Could Paganism as a whole be considered more of a Monaltry, or polythiestic religion?

[MistOfTheSea86]

Or does it depend on the person, thoughts?

[amberlaine]

"Paganism" as a whole, isn't a religion. so you' couldn't classify it thusly.

What is a Monaltry?

[Myst]

Do you mean monolatry?

monolatry


\Mo*nol"a*try\, n. [Mono- + Gr. ? worship.] Worship of a single deity.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.


monolatry

n : the worship of a single god but without claiming that it is the only god
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

Amberlaine's right, Paganism as a whole isn't a religion (but a group of religions and paths). People call themselves Pagan when they are on one of those religions (ie. Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, etc.) or even if they're on a personal path that is Pagan but not one of the above.

And it really does depend on the person. I know; I've commented on the all Gods are one God thing and had other Pagans get angry at me about it.

[MistOfTheSea86]

Originally posted by Myst
Do you mean monolatry?

monolatry





Amberlaine's right, Paganism as a whole isn't a religion (but a group of religions and paths). People call themselves Pagan when they are on one of those religions (ie. Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, etc.) or even if they're on a personal path that is Pagan but not one of the above.

And it really does depend on the person. I know; I've commented on the all Gods are one God thing and had other Pagans get angry at me about it.

:) My Damn history teacher spelt it wrong. Let's clarify then, how bout Wiccanism? What would that be considered?

[Danustouch]

AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...Mist..please..not Wiccanism again! It's NOT Wiccanism. It's WICCA! LOL. That is about to make me tear my heair out at its' roots!

[Myst]

Wicca is a religion and for most part of a personal path. I don't feel you can say "yes Wicca is a polytheistic religion" or "Wicca is monolatry".

[MistOfTheSea86]

Originally posted by Danustouch
AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...Mist..please..not Wiccanism again! It's NOT Wiccanism. It's WICCA! LOL. That is about to make me tear my heair out at its' roots!

My APOLOGIES LOL

[amberlaine]

I define Wicca as a henootheistic religion.

Henotheism: worship of one deity, without the subsequent denial of any other deities. This may involve:

--One chief God and multiple gods and goddesses of lesser power and importance. Ancient Greek and Roman religions were of this type.

--One supreme God, and multiple gods and goddesses who are all simply manifestations or aspects of the supreme God. Hinduism is one example; they recognize Brahman as the single deity. Some Wiccans believe in a single deity about which they know little. They call the deity "The One" or "The All." They recognize the God and Goddess as the male and female aspects of that supreme deity.

--One supreme God who rules over a country, and many other gods and goddesses who have similar jurisdiction over other territories. Liberal theologians believe that the ancient Israelites were henotheists; they worshipped Jehovah as the supreme God over Israel, but recognized the existence of Baal and other deities who ruled over other tribes.

(Derfinition borrowed from Merriam Webster and Religioustolerance.org)

Within Wicca you find Wiccans who are monotheist, pantheist,panentheist, polytheist, etc. But once you start to take Wicca apart and look at how all of its nebulous pieces of theology fit together, the religion itself seems to me to be henotheist, while individual practitioners may not necessarily be.

[Illuminatus]

Originally posted by Danustouch
AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...Mist..please..not Wiccanism again! It's NOT Wiccanism. It's WICCA! LOL. That is about to make me tear my heair out at its' roots!

Can you help me learn about being a wiccanist???

(hides)

[Danustouch]

Hit's Illuminatus with Puma's Baka Stick.

[Mystic Wolf]

Wicca doesn't have ONE supreme God (or Goddess for that matter). Wicca is based on the Duality of Male and Female, God and Goddess. They are seen as equals by most. A few Traditions (Dianic for example), place more emphasis on the Goddess but there is still balance present within the system (as much as I can tell from the outside being male and all).

If you worship one over the other you are not truly Wiccan as it takes Goddess the Bringer of Life and God the Seed of Life to make the wheel turn year in and year out. Doesn't make the path wrong, just makes it non-Wiccan.

Please note this is my opinion and how it was taught to me by my teacher.

[Myst]

Actually some believe the "supreme God" is the All. The total divine. And that Gods and Goddesses are faces of that one God. So you might have a God and Goddess as polar balancing deities, but together they are One, and thus the "supreme God", which is what I think amberlaine was getting at.

[Mystic Wolf]

See I don't go that far in my thinking. I don't believe in a supreme god which is why I stated that was my opinion. I believe in the Goddess and God being separate individuals and only one through love of each other similar to when to people find their soulmates and feel whole and as one.

Basically it boils down to semantics and our individual interpretations. I am not saying my idea is the only correct one nor that it is even completely correct. However at this point in time of my studies and training that is where things sit with me.

[amberlaine]

Damn! And all these years I thought I was Wiccan!

Seriously, though: one of the major point of WIccan theology is the concept of the polarity between masculine and feminine, and that includes the concept that deity must encompass the masculine and the feminine. THat's jus tbasic to our theology. However, this does not mean that Wicca requires its practitioners to believe in an absolute God and an absolute Goddess. Those are accepted beliefs within Wicca, but they are not the only way to view divinity.

As long as the concept of polarity is maintained, the Wiccan view of the divine is pretty flexible. One can believe in an actual GOd and Agoddess and the embodiment of that polarity, or one can view the Ultimate Unknowable Divine as the embodiment of that concept, as it encompasses *all*--both yin and yang. There are other ways to view deity within Wicca, as well.

So, it isn't fair to say "If you don't believe in God and Goddess, you aren't Wiccan." Ecstatic religion is poetry--it uses metaphores and images to express a point. Belief in GOd and GOddess is one way to envision the polarity of the divine--it's not the only ay to envision it. In this light, the concept of yin/yang is more important than the application. I accept God and Goddess as a poetic expression of something even greater--I don't believe in them as unique, separable entities. Some Wiccans may--and yet we are both Wiccan. Our theology is pretty flexible on that point--I just wnated to make that clear.