Neo-Paganism is an umbrella term that means “New Paganism” and usually applies to newly formed religious groups (meaning in the 20th century onward) that base their religious systems on ancient forms of religion, usually polytheistic in nature, and more often than not, “earth based”.
Hellenismos is technically a neo pagan-religion, as it is a modern revival or reconstruction of an ancient religious system. It is both polytheistic and essentially “earth based” though unlike many other neo-pagan religions, the earth based factors are secondary to the orthopraxic and theological aspects of the religion. It is undoubtedly true, however, that a great many aspects of Hellenic Religion are based on the observance of the miracle of nature and it’s ever changing complexity.
I will be honest with you. I have personal issues with neo-paganism. To me it seems like neo-pagan religions are mired in superstition and a return to some disturbingly superstitious behaviors (an occurrence on a local list in which one person accused another of stealing a bit of her soul is one example) not to mention the overwhelming need of many neo-pagans to insist on the idea that Magic and witchcraft are at the core of all neo-paganism.
I find these things disturbing because I am really of the belief that we should be beyond such superstition, and while Hellenismos does leave room for people to believe as they wish with regard to such things, the truth is that the Mythos and Religion itself are essentially anti-superstition.
Hekate, for example, is often mistaken as a “Goddess of Witchcraft” in neo-pagan circles, but the truth, if one looks at the mythos, is that she is a “Protector against Witchcraft.” And, while this would imply the reality of witchcraft itself, I would postulate that it may also imply that one should give up on the practice of witchcraft as a way to preserve oneself from superstition. This is my opinion, of course.
Another aspect of neo-paganism that bothers me is rampant eclecticism.
Eclecticism is the act of building a personal religious system based on the detritus of other systems. The reason I find this disturbing is not that one cannot learn or even incorporate aspects of other religions into one’s life through influence, but that the eclectic movement almost seems to me more like a collection than a religious path. It is like religious ADD. But this is, again, just my opinion.
Perhaps the worse thing about eclecticism is the lack of context. Religions, their myths, their practices and theological concepts exist in a context. The Mythic representation of Athena does not exist in a vacuum, she exits in the context of the Olympian Gods, and to remove her from that context and put her into another with Thor, Jove, and Baal is to miss the point.
The context of a religion is almost if not even more important than the mythological characters.
All the negatives aside, however, neo-pagans are a very welcoming and supportive group of people in my experience, and even though I have issues with much of the neo-pagan movement, it is these very things that give the movement itself strength. The fact that we are all different and yet willing to accept each other gives us a place to call home, even if it is sometimes a home of way too many rooms that is easy to get lost in.
Among the better known neo-pagan religions are Wicca, Asatru, Odinism, Druidism, Khmeticism, Hellenism, and Celtic Traditional Religion. But all over Europe, the traditional religions of many nations, from Ireland to Ukraine, from Portugal to Russia, are making a come back, and in many parts of the world, as the yoke of Christianity is pushed off by the idea of individualism, living religions are making strong come backs in their native lands as people realize they no longer have to abide by the rules of assimilationist and dictatorial religions.
But neo-paganism, being new religions, are part of a greater tapestry, that of the traditional religions of the world, often called Pagan Religions by Christians, who use the word in a derogatory fashion. Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, the traditional religions of the Phillipines, Africa, Central and South America, and China are all example of traditional Pagan religions that have existed since ancient times and into prehistory. It is from the histories of these religions that we must now learn how to grow and assimilate into a living system and culture rather than exist simply as a sub-culture in a Christian World.