Many religions, whether they believe in the soul's existence in another world like Christianity, Islam and many pagan belief systems, or in reincarnation like many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, believe that one's status in the afterlife is a reward or punishment for their conduct during life.

Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hippolytus were among the greatest early Christian apologists who engaged in critical analyses of unorthodox theology, Greco-Roman pagan religions, and Gnostic groups.

The culture included pagan religions, Judaism and early Christian sects.

Considerable variation in the precise conceptions of these figures exists, as typically occurs in Neopaganism and indeed in pagan religions in general.

At the same time, some ethnic nationalist groups began to adopt pagan religions during the 20th century, leading to the rise of forms of Heathenry and Slavic neopaganism, which were centered primarily in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

A number of pagan religions purport the existence of a spirit or soul that inhabits the human body and which survives bodily destruction.

Most modern pagan religions celebrate the cycles and seasons of nature through a festival calendar that honours these changes.

Many pagans and pagan traditions attempt to incorporate elements of historical religions, cultures and mythologies into their beliefs and practices, often emphasizing the age of their sources.

Both " pagan " and " heathen " have historically been used as a pejorative by adherents of monotheistic religions ( such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam ) to indicate a disbeliever in their religion ; although in modern times it is not always used as a pejorative.

Christianity as it emerged out of Second Temple Judaism ( or Hellenistic Judaism ) stood in competition with other religions advocating " pagan monotheism ", including Neoplatonism, Mithraism, Gnosticism, Manichaeanism, and the cult of Dionysus.

Thus, Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc saw the pagan religions of Africa of his day as relicts that were in principle capable of shedding light on the historical Paganism of Classical Antiquity.

Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick in their A History of Pagan Europe ( 1995 ) classify " pagan religions " as characterized by the following traits:

Some modern Celtic pagan religions accept the practice of polygamy to varying degrees, though how widespread the practice is within these religions is unknown.

It is also a common belief of pagan religions such as Druidism, Spiritism, Theosophy, and Eckankar and is found in many tribal societies around the world, in places such as Siberia, West Africa, North America, and Australia.

Category: Converts to Christianity from pagan religions

Category: Converts to Christianity from pagan religions

In many pagan religions, specific rituals are conducted before or after a hunt ; the rituals done may vary according to the species hunted or the season the hunt is taking place.

Category: Converts to Christianity from pagan religions

Category: Converts to Christianity from pagan religions

Category: Converts to Christianity from pagan religions

Category: Converts to Christianity from pagan religions

Few ancient, pagan religions have actually considered lust to be a vice.

Historically traditional ( or pagan ) religions typically combine religious authority and political power.

These ended in disaster when Penda, the pagan king of Mercia, killed the newly Christian Edwin of Northumbria at the Battle of Hatfield Chase in about 632.

The last pagan Anglo-Saxon king, Penda of Mercia, died in 655.

The last pagan Jutish king, Arwald of the Isle of Wight was killed in 686.

The king was also encouraged to destroy all pagan shrines.

* The right to investigate and decide whether a king thus elected is worthy of the imperial dignity belongs to the pope, whose office it is to anoint, consecrate, and crown him ; otherwise it might happen that the pope would be obliged to anoint, consecrate, and Crown a king who was excommunicated, a heretic, or a pagan.

After Cadwallon ap Cadfn, the king of Gwynedd, in alliance with the pagan Penda of Mercia, killed Edwin of Deira in battle at Hatfield Chase in 633 ( or 632, depending on when the years used by Bede are considered to have begun ), Northumbria was split between its constituent kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira.

Widewuto ( also Viduutus, Vidvutus, Witowudi, Waidewut ) was a legendary king of the pagan Prussians who ruled along with his elder brother, the high priest Bruteno in the 6th century AD.

This was the first conversion to Christianity by a West Saxon king, but it was not accompanied by the immediate conversion of all the West Saxons: Cynegils ' successor ( and probably his son ), Cenwealh, who came to the throne in about 642, was a pagan at his accession.

Some of what is known about Penda comes through the hostile account of Bede, who disliked him both for being an enemy king to Bede's own Northumbria and for being a pagan.

There are also myths about the Asturian monarchy that are rooted in Jewish and Christian traditions rather than pagan ones: the Chronica ad Sebastianum tells of an extraordinary event that happened when king Alfonso I died.

Bede summarises Oswiu's reign in this way: Oswald being translated to the heavenly kingdom, his brother Oswy, a young man of about thirty years of age, succeeded him on the throne of his earthly kingdom, and held it twenty-eight years with much trouble, being harassed by the pagan king, Penda, and by the pagan nation of the Mercians, that had slain his brother, as also by his son Alfred Ealhfrith of Deira | Ealhfrith, and by his cousin-german Ethelwald Œthelwald of Deira, the son of his brother who reigned before him.

A monastery was founded at Streonshal in AD 657 by King Oswiu or Oswy of Northumbria, as an act of thanksgiving, after defeating Penda, the pagan king of Mercia.

Bede, describing Peada as " an excellent youth, and most worthy of the title and person of a king ", wrote that he sought to marry Alchflaed, the daughter of King Oswiu of Northumbria ; Oswiu, however, made this conditional upon Peada's baptism and conversion to Christianity, along with the Middle Angles ( Peada was, at this time, still a pagan, like his father ).

During this time he studied under Saint Egbert, who sent him and twelve companions to Christianize the pagan North Germanic tribes of Frisia, at the request of Pepin, Christian king of the Franks and nominal suzerain over that region.

In 716 the pagan Radbod, king of the Frisians, retook possession of Frisia, burning churches and killing many missionaries.

Brought before the local king, he refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods.

Both traditions represent her as an Anglo-Saxon originally of elite birth, perhaps a relative of King Ricberht of East Anglia, the last pagan king there.

He visited the pagan king Bridei, king of Fortriu, at his base in Inverness, winning the king's respect and Columba subsequently played a major role in the politics of that country.

Divided into five essays (" ma ' amarim ," Articles ), it takes the form of an imagined dialogue between the rabbi and a pagan, in this book the pagan was the then mythologized by Jews pagan king of the Khazars who was invited to instruct him in the tenets of the Jewish religion.