Paganism is a broad group of religions including modern Pagan religions, and magical and polytheistic religions. Paganism has also been understood by some to include any non-Abrahamic religions, but this is generally seen as insulting by adherents of those religions. It is often taken to exclude monotheism, and to express a worldview that is pantheistic, polytheistic, or animistic, however there are some monotheistic Pagans.[1] Once monotheistic religions such as Christianity and Islam started to become more prominent (in processes known as Christianization and Islamization), names to encompass polytheistic worshipers started to develop; some of these include Hellene, Pagan, and Heathen, at times these names were used as slurs.
Modern knowledge of old Pagan religions comes from several sources, including: anthropological field research records, the evidence of archaeological artifacts, and the historical accounts of ancient writers regarding cultures known to the classical world. Before the rise of monotheistic religions, most people practiced some type of polytheism. Many of these religions started to die out and eventually became extinct. In some cases, elements of polytheistic belief systems continued into folklore. Paganism would later be studied during the Renaissance and Romantic era. Forms of these religions, influenced by various historical Pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe, exist today and are known as contemporary or modern Paganism, also referred to as Neopaganism.[2][3]