Pagan or heathen?

[Rada]

Hi,everyone
I AM NOT A NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND IF THERE IS ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PAGAN AND HEATHEN.
Is there any and if yes what is it?
Blessings

[Old Witch]

Dictionary. com says that heathen and pagan can be synonymous, but I don't think they are...........I'm a pagan, not a heathen but thats just my opinion............

[Rada]

thanks ,Old Witch
but what does heathen than mean for you?How does that differ ?:)

[st0rm]

to me heathen is a more degrading word then pagan... hmmm... heathen is often used in a more degrading tone then pagan...

[Flar's Freyja]

Originally posted by Old Witch
Dictionary. com says that heathen and pagan can be synonymous, but I don't think they are...........I'm a pagan, not a heathen but thats just my opinion............

I agree, I don't think they are synonymous at all. I don't agree with the definition that heathens are "godless people."

[Phoenix Blue]

"Heathen" is typically used within Asatruar and other Reconstructionist communities to distinguish the group from Pagan--or neo-Pagan--individuals.

[Old Witch]

I think of heathens as being uneducated, uncouth, barbaric even, but not necessarily godless..........I tend to think of heathen as an "old" word..........


edited to say to Phoenix _Blue........ooops ....no offense meant...don't know diddly about that path.........

[Flar's Freyja]

Originally posted by Old Witch
I think of heathens as being uneducated, uncouth, barbaric even, but not necessarily godless..........I tend to think of heathen as an "old" word..........


edited to say to Phoenix Blue........ooops ....no offense meant...don't know diddly about that path.........

I understand what PB said and am familiar with that definition, but it was still an issue for me when I helped start the pagan community here due to the negative connotations of the word. The person who hadn't gotten anywhere with the group was promoting it as "pagans and heathens." When I persuaded her to drop "heathen," we got 20 members in one month *shrugs*

[Kaylara]

Originally posted by Rada
Hi,everyone
I AM NOT A NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND IF THERE IS ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PAGAN AND HEATHEN.
Is there any and if yes what is it?
Blessings

ìåí³ øêîäà, ïðîáà÷òå ìåí³ ÿêùî öåé, öå çâó÷àòè äèâíèé.

(I am using a translator)

[MammaStar]

Well, this is silly, but I consider myself Pagan, though I've been called Heathen recently by a few close-minded folk. ;)

[Haedis]

At first I wondered why Asatruars and others would use a term with such negativity attached to it, too, but then I reminded myself that "witch" is still used primarily in a derogatory way. I guess theres no point in scrapping a term just due to its modern connotations but when I see people who've lived in the city their whole lives calling themselves "heathens" or even "pagans" it still makes me wonder a little.

Is that term used to describe only that follow a religion from Germany or the Netherlands or is it just a term with somewhat the same original meaning as "pagan" but one that distinguishes them from the rest of the "neo-pagan tree"?

[Kaylara]

Oh excrement...

That didn't work too well. MOL!!!!!!!!! Can we get some kind of translator here, or at least the ability to use different alphabets?

[Flar's Freyja]

:rotfl:

I'm wondering if someone shouldn't write Webster's and try to get the definition changed to be a bit more accurate:huh:

[Witchy Cowgirl]

My kids are heathens!:rotfl:

[Old Witch]

That's the perfect definition!! My kids were heathens too!!! They grew out of it!!!!!:D

[WynterWynd]

Mine too! I hope they will grow out of it.....but they are only 9 and 12 :) I thought that heathen ment a person who lives in the country or on the heaths in the woods. I know what my grandma ment when she called me a little heathen when I was a kid........and it sure wasn't that!! ;)

[Phoenix Blue]

Consider that Pagan means "country dweller," as well. That is its literal meaning, at least in the case of the Latin root paganus. :) And most folks who use the word pagan outside our groups don't use it as a term of respect or endearment. . .

So it is with Heathens, who have sought to distance themselves from most other Pagan groups due to philosophical differences: in particular what they see as the popularization of Norse and Celtic gods and goddesses at the expense of their respective traditions and histories.

[Flar's Freyja]

I think Flar and I will just hang out and be heathens today :devil:

[Old Witch]

Uh oh!!;)

[Flar's Freyja]

Well....he went to school and came home and went to sleep.

But he's up now :devil: