NEO-PAGANISM: THE FRUIT OF A ROOT THAT WAS PLANTED ELSEWHERE?
PROLOGUE: THEY SEE THE FRUIT; BUT WHAT OF THE ROOT? In a recent Communique, the Modernist Bishops Conference of Nigeria claiming the Catholic name deplores the growth of neo-paganism among Nigerian Christians, especially among the young. The enthusiasm with which the document is being shared by Novus ordo clerics is both admirable and revealing. It is admirable because they have at least recognized a danger and are eager to make it known far and wide. The abandonment of Christian faith for pagan worship, ancestral spiritualities, occult practices, and pre-Christian religious beliefs is certainly a matter deserving condemnation and serious pastoral concern. But it is revealing because the same voices that eagerly condemn the fruit appear remarkably unable to identify and examine the root . They see young Christians turning toward paganism and immediately denounce the phenomenon, yet do not seem to know that the theological categories they themselves have popularized have help...