Actually, there is no official consensus on what the word �pagan�
means. To some it implies any religion outside the confines of the Judeo-Christian
beliefs. Other define it as any duo or polytheistic religion. However, there is
some general agreement about the origins of the word. The term pagan comes from
the Latin word �paganus.� Most modern sources interpret the word to
have meant the equivalent of �country bumpkin� or �hick.�
Christians used the term to make fun of the country folk who held onto the old
traditions and refused to accept Christianity. They considered paganism to be
backwards and outdated. The implication was that pagans were outsiders and not
intelligent.

By the end of the third century, the term pagan evolved to include all of the
non-Christians. Then it became a word that meant evil and associated with the
worship or Satan. This is the most common understanding of the term today by
those in the Christian faith.

Of course, to those of us who know the truth pagans and paganism means something
entirely different. This is called a �skunk word� because it has
varied meanings depending on whom you are talking to. For example, the words
heaven and hell means different things to different people. This is not technically
a bad thing, but its not a good thing either. When I refer to myself as Pagan,
depending on what people believe the word to mean I can be anything from a friend
to a mortal enemy. Instead of discovering the truth about the word Pagan, and
what Pagans are some people choose instead to use it as a nasty label.

Many Wiccans, Neopagans and others in the alternative religious movement refer
to themselves as Pagans. I freely use the term to describe all of those involved
in nature worship, whether they are Wiccans, traditional witches, neopagans,
Goddess worshippers or other non-mainstream religious folk.