If you’ve searched the term “Christo-paganism” and come up with conflicting or thin answers, you’re not alone. The word is relatively new in religious vocabulary. The practice it describes, however, is much older than the label, going back, in some ways, to the earliest centuries of the church.
This piece walks through what Christo-paganism actually is, where it came from, what people who identify with it actually do, and what it isn’t.
The Word Itself
“Christo-paganism” combines two terms with long histories. Christo comes from the Greek Christos, meaning “anointed one”, the title given to Jesus by his followers. Pagan comes from the Latin paganus, meaning “rural person” or “country-dweller.” Originally a geographical term, it came to mean someone whose spirituality was rooted in the local, the natural, the pre-urban.
So the literal meaning of “Christo-paganism” is something like: a spirituality of the anointed one held alongside the spirituality of the people of the land. That phrasing captures what the movement actually is.
A Brief History
The conscious “Christo-pagan” movement is a contemporary phenomenon, mostly emerging in the last twenty to thirty years. But the practice it represents has deep roots:
- Celtic Christianity in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales preserved earth-honoring practice well into the medieval period, pilgrimages to holy wells, blessing of crops, recognition of the sacred in trees, stones, and water.
- The Christian mystics, Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Saint Francis of Assisi, wrote about creation as itself a revelation of God.
- Folk Christianity across Europe and the Americas retained pagan ritual elements long after official suppression: candle magic, herbal blessings, seasonal observances, ancestor honoring.
The contemporary Christo-pagan movement gathers these threads consciously, naming what was already happening in many lives.
What Christo-Pagans Actually Do
Practice varies by community and individual, but most Christo-pagans share these features:
- Two calendars together. Observation of both the Christian liturgical year (Advent, Lent, Easter, Pentecost) and the Wheel of the Year (Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, Mabon).
- Prayer in Christ’s name. The Lord’s Prayer, contemplative prayer, intercessory prayer, central practices, not abandoned.
- Earth-honoring ritual. Working with herbs, candles, moon phases, seasonal cycles; tending to land and creatures as spiritual practice.
- Reverence for the Christian mystics alongside reverence for earth-based wisdom traditions.
- Community gathering. Not a solitary tradition, though solitary practice is common, the heart of Christo-paganism is shared worship.
What Christo-Pagans Believe
There is no single creed, but most Christo-pagans hold:
- The teachings of Christ are central, especially the Sermon on the Mount, the love commandments, the parables, the radical hospitality.
- The earth is sacred, not as metaphor but as fact. The natural world is a continuing revelation of the sacred.
- The divine is immanent, present in and through creation, not separate from it.
- Other paths are valid, Christo-paganism is generally pluralistic. Christ is central to our practice; not the only path to truth.
- Doctrine is not required, wrestling with mystery is welcomed; doubts and questions are part of the faith.
What Christo-Paganism Is Not
A few common confusions worth clearing up:
Christo-paganism is not Wicca with a cross. Wicca is a specific religious tradition founded by Gerald Gardner. Christo-paganism is a different stream entirely. (See our full comparison.)
It is not New Age. Christo-paganism takes scripture, theological tradition, and historical practice seriously. The New Age movement is more eclectic and consumerist; Christo-paganism is more rooted.
It is not heretical syncretism. The early Christian church was thoroughly syncretic, borrowing from Greek philosophy, Jewish ritual, Roman festivals. The question is not whether to syncretize but what to do consciously.
It is not a single denomination. Many Christo-pagan communities exist independently, with different practices and emphases. The Pagan Church of Christ is one of them.
Who Comes to Christo-Paganism?
Most people who find Christo-paganism arrive from one of three directions:
- Former Christians, particularly evangelicals, who loved Christ but couldn’t stay in churches that rejected their questions, their sexuality, their love for the earth.
- Lifelong pagans or witches who developed an unexpected respect or devotion to Christ and wanted a community that could hold both.
- Seekers who never fit anywhere, drawn to ritual and the sacred but unable to commit to a single tradition’s exclusive claims.
If This Resonates
If “Christo-paganism” sounds like a word for something you’ve been quietly practicing for years, you’re not alone. There are growing communities of Christo-pagans across North America, the UK, and beyond. Our community is one of them.
The best way to understand a spiritual movement is not to read about it but to experience it. Read what to expect at a first gathering, then email us for the time and place of the next one.
Sources & Further Reading
- Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America (Beacon Press, 1979, rev. 2006)
- Ronald Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (Oxford University Press, 1999, rev. 2019)
- John Philip Newell, Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation (Jossey-Bass, 2008)
- Matthew Fox, Original Blessing (Bear & Co., 1983)
- Diana Butler Bass, Grounded: Finding God in the World (HarperOne, 2015)