|
Western Europe was thoroughly Christianised in the late Roman and 'dark ages' and a lot of the Pagan archaeological record was destroyed, lost or built over by the Churches. It was more of an oral tradition than the more written culture of Christianity (inherited I guess from its Jewish parent). But traces are still there in language, place names etc.
After several decades following eastern spirituality I'm getting interested in paganism myself: mainly Heathenry, also Druidry to a lesser extent. Due to the cultural and environmental resonance which they hold for me; eastern traditions do hold a lot of universal human wisdom yet they always felt 'foreign' to me, a feeling which never went away after such a long time. Same with Christianity too I'd say, even though it's been embedded in my country for the best part of 1500 years; it never shrugged off its middle eastern geographical references to became properly rooted in the local landscape here in England, at least for me.
Pagan religions also have a tribal foundation (all over the world not just in Europe), so the sense of community and kinship is a part of the appeal, as our society continues to lose its community.
|