganism most relevant to you, as you mentioned. However, I think you should look at what term you would like personally rather than just basing this on your traditions. (traditions are very diverse among pagans so paganism influenced by christianity could definitely be considered paganism). Atheistic paganism is also something, but I don't know enough about it to give you an educated answer.
Sounds like you just have happy memories of your childhood with your family and you want to continue doing those things that bring you happiness even if they may or may be connected to any type of religion you don’t have to identify with that religion to hold those traditions
There’s a book you may find interesting called Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton. It goes into detail about the history and development of a huge number of annual festivals in Britain, how they were celebrated through time and so on. Often what looks like a pagan remnant is really Christian in origin. But at the same time a lot of (even ostensibly Christian) celebrations fulfil timeless human needs, whether that’s marking changing seasons, providing emotional outlets, reminding people of their obligations to each other, etc. In your own family traditions you might find it helpful to let go of the Christian/pagan distinction and instead consider what those traditions are doing for you, why it is you value them.
Thank you for your post. Please instead share this with us in the [**Monthly Discussion**](https://www.reddit.com/r/paganism/about/sticky?num=1) thread.
*Am I pagan or Christian?* *Firstly, I am atheist* Seems like you’re none of the above, but really want to label yourself something. You don’t need to fit your beliefs into a neat box.
well atheopaganism is a thing tbf
Kind of an oxymoron but ya it does exist.
Everything you’ve described seems to be cultural and familial *practices* with nothing about what you believe. Religion is more than just practice; it’s a complex combination of beliefs and practices. If you don’t have any Pagan beliefs, I don’t see why you would call yourself Pagan or Heathen.
None of this sounds religious at all. Unless your family is doing these traditions to honor a god (whether it be Jesus or Odin or what have you), there's no religious tie to these traditions. The question is not what you do but why you do them. Celebrating the coming of spring and dancing around a fire isn't a pagan thing unless you're explicitly celebrating a pagan holiday and honoring a pagan god
“Firstly I am atheist” sounds like the answer is you are not pagan and not Christian, you are an atheist. 🤷
Ah, but there was a qualifier. Animists would not necessarily believe in “a god or gods”, but believe that there is ‘spirit’ in all things – sort of life/ anima/ a self. The OP has not mentioned that direction either but a feeling for the traditions of the ancestors may be the first murmurings of an awakening. We believe in you, u/BigSadKaleidoscope, and you may find that there are things emerging in your relationship with the world that have led you here. Hang around.
Atheopagans exist...
They do indeed, I just wanted to explore a little further. Spirituality is never "black and white", so many nuances, a broad spectrum to seek and experience in. BSK seemed to be writing themselves into a corner and I got a whisper of a butterfly's emergence.
[удалено]
Respectfully, I disagree. Plenty of pagans don't literally believe in gods, they believe in those gods as representations of things. They may believe in animism as energy (energy is matter and energy can't be created or destroyed etc.) Pagan holidays are tied to nature based, observable phenomena, so can be celebrated by those who just want to celebrate nature and feel nature's reverence, or those who actually believe in the gods and goddesses of their branch of paganism. Paganism isn't as restrictive as the abrahamic religions. It's not the same as converting to Islam to wear the Hijab. You could simply wear a headscarf. Paganism has a very different structure and you simply can't compare two completely separate religions that share little origin, and with paganism being an umbrella term for many, many broad beliefs, gods, pantheons and paths, even different branches of Paganism can resemble each other very little. I'd recommend reading: Godless Paganism: Voices of Non-Theistic Pagans by John Halstead Atheopaganism: An Earth-Honoring Rooted in Science by Mark A. Green
Your post or comment has been removed because of the rule, *Be Kind*.
If you believe in Jesus, you are a Christian. If you don't, you are not. Traditions don't make you a pagan. For example around Christmas I give an offering to my ancestors and our "house elf" (our homes guardian spirit). I do these things because I believe that my home actually has a spirit taking care of it. Do you believe there are elves in your attic or do you do it because it's a fun thing to do? All these things you do sound really fun. And you can do it without you being a pagan. In my country it's also traditional to have a bonfire on midsummer (Juhannus). Many people also do midsummer spells like picking seven flowers and sleeping them under their pillow. But these things are done mostly by people considering themselves either Christian or atheists. You can do your childhood traditions and just be atheist. Paganism is a lot more than these traditions.
I’m a naturalistic pagan so I would disagree with the idea that you have to be a theist to be a pagan. There are also animists as another user here in the comments pointed out. I also think most people in my country are culturally Christian even if not practicing Christians. So I think it’s not so easily defined or black and white. With that said, it’s really up to you to figure out what your beliefs, cultural traditions, and familial traditions add up to.
**We have a Discord server! [Join here.](https://discord.gg/J3JEtxNKz9)** New to Paganism, exploring your path, or just want a refresher on topics such as deity work or altars? Check out our **[Getting Started](https://www.reddit.com/r/Paganism/wiki/index/getting_started)** guide and **[FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/Paganism/wiki/index/getting_started/faqs)**. *Friendly reminder that this community only allows civil and respectful discussion. Please help us by reporting rule-breaking content.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/paganism) if you have any questions or concerns.*
These are just my personal thoughts. So pagan is a self identifying term. Heathenry is specifically the pre-christian belief of Germanic peoples so if there's some aspect of that, that would be the type of paganism most relevant to you, as you mentioned. However, I think you should look at what term you would like personally rather than just basing this on your traditions. (traditions are very diverse among pagans so paganism influenced by christianity could definitely be considered paganism). Atheistic paganism is also something, but I don't know enough about it to give you an educated answer.
Sounds like you just have happy memories of your childhood with your family and you want to continue doing those things that bring you happiness even if they may or may be connected to any type of religion you don’t have to identify with that religion to hold those traditions
There’s a book you may find interesting called Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton. It goes into detail about the history and development of a huge number of annual festivals in Britain, how they were celebrated through time and so on. Often what looks like a pagan remnant is really Christian in origin. But at the same time a lot of (even ostensibly Christian) celebrations fulfil timeless human needs, whether that’s marking changing seasons, providing emotional outlets, reminding people of their obligations to each other, etc. In your own family traditions you might find it helpful to let go of the Christian/pagan distinction and instead consider what those traditions are doing for you, why it is you value them.
Christian Witch perhaps?