Is paganism a recognized religion

Answer 1

The status of any religion in terms of recognition will vary between cultures and nations. What is a recognised faith in one area might be rejected in another. In the case of paganism, an additional problem is that there is no one 'pagan' religion. Paganism as an umbrella term includes a wide range of different beliefs and practices. For example, Wicca is considered to be a pagan religion (or 'neo-pagan', as is sometimes preferred), but so is Asatru* - yet the two religions have relatively little in common.

As well, there is the question of what qualifies as a 'recognised' religion. In some countries, there is an 'official' religion which is asserted to be that of the country as a whole. In many western nations, as here in the UK, there is no specific list of 'recognised' religions (although in the case of the UK, Anglican Christianity must be considered 'official' in one sense, since traditionally there are Anglican bishops sitting in the House of Lords).

But anti-discrimination legislation in the UK tends to describe religion as a whole concept rather than list specific faiths.

No doubt there are areas where paganism is recognised, others where it is not, and many where no specific 'recognised' status is necessary for a religion.

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* Although practitioners of Asatru generally prefer the term 'heathen' to that of 'pagan'.

Answer 2

Paganism is a generalization of many different religions.