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WELCOME TO THE UNITED PAGANS WEBSITE!
Latest News:
- Updated information from the Attorney General’s Department regarding Marriage Celebrants. Visit the Celebrants Submissions page.
The United Pagan Church of Australia (“United Pagans”) was formed with the aim of bringing together many of the smaller, independent Pagan groups and providing them with a united national voice on religious matters of importance: helping educate the community on the true Pagan beliefs; supplying government departments with accurate information on Pagan religions; and creating places where those following a Pagan path can worship their chosen God(s) and/or Goddess(es) in safety and without prejudice. UPCoA is not trying to compete with other Pagan groups such as PAN, PA, etc. These groups are established as educational and representative bodies, whereas UPCoA is established as a religious institution. Our aim is to work with these other bodies to better serve the Pagan religions.
Today it is common to see people from many different relgions working and living side by side, tolerant of each other, and yet many people that follow a Pagan religion are still treated with bias and prejudice everyday. Many Pagans worship in private, scared to let others know that they are Pagan for fear of the reaction from people that only know what Hollywood has told them, which is, obviously, a version that has been written to sell movies rather than convey a true historical message of fact.
Paganism includes some of the oldest beliefs known to humanity, far older than any of the “mainstream” religions, modified with modern views to better suit life in modern society. Pagan religions promote a tolerance towards others, regardless of their religion, respect for all living things, and responsibility for one’s own actions in life.
The UPCoA has three main missions:
- The first part of our Mission is to serve our member organisations, which include Pagan religious groups (such as covens, circles, gatherings, etc) and other Pagan based organisations. If a member organisation needs assistance or advice, the UPCoA will try to assist. For example, a member organisation may require help to improve its governance, financial management, administration, or they may need preliminary advice in dealing with government agencies. HOWEVER, UPCoA does NOT aim to dictate how a member organisation should operate, unless we are asked by the group the running and operation is entirely up to the members of that group.
- The second part of our Mission is to represent the Pagan community to inter-faith groups, media, government and the public, to promote the understanding and practice of Pagan rites and rituals, and the freedom for all Pagans to practice their religion free from discrimination or intolerance.
- The third part of our Mission is to provide a means for those Pagan leaders wishing to seek formal ordination as a "minister of religion" to achieve this, and to set a minimum standard for ordination so that the ordained leaders can be held in the same high regard as the ministers from other major religions.
Another of our major aims at this time is to gain recognition by the Australian Attorney General’s Department under Section 26 of the Marriage Act 1961, so we may endorse Pagan religious leaders for registration as a Religious Marriage Celebrant. If you would like to know more about this subject please visit our Celebrant Submissions page.
United Pagans is an independent organisation that is not controlled or governed by any other organisation or body. Member organisations form our governing body and nominated representatives help decide on our policies and what we will and will not do. UPCoA has been endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a charitable institution for the purposes of the advancement of religion.
But Church is a Christian word, isn’t it?
Well, actually, no.. it is actually of Pagan origin!
“Church” comes from the Old English and German word pronounced “kirche”. In Scotland, it was “kirk”.
The following entries are from the Oxford Universal English Dictionary:
Church [Old English cirice, circe; Middle English chereche, chiriche, chirche; whence churche, cherche, etc.: -Greek Kuriakon...]
Church comes from the Anglo-Saxon root word “circe”, and stems from the Greek name of the goddess “Circe”, the daughter of “Helios”, the Roman Sun-god adopted from Greek mythology. Linked to this goddess in Celtic pagan worship is the name “Kirce”. From her name comes the word “kirch” which pertained to the building dedicated to pagan Celtic worship and rituals. The Greek word “kuriakon” was used for the building or “house of Kurios (Lord)”.
The actual original Greek word used in the Christian religious texts to identify the Christian religious body was “ecclesia”.
This Greek word appears in the New Testament approximately 115 times. That’s just in this one grammatical form. It appears also in other forms. And in every instance, except three, it is wrongly translated as “church” in the King James Version. Those three exceptions are found in Acts 19:32, 39, 41. In these instances the translators rendered it “assembly” instead of “church”. But, the Greek word is exactly the same as the other 112 entries where it was changed to “church” wrongly. So, in reality, it is the Christians that have chosen to use an ancient Pagan term rather than Pagans using a purely Christian term!
If you would like to read more about the Pagan origins of many of today’s common terms, read our Pagan origin of common terms page.
