If you were asked the reason for your beliefs, what would you answer? I am not talking about what you believe, I am talking about why you believe.

If you were Christian or Muslim you could say that you want to follow the truth and that your religion must be true because hundreds of millions of people around the world follow this religion. When asked what else you base your beliefs upon, you may be able to answer “The Bible, Koran, Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, or the Tibertan holy books, etc,” or you may turn to the interpretation of scriptures as taught by religious leaders.

While such answers may seem to support a person’s beliefs, they raise a number of questions: Is the number of people who support a religion really a good barometer? Why accept one sacred book as a blueprint for one’s life, when there are many sacred writings, why is one sacred book more important than another? What about interpretation?

So why do you believe what you believe?

The more we understand why we believe one thing rather than another, the more we can strengthen the beliefs that are most important to us, question those that no longer work for us and adapt these if and when necessary, and gain greater tolerance for the beliefs of others.

The reason why so many people fail to understand one another when it comes to religion and spirituality is not because there is such a vast array of belief/spiritual systems, but actually because there are in fact basically only two different ways of conceptualising Divinity and transcendence.

For the most, in the western tradition, the Divine principle is one in which god created the world, so he and the world are not the same. There is an essential distinction between the creator and creation. Under this system the goal for humans is to determine how they may submit themselves to the power of god by having the right relationship with him. Who determines what that relationship should be? The institution of the church, temple, synagogue or mosque is for the most given the authority to determine what it is that god demands from his creation.

From the eastern perspective, however, things are often very different. In that worldview the Divine is not something that lies outside a person, but is part of the individual. Within each person there is a piece of god. Thus the goal in the religions that grew out of this cultural perspective are very different than the goals of western religions. These spiritual practices (for they are more practices than a set of dogma) are designed to allow the individual to identity with the transcendent, of which he or she is already a part.

The various deities referred to in these traditions represent the transcendent. In other words, these gods, rather than being an end in themselves, point the way toward the essence of eternal mysteries. One might think of them as paths through whom the light of transcendence shines.

Paganism tends to be an experiential religion or spirituality, concentrating more on the mysteries than on dogma, it can accommodate a wide spectrum of beliefs within it, from polytheism to duotheism to humanism. In fact, most Pagans would describe the things that they believe that they cannot know by experience as working hypotheses rather than beliefs, which implies that Pagans are prepared to change them if they are proven wrong.

So to most Pagans belief is not “a leap of faith” for not only do Pagans attempt to remain rational, but most are also in fact holistic to varying degrees.
The general principle of holism was concisely summarised by Aristotle in the Metaphysics: “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

The other major implication of an holistic approach is that of balance. (W)holistic Pagans hold opposites as equal and complementary forces in perfect balance. Many Pagans also have a concept of inclusionality where boundaries are perceived as places of connection and interaction. Where boundaries are the meeting places of inner, outer-microcosm and macrocosm, darkness and light, God and Goddess, most Pagans have thus a “magickal” world-view.

In most Pagan paradigms, belief develops from a mixture of received ideas and experience. We approach new knowledge with a healthy mixture of scepticism and open-mindedness - not dismissing it automatically, but not accepting it without question either. Paganism are living and evolving worldviews, incorporating many components of past beliefs and current insights to grow in new directions.

Also, at first glance, one would assume that Pagans practice polytheism, end of story. This is not necessarily the case. It is far more complicated than that. As already stated, the heterogeneous nature of Paganism allows for all spiritual attitudes towards Divinity. Add to this the extensive list of philosophical outlooks and the permutations are endless.

In Paganism, traditions are often centered on a particular culture and/or folkloric practice. The majority of the Pagan traditions focus on those ancient cultures in Europe and Middle East that were displaced by the Abrahamic religions. However, traditions based on other indigenous cultures such as Eastern, Native America and African are also popular. Despite the differing beliefs and practices among the traditions, there are some common identifiable aspects to Paganism.

• Individualism: Non-authoritarian - The is no centraliaed organization that governs Paganism. Emphasis is placed on the return to the simpler direct relationship between the individual and their divine. A practice long lost in many hierarchical institutionalised religions. What structuralisation that does exist in Paganism is purely social.
• Non-dogmatic - There is no sacred book, tenet or doctrine. Within each tradition, there may exist a writ of their beliefs and tenets but this is not a universal dogma.
• Humanism - Focus is on reconnecting with life; living in the here and now, no matter what the belief structure.
• Spiritual anarchism - There is no reward or punishment just consequences. The individual is accountable for his/her actions. Unlike mainstream religions, there is no atonement or salvation needed for redemption for there is no sin. This is not to say there is no socially accepted concept of “right” and “wrong”.
• Nature - Nature plays an important role albeit in varying degrees from sacred worship to harmonious interaction.
• Energy - A concept of an unseen “energy” is prevalent throughout Paganism. However, its utilisation varies among groups. This energy is primarily used for empowerment, self-realiaation and magic. Additionally, it may be viewed holistically as a singular Divine entity.

But once again this merely tells us what Paganism may be, not why we believe.

So why do you believe what you believe?

- I think that as Pagans it is important that we not think or dwell on the small differences that divide us, think rather of the wonderful similarities that unite us.

(Sources: http://www.extreme-results.net; Wikipedia; www.wiccacourse.co.uk; www.agnosticwitch; www.darc.org)