Church Times: Paganism is not a distant or very different religion

Christians and Pagans should reconsider the similarities of their beliefs, and forge more understanding, says Penelope Fleming-Fido
(Penelope Fleming-Fido is a prac­tising Pagan, and runs an online coven)

In a world where differences between religious groups are often stressed, too few of us realise how many similarities there are between Christian beliefs and Paganism. Though many of us are aware of the pagan roots of some Christian tradi­tions, such as the Yule log and holly, there are deeper rooted similarities than these Christmas trimmings. History has too many examples of conflicts over real or imagined reli­gious differences; so a greater under­standing of each other’s religion might bring a heightened sympathy between us.

‘The threefold Goddess — Maiden, Mother, and Crone — has parallels with the Trinity’

The Neo-Pagan religions have many names, including Paganism, Asatru, Wicca, Witchcraft, and Druid­ism. While Paganism stresses a bond with nature and an acknow­ledgement of the natural cycle of life in the world, there is no one tenet of faith that all followers acknowledge as central to their religion. the rest image by dannysullivan

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For some reason, Church Times recently gave column space to a pagan...