pagan
a person who has no religious beliefs
TRANSLATION
pagan = der Heide/die Heidin --- GOOGLE INDEX pagan: approximately 20,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Two groups of PAGANS chose Barry Island over Stonehenge to hold their midsummer sacred ritual.
(BBC News)
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Today, for the first time in history, a Bishop of Rome sets foot on English soil. This fair land, once a distant outpost of the PAGAN world, has become, through the preaching of the Gospel, a beloved and gifted portion of Christ's vineyard.
- Pope John Paul II
(BBC News)
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Today, for the first time in history, a Bishop of Rome sets foot on English soil. This fair land, once a distant outpost of the PAGAN world, has become, through the preaching of the Gospel, a beloved and gifted portion of Christ's vineyard.
- Pope John Paul II
Did you
know?
pagan
noun
- one who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion
- one who has no religion
adjective
- not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish
- professing no religion; heathen
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000)
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WORD ORIGIN
Pagan comes from the Late Latin paganus, which was Roman military jargon for a "civilian or an incompetent soldier." Christians then adopted the term for non-Christians in the sense of someone who was not a "soldier of Christ."
Today, pagans are often associated with the occult and witchcraft. However, this represents only one group that falls into the category of paganism. For instance, according to most dictionary definitions, the Greek and Roman Gods were pagans.
England was once a land of pagans. The native peoples, the Celts, were so-called polytheists, meaning they worshiped multiple gods. England also has its share of sites considered sacred by pagans, such as Stonehenge.
Lesser known, but just as interesting is the Cerne Abbas Giant, a giant naked figure carved into the chalk hillside of the same-named village in Dorset County. The 55-metre long figure is thought to be a fertility symbol from the Iron Age. In 2007 the Rude Man, as he is also called, enjoyed a bit of publicity when a giant outline of the cartoon character Homer Simpson was painted on the same hillside in order to promote a new Simpsons film.
Local pagans certainly were not happy. Ann Bryn-Evans, joint Wessex district manager for The Pagan Federation, said: "We were hoping for some dry weather but I think I have changed my mind. We'll be doing some rain magic to bring the rain and wash it away."
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SYNONYMS
agnostic, atheist, doubter, freethinker, heathen, heretic, iconoclast, idolater, idolist, infidel, pantheist, polytheist, scoffer, skeptic, unbeliever
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"The city museum has a large collection of pagan sculptures and artefacts that are really interesting."
noun
- one who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion
- one who has no religion
adjective
- not Christian, Muslim, or Jewish
- professing no religion; heathen
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Pagan comes from the Late Latin paganus, which was Roman military jargon for a "civilian or an incompetent soldier." Christians then adopted the term for non-Christians in the sense of someone who was not a "soldier of Christ."
Today, pagans are often associated with the occult and witchcraft. However, this represents only one group that falls into the category of paganism. For instance, according to most dictionary definitions, the Greek and Roman Gods were pagans.
England was once a land of pagans. The native peoples, the Celts, were so-called polytheists, meaning they worshiped multiple gods. England also has its share of sites considered sacred by pagans, such as Stonehenge.
Lesser known, but just as interesting is the Cerne Abbas Giant, a giant naked figure carved into the chalk hillside of the same-named village in Dorset County. The 55-metre long figure is thought to be a fertility symbol from the Iron Age. In 2007 the Rude Man, as he is also called, enjoyed a bit of publicity when a giant outline of the cartoon character Homer Simpson was painted on the same hillside in order to promote a new Simpsons film.
Local pagans certainly were not happy. Ann Bryn-Evans, joint Wessex district manager for The Pagan Federation, said: "We were hoping for some dry weather but I think I have changed my mind. We'll be doing some rain magic to bring the rain and wash it away."
---
SYNONYMS
agnostic, atheist, doubter, freethinker, heathen, heretic, iconoclast, idolater, idolist, infidel, pantheist, polytheist, scoffer, skeptic, unbeliever
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"The city museum has a large collection of pagan sculptures and artefacts that are really interesting."
