Ghosts and Pagan beliefs?

[rocala]

I came across this quote on another website mentioned in this forum, Humanistic Paganism "Pantheists dont believe in ghosts or spirits. This goes against any
Druidic or witch belief".

Anybody care to comment?

 

[von bek]

Sounds like an over-generalization to me.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

That sounds like total nonsense.

 

[SabahTheLoner]

I think that's not accurate. Pantheism is the belief that everything is a god (by whatever name you call it). Many Pagans are animists, which is a belief in spirits being within everything. They can go hand-in-hand since the concepts are both similar and "positive" views, but one is purely a spiritual view while the other describes a god, conscious or not.

In fact I'm pretty sure many Pagans (and Druids) believe in spirits of some sort. Many Pagan rituals were made originally to honor spirits, or literal spiritual gods. Not all Pagans believe in spirits (because Paganism can also be treated as a philosophy without accounting for the spiritual) but many traditions do recognize spirits. In addition, many traditions honor an all-encompassing deity or concept as well as spirits.

So I disagree with the entire quote.

 

[Quintessence]

Considering context is paramount. With respect to the context you took the notion from - a website on Humanistic Paganism - they are correct. Pagans (Druids, Witches, whatever) who are Humanistic Pagans tend to embrace substance materialism and reject any and all otherworldly/magical/paranormal stuff. One can argue that Humanistic Paganism should not be called "Paganism", but that is a different conversation (and one that probably needs to have its home in Same Faith Debates).

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

But to say that it goes against any Druid or witch belief is wrong.