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Eclectic paganism contrasts with reconstructionist paganism: whereas reconstructionists strive for authenticity to historical religious traditions of specific groups or time periods, the eclectic approach borrows from several different cultures, philosophies, and time periods. [6] [7] Some see benefits and drawbacks to the eclectic pagan label.
Universal Eclectic Wicca (UEW) is one of a number of distinctly American Wiccan traditions which developed following the introduction of Gardnerian and Alexandrian Wicca to the United States in the early 1960s. Its corporate body is the Church of Universal Eclectic Wicca (CUEW) which is incorporated and based in Great Falls, Virginia.
Wicca (English: / ˈ w ɪ k ə /), also known as "The Craft", [1] is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion.Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant.
While Wicca is identified as an eclectic form of paganism, [45] Strmiska also notes that some Wiccans have moved in a more reconstructionist direction by focusing on a particular ethnic and cultural link, thus developing such variants as Norse Wicca and Celtic Wicca. [42]
Modern pagan practices can be characterised as striving for long-term continuity, which Pearson contrasts with the focus on reaching specific results that exists in many New Age practices. [32] Among modern pagans, ceremonies are usually central to the religious identity, and seasonal holidays and life passages are ritualised and celebrated in ...
The history of Wicca documents the rise of the Neopagan religion of Wicca and related witchcraft-based Neopagan religions. [a] Wicca originated in the early 20th century, when it developed amongst secretive covens in England who were basing their religious beliefs and practices upon what they read of the historical witch-cult in the works of such writers as Margaret Murray.
The Triumph of Christianity over Paganism, a painting by Gustave Doré (1899). Paganism is commonly used to refer to various religions that existed during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, such as the Greco-Roman religions of the Roman Empire, including the Roman imperial cult, the various mystery religions, religious philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and more localized ethnic ...
Christo-Paganism is a set of beliefs held by some neopagans that encompasses Christian teachings. Christo-Pagans may identify as witches, [1] [2] druids, [3] [4] or animists. [5] Most, but not all, worship the Christian God. [1] Some Christo-Pagans may consider the Virgin Mary to be a goddess, or a form of the Goddess.