page_title: Modern Paganism
hierarchical_section_title: Modern Paganism
caption_attribution_description: English: Forn Sed: Sveriges Asatrosamfund (The Swedish Asatru Society) celebrating Autumn Blót 2009. The picture is taken at an Autumn Blót held by Sveriges Asatrosamfund on 17th October 2009 at Björkö (i.e. Birch Island) in the Gothenburg archipelago, Västra Götaland, Sweden. On the bench that serves as altar there are (from left to right) two bottles of mead (honey-wine), a ceremonial drinking horn, sweets and onions as offerings, a big wooden cult image depicting the Norse fertility god Frey (Freyr), an Oathring is hanging upon Frey's phallos, two smaller cult images depicting Frejya and Thor (Þórr, painted red), a bowl, and some more onions. At the ground in front of the Frey image there is painting depicting the Norse sun goddess Sól or Sunna. In the foreground a fire is burning. In the background is a woodshed. Svenska: Forn Sed: Sveriges Asatrosamfund firar höstblot 2009. Bilden är tagen vid Sveriges Asatrosamfunds höstblot 2009-10-17 i samband med samfundets höstmöte och extra årsting på Björkö i Göteborgs norra skärgård, Västra Götaland, Sverige. På just detta årsting togs första steget till samfundets namnbyte till Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige. På den bänk som utgör altaret ses från vänster två flaskor mjöd, ett dryckeshorn, offergåvor i form av godis och lök, en stor gudabild i trä föreställande den nordiska fruktbarhetsguden Frö (Frej), på Frös fallos hänger en edsring, två mindre gudabilder i trä föreställande Fröja (Freja) och Tor (den senare rödmålad), en skål, samt ytterligare offrade lökar. På marken framför Fröstöttan står en målad bild föreställande solgudinnan Sol eller Sunna. I förgrunden brinner en eld. I bakgrunden syns ett vedförråd.
context_page_description: Modern Paganism, also known as Contemporary Paganism and Neopaganism, is a collective term for new religious movements influenced by or derived from the various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern peoples. Although they share similarities, contemporary Pagan religious movements are diverse, and do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. Most academics who study the phenomenon treat it as a movement that is divided into different religions; others characterize it as a single religion of which different Pagan faiths are denominations.
  Adherents rely on pre-Christian, folkloric, and ethnographic sources to a variety of degrees; many follow a spirituality that they accept as entirely modern, while others claim prehistoric beliefs, or else attempt to revive indigenous, ethnic religions as accurately as possible. Academic research has placed the Pagan movement along a spectrum, with eclecticism on one end and polytheistic reconstructionism on the other. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features of Pagan theology.
context_section_description: Modern Paganism, also known as Contemporary Paganism and Neopaganism, is a collective term for new religious movements influenced by or derived from the various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern peoples. Although they share similarities, contemporary Pagan religious movements are diverse, and do not share a single set of beliefs, practices, or texts. Most academics who study the phenomenon treat it as a movement that is divided into different religions; others characterize it as a single religion of which different Pagan faiths are denominations.
  Adherents rely on pre-Christian, folkloric, and ethnographic sources to a variety of degrees; many follow a spirituality that they accept as entirely modern, while others claim prehistoric beliefs, or else attempt to revive indigenous, ethnic religions as accurately as possible. Academic research has placed the Pagan movement along a spectrum, with eclecticism on one end and polytheistic reconstructionism on the other. Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features of Pagan theology.
  Contemporary Paganism has sometimes been associated with the New Age movement, with scholars highlighting both their similarities and differences. The academic field of Pagan studies began to coalesce in the 1990s, emerging from disparate scholarship in the preceding two decades.
caption: Heathen altar for Haustblot in Björkö, Sweden; the larger wooden idol represents the god Frey.
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