Pagan Federation East Midlands

EAST MIDLANDS PAGAN FEDERATION - serving Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire

Frequently Asked Questions About Paganism

What Is Paganism?
Paganism is most generally a belief that all things have a spiritual part of their character through which they are connected and can sometimes communicate. Paganism is the underlying spiritual belief of a vast number of religions from all cultures and all periods of history which often view a divine creative force as a part of everything in nature (including humans!). Most modern pagans see the celebration of the natural world and its changing seasons as representative of the changing aspects of the divine and attune themselves intimately to the natural world and its cycles for what they see as the spiritual benefit and advancement of all.

Isn't it Devil Worship? Or Evil?
Pagans do not acknowledge the 'devil' of other religions and therefore certainly don't worship him/it either in person or in principle. Pagans view evil as an imbalance in nature which needs to be corrected, not as an independent force or entity in itself. Pagan ethics forbid all acts that do harm to anyone.

So why do I often hear the word "witchcraft" being associated with Paganism?
Witchcraft is a specific religion under the broader heading of paganism. Witchcraft is the revival (or maybe the continuaton) of Nothern European (particularly British) folk pagan traditions. One of our members is quoted as saying "Witchcraft has had a bad press for about 2000 years!"

What Is The Pagan Federation?
The Pagan Federation is an umbrella organisation with a membership drawn from a wide diversity of different pagan paths. It has been in continuous existence since 1971 when it was formed primarily as a campaigning orgainsation to actively oppose ingorance, intolerance and negativity towards paganism in society. It has published a journal since 1969 which has a quarterly readership of over 10,000 and is staffed principally by unpaid voluteers.

More Info About the national Pagan Federation