Editing Modern paganism (section)

==Varieties==
===Eclectic and reconstructive===

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote="We might say that Reconstructionist Pagans romanticize the past, while eclectic pagans idealize the future. In the first case, there is a deeply felt need to connect with the past as a source of spiritual strength and wisdom; in the second case, there is the idealistic hope that a spirituality of nature can be gleaned from ancient sources and shared with all humanity."|source=— Religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=22}} }}

Modern pagan attitudes differ regarding the source material surrounding pre-Christian belief systems.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=18}} Strmiska notes that pagan groups can be "divided along a continuum: at one end are those that aim to reconstruct the ancient religious traditions of a particular ethnic group or a linguistic or geographic area to the highest degree possible; at the other end are those that freely blend traditions of different areas, peoples, and time periods."{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=19}} Strmiska argues that these two poles could be termed ''reconstructionism'' and ''eclecticism'', respectively.{{sfnm|1a1=Strmiska|1y=2005|1p=19|2a1=Doyle White|2y=2016|2p=6}} Reconstructionists do not altogether reject innovation in their interpretation and adaptation of the source material, however they do believe that the source material conveys greater authenticity and thus should be emphasized.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=19}} They often follow scholarly debates about the nature of such pre-Christian religions, and some reconstructionists are themselves scholars.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=19}} [[Eclectic pagans]], conversely, seek general inspiration from the pre-Christian past, and do not attempt to recreate past rites or traditions with specific attention to detail.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|pp=19–20}}

On the reconstructionist side can be placed those movements which often favour the designation "Native Faith", including [[Romuva (religion)|Romuva]], [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Heathenry]], [[Reconstructionist Roman religion|Roman Traditionalism]] and [[Hellenismos|Hellenism]].{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=7}} On the eclectic side has been placed [[Wicca]], [[Thelema]], [[Adonism]], [[Druidry]], the [[Goddess Movement]], [[Discordianism]] and the [[Radical Faeries]].{{sfn|Doyle White|2016|p=7}}
Strmiska also suggests that this division could be seen as being based on "discourses of identity", with reconstructionists emphasizing a deep-rooted sense of place and people, and eclectics embracing a universality and openness toward humanity and the Earth.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|pp=21–22}}

Strmiska nevertheless notes that this reconstructionist-eclectic division is "neither as absolute nor as straightforward as it might appear".{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=21}} He cites the example of [[Dievturība]], a form of reconstructionist paganism that seeks to revive the pre-Christian religion of the Latvian people, by noting that it exhibits eclectic tendencies by adopting a monotheistic focus and ceremonial structure from [[Lutheranism]].{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=21}} Similarly, while examining neo-shamanism among the [[Sami people]] of Northern Scandinavia, Siv Ellen Kraft highlights that despite the religion being reconstructionist in intent, it is highly eclectic in the manner in which it has adopted elements from [[shamanism|shamanic]] traditions in other parts of the world.{{sfn|Kraft|2015|p=28}}
In discussing Asatro – a form of Heathenry based in Denmark – Matthew Amster notes that it did not fit clearly within such a framework, because while seeking a reconstructionist form of historical accuracy, Asatro strongly eschewed the emphasis on ethnicity that is common to other reconstructionist groups.{{sfn|Amster|2015|pp=44, 59}} While Wicca is identified as an eclectic form of paganism,{{sfnm|1a1=Strmiska|1y=2005|1p=21|2a1=Doyle White|2y=2016|2p=7}} 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]].{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=21}} Concern has also been expressed regarding the utility of the term "reconstructionism" when dealing with paganisms in Central and Eastern Europe, because in many of the languages of these regions, equivalents of the term "reconstructionism" – such as the Czech {{Lang|cs|Historická rekonstrukce}} and Lithuanian {{Lang|lt|Istorinė rekonstrukcija}} – are already used to define the secular hobby of [[historical re-enactment]].{{sfn|Simpson|Filip|2013|p=39}}

=== Ecologic and secular ===
{{See also|Gaia hypothesis|Naturalistic pantheism|Secular paganism}}
The spectrum of modern paganism includes a range of [[ecologic]] and explicitly [[Ecocentrism|ecocentric]] practices, which may overlap with [[Naturalistic pantheism|scientific pantheism]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Steinhart|first=Eric|date=2016|title=Eupraxia as a Religion of Nature|jstor=10.5406/amerjtheophil.37.3.0228|journal=American Journal of Theology & Philosophy|volume=37|issue=3|pages=228–247|doi=10.5406/amerjtheophil.37.3.0228|s2cid=171320981|url=https://philpapers.org/rec/STEEAA-7|access-date=8 April 2023|archive-date=14 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414235106/https://philpapers.org/rec/STEEAA-7|url-status=live}}</ref> Pagans may distinguish their beliefs and practices as a form of [[religious naturalism]] or [[Naturalism (philosophy)|naturalist philosophy]],<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198722250.001.0001/acprof-9780198722250-chapter-16|last=Steinhart|first=Eric|pages=274–294|language=en|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198722250.003.0016|isbn=9780191789090|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=January 2016|title=Alternative Concepts of God|chapter=On Religious Naturalism|access-date=1 June 2017|archive-date=22 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222202043/https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198722250.001.0001/acprof-9780198722250-chapter-16|url-status=live}}</ref> with some engaged as [[Secular paganism|humanistic or atheopagans]].

===Ethnic and regional===
[[File:Pagan religions symbols - 4 rows.png|thumb|Collection of various symbols used for or by modern pagan religions or groups.

The symbols are identified by the uploader as (from left to right):

1st Row
[[Slavic Rodnovery]] ("Slavic Cross")
[[Celtic Neopaganism]] (or general triskele / triple spiral)
[[Germanic Heathenism]] ("Thor's Hammer")
[[Dievturi|Latvian Dievturi]] ("Cross of crosses or Cross of Māra")
2nd Row
[[Hellenism (modern religion)|Hellenism]]
[[Armenian Hetanism]] ("Arevakhach")
[[Italo-Roman Neopaganism]]
[[Kemetism]] ("ankh", key of life, handled cross)
3rd Row
[[Wicca]] (pentagram or pentacle)
[[Finnish Neopaganism]] ("Tursaansydän")
[[Hungarian Neopaganism]] (double cross or "világfa", world tree)
[[Romuva (religion)|Lithuanian Romuva]] (sun symbol composed of [[grass snakes]])
4th Row
[[Estonian Neopaganism]] ("Jumiõis", cornflower)
[[Circassian Habzism]] ("hammer cross")
[[Semitic Neopaganism]] ("hamsa")
[[Goddess movement]] and Wicca (raised-arms female figure)]]

For some pagan groups, [[ethnicity]] is central to their religion, and some restrict membership to a single ethnic group.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=17}} Some critics have described this approach as a form of racism.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=17}} Other pagan groups allow people of any ethnicity, on the view that the gods and goddesses of a particular region can call anyone to their form of worship.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|pp=17–18}} Some such groups feel a particular affinity for the pre-Christian belief systems of a particular region with which they have no ethnic link because they see themselves as [[reincarnation]]s of people from that society.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=18}} There is greater focus on ethnicity within the pagan movements in continental Europe than within the pagan movements in North America and the British Isles.{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|pp=16–17}} Such ethnic paganisms have variously been seen as responses to concerns about foreign ideologies, [[globalization]], [[cosmopolitanism]], and anxieties about cultural erosion.{{sfn|Rountree|2015|p=5}}{{sfn|Strmiska|2005|p=47}}

Although they acknowledged that it was "a highly simplified model", Aitamurto and Simpson wrote that there was "some truth" to the claim that [[Left-wing politics|leftist]]-oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in North America and the British Isles while [[Right-wing politics|rightist]]-oriented forms of paganism were prevalent in Central and Eastern Europe.{{sfn|Aitamurto|Simpson|2013|p=2}} They noted that in these latter regions, pagan groups placed an emphasis on "the centrality of the nation, the ethnic group, or the tribe".{{sfn|Aitamurto|Simpson|2013|p=3}} Rountree wrote that it was wrong to assume that "expressions of Paganism can be categorized straight-forwardly according to region", but acknowledged that some regional trends were visible, such as the impact of [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] on paganism in Southern Europe.{{sfn|Rountree|2015|p=10}}