RE: Opinions on paganism?
August 17, 2023 at 3:33 pm
(This post was last modified: August 17, 2023 at 3:34 pm by A. Secular Human.)
(August 17, 2023 at 5:51 am)FrustratedFool Wrote: Some pagans are atheists, but most believe in divine beings.
Some pagans are physicalists/materialists but most believe in the supernatural.
I think belief in either deities or the supernatural is most likely erroneous, and that is an issue for me. I'd be more sympathetic towards agnostic or atheistic paganism.
Other than that, the term 'paganism' is very broad and can encompass a huge range of beliefs/ religions which can vary enormously in detail. Some branches have ethical issues which bother me, like the neo-nazi connections of certain kinds of wodenism, or those forms that have animal sacrifice or whatever.
Agnosticism and atheism are not an either-or proposition.
Gnosticism is about knowledge. Atheism is about belief. They are not on a spectrum (together) about god belief.
Think of "agnostic" as a adjective to describe the theistic position. For example, I'm an agnostic atheist...I have no knowledge of gods, and I lack belief in them.
I'm also agnostic about brain surgery...I have no knowledge about it, either.
YMMV.
Disappointing theists since 1968!