Paganism is a term that covers a great number of spiritual and religious beliefs, and someone who follows one of these beliefs is known as a Pagan.
Some of those in ancient times, who are called Pagans today, believed there was not just one god but a number of gods and goddesses. The stories from Greek mythology are famous examples from a pagan religion. Pagans usually focus on spirituality and nature , rather than on doctrines and dogma . Not all pagans are polytheists (belief in more than one god). Some of them are monotheists (belief in only one god).
The word pagan (with a lowercase p ) is often used to describe anyone who holds religious beliefs that differ from the main world religions. A similar term is heathen .
Nowadays, Pagan (with an uppercase P ) often refers to people who follow Neo-Pagan religions that honour the Earth. The best known Neo-Pagan religion is Wicca . Another well-known neo-pagan faith is Druidism , but there are many other Neo-Pagan religions with different beliefs. [ source? ]
Enough has survived of the ancient religions of cultures from pre-modern Africa , South America , New Guinea and Japan to give us quite a clear picture. Since African slaves were taken to both South America and the United States , it is no surprise that their beliefs and practices still survive. Not, of course, as the main religion, but they do survive. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
In a similar way, but much less well documented, are the ancient religions of other groups such as the Ainu in Japan, the tribes in New Guinea , the many tribes in Amazonia , and the fractured remnants of traditional religions in African countries. [ 3 ]
All these groups have one thing in common: they are not part of farming revolution which happened in the Middle East , and which spread quickly to Eurasia . The religions which started there are called the religions of the book because their original beliefs were written down. Of course, writing was one of the original inventions of a settled people, one able to invest time and energy into activities which would be far more difficult for more traditional peoples. [ source? ]