What do you think?
Rate this book
Christianity: The Origins of a Pagan Religion
Reveals how Christian mythology of the Middle Ages had more to do with paganism than the Bible
• Identifies pagan deities that were incorporated into each of the saints
• Shows how all the major holidays on the Christian calendar are modeled on long-standing pagan traditions
This extensive study of the Christian mythology that animated medieval Europe shows that this mythology is primarily of pagan inspiration and that very little of it comes from the Bible. The fact that Christianity grafted itself onto earlier pagan worship was no mystery to the Church Fathers, Philippe Walter explains. Pagan elements were incorporated into the Christian faith on the advice of Pope Gregory the Great, who told Saint Augustine of Canterbury that rather than tear down the pagan temples in Britain, he should instead add the pagan rituals into the mix of Christian practices, thus providing an easy transition to the new religion. It was simply a matter of convincing the populace to slightly redirect their focus to include Jesus.
In this highly documented work Walter shows which major calendar days of the Christian year are founded on pagan rituals and myths, including the high holidays of Easter and Christmas, a time when many pagans prepared for the coming of spirits who would leave gifts for those who honored their coming. Indeed, the identities of saints and pagan figures were so intermingled that some saints were even transformed into pagan incarnations. Mary Magdalene, for instance, became one of the ladies of the lake of Celtic legend. He also explores how the hagiographic accounts of the saints in the scriptures reveal the origin of these symbolic figures to be the deities worshiped in pagan Europe for centuries.
• Identifies pagan deities that were incorporated into each of the saints
• Shows how all the major holidays on the Christian calendar are modeled on long-standing pagan traditions
This extensive study of the Christian mythology that animated medieval Europe shows that this mythology is primarily of pagan inspiration and that very little of it comes from the Bible. The fact that Christianity grafted itself onto earlier pagan worship was no mystery to the Church Fathers, Philippe Walter explains. Pagan elements were incorporated into the Christian faith on the advice of Pope Gregory the Great, who told Saint Augustine of Canterbury that rather than tear down the pagan temples in Britain, he should instead add the pagan rituals into the mix of Christian practices, thus providing an easy transition to the new religion. It was simply a matter of convincing the populace to slightly redirect their focus to include Jesus.
In this highly documented work Walter shows which major calendar days of the Christian year are founded on pagan rituals and myths, including the high holidays of Easter and Christmas, a time when many pagans prepared for the coming of spirits who would leave gifts for those who honored their coming. Indeed, the identities of saints and pagan figures were so intermingled that some saints were even transformed into pagan incarnations. Mary Magdalene, for instance, became one of the ladies of the lake of Celtic legend. He also explores how the hagiographic accounts of the saints in the scriptures reveal the origin of these symbolic figures to be the deities worshiped in pagan Europe for centuries.
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 27, 2006
1 person is currently reading
195 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Read
March 17, 2024Drew upon for Imbolc service…
“…the Christian Church rearranges units specific space the three principal elements of Druidic worship…” p4.
“…the Christian Church rearranges units specific space the three principal elements of Druidic worship…” p4.
October 22, 2025
i know more than you...
January 13, 2024
DID THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ‘CHRISTIANIZE’ PRE-CHRISTIAN MYTHS?
Author Philippe Walter wrote in the Introduction to this 2003 book, “We do not ask here whether Christianity is itself a mythology, but rather how to define the pre-Christian mythological contexts---completely foreign to the Bible---into which Christianity was inserted and which Christianity put to work on its own behalf. There is, in fact, on the periphery of biblical Christianity, an archaic memory of traditions, superstitions, and legends that forms an authentic mythology and possess no biblical justification… The essential portion of this mythic material goes out of the ‘wild’ memory of European peoples and, thanks to the Church, was incorporated into the spirit and letter of the Bible. This was how an authentic Christian mythology was manufactured within medieval Christianity…” (Pg. 1-2)
He states, “it was not until [5th–6th century] that the program of Christianization later described by Pope Gregory was put into place. This involved Christianity’s annexing of paganism’s sacred sites (trees, springs, stones of worship), the establishment of an administration organization (bishoprics, parishes, and so on), the archiving of pagan memory and the Christian reformulation of ancient mythology into a doctrinal context that conformed to the gospels.” (Pg. 38)
He suggests, “a midnight Mass is celebrated on Christmas, one of the two occasions in the year when Mass… can be celebrated in the middle of the night. Perhaps this Midnight Mass supplanted the pagan rite of a communion meal with beings from the Otherworld. The common presence of bread and wine both in the fairies’ meal and in the rite of Christian Communion serves to underscore a reference to the same sacred rite, one being placed under divine authority and the other under that of the fairies. Here again, Christianity borrowed pagan tradition and conferred upon it a new spiritual dimension.” (Pg. 55)
He says, “In the domain of folklore, the flying Wild Hunt announces in reverse the flight of Santa Claus’s sleigh pulled by reindeer. As for Santa Claus himself, he is simply the good-natured avatar of a mythical figure, a true distributor of abundance during the middle of winter and supreme master of temporal transitions. Santa Claus is nothing other than the beneficent figure of the Wild Man, the fair figure from the Otherworld who periodically visits men to give them gifts.” (Pg. 60)
He observes, “The tree of the world of Faery became the tree of the earthly Paradise. With it foliage that remains green even during the cold season, the spruce tree naturally became a symbol of immortality, perennial nature, and the Nativity of the Savior.” (Pg. 69)
He contends, “Christianity clearly belongs to an enchanted time that allows the Otherworld to break into and enter the human world. The Christian translation of this set of myths allows the archaic memory that orients this holiday to poke through to the surface. In truth, Christianity extended paganism by introducing another kind of logic into the pagan elements it preserved or by scattering the exploded symbols of myth over the wheel of Time.” (Pg. 72)
He insists, “The Easter Bunny… is a springtime reincarnation of the Wild and belongs among the host of magical animals that haunted the medieval imagination.” (Pg. 100)
He asserts, “The cult stone resembled the phallus of a fertility god, and to ingest its substance was to obtain a personal guarantee of fertility. On this point, as on so many others, the Church was forced to tolerate ancestral practices that quite obviously had no Christian basis. Furthermore, the Christianization of these cult stones remained rudimentary for the most part, incorporating into their rites a procession followed by a blessing. Indeed, the Church appeared defenseless against the persistence of these beliefs in the mentalities of the people among whom it was evangelizing. It is therefore determined to take action against the pagan rite by encouraging the legends of pious individuals associated with these pagan stones. Similarly, the Church took pains to create an artificial but likely connection between martyrs and the stones that had never been touched by these individuals.” (Pg. 137)
He says, “The number twelve becomes equally significant if we relate it to the context of the calendar. The Twelve Days that separate Christmas from Epiphany correspond to the time of the Saturnalia, and this period is actually a reduced image of the twelve months of the coming year. During Roman antiquity, these twelve days of the Saturnalia commemorated Saturn-Chronos, the devourer of his own children: In the Middle Ages, another massacre of children was substituted: that ordered by Herod at the time of Christ’s birth.” (Pg. 180)
This book will interest those studying Christmas/pagan links.
Author Philippe Walter wrote in the Introduction to this 2003 book, “We do not ask here whether Christianity is itself a mythology, but rather how to define the pre-Christian mythological contexts---completely foreign to the Bible---into which Christianity was inserted and which Christianity put to work on its own behalf. There is, in fact, on the periphery of biblical Christianity, an archaic memory of traditions, superstitions, and legends that forms an authentic mythology and possess no biblical justification… The essential portion of this mythic material goes out of the ‘wild’ memory of European peoples and, thanks to the Church, was incorporated into the spirit and letter of the Bible. This was how an authentic Christian mythology was manufactured within medieval Christianity…” (Pg. 1-2)
He states, “it was not until [5th–6th century] that the program of Christianization later described by Pope Gregory was put into place. This involved Christianity’s annexing of paganism’s sacred sites (trees, springs, stones of worship), the establishment of an administration organization (bishoprics, parishes, and so on), the archiving of pagan memory and the Christian reformulation of ancient mythology into a doctrinal context that conformed to the gospels.” (Pg. 38)
He suggests, “a midnight Mass is celebrated on Christmas, one of the two occasions in the year when Mass… can be celebrated in the middle of the night. Perhaps this Midnight Mass supplanted the pagan rite of a communion meal with beings from the Otherworld. The common presence of bread and wine both in the fairies’ meal and in the rite of Christian Communion serves to underscore a reference to the same sacred rite, one being placed under divine authority and the other under that of the fairies. Here again, Christianity borrowed pagan tradition and conferred upon it a new spiritual dimension.” (Pg. 55)
He says, “In the domain of folklore, the flying Wild Hunt announces in reverse the flight of Santa Claus’s sleigh pulled by reindeer. As for Santa Claus himself, he is simply the good-natured avatar of a mythical figure, a true distributor of abundance during the middle of winter and supreme master of temporal transitions. Santa Claus is nothing other than the beneficent figure of the Wild Man, the fair figure from the Otherworld who periodically visits men to give them gifts.” (Pg. 60)
He observes, “The tree of the world of Faery became the tree of the earthly Paradise. With it foliage that remains green even during the cold season, the spruce tree naturally became a symbol of immortality, perennial nature, and the Nativity of the Savior.” (Pg. 69)
He contends, “Christianity clearly belongs to an enchanted time that allows the Otherworld to break into and enter the human world. The Christian translation of this set of myths allows the archaic memory that orients this holiday to poke through to the surface. In truth, Christianity extended paganism by introducing another kind of logic into the pagan elements it preserved or by scattering the exploded symbols of myth over the wheel of Time.” (Pg. 72)
He insists, “The Easter Bunny… is a springtime reincarnation of the Wild and belongs among the host of magical animals that haunted the medieval imagination.” (Pg. 100)
He asserts, “The cult stone resembled the phallus of a fertility god, and to ingest its substance was to obtain a personal guarantee of fertility. On this point, as on so many others, the Church was forced to tolerate ancestral practices that quite obviously had no Christian basis. Furthermore, the Christianization of these cult stones remained rudimentary for the most part, incorporating into their rites a procession followed by a blessing. Indeed, the Church appeared defenseless against the persistence of these beliefs in the mentalities of the people among whom it was evangelizing. It is therefore determined to take action against the pagan rite by encouraging the legends of pious individuals associated with these pagan stones. Similarly, the Church took pains to create an artificial but likely connection between martyrs and the stones that had never been touched by these individuals.” (Pg. 137)
He says, “The number twelve becomes equally significant if we relate it to the context of the calendar. The Twelve Days that separate Christmas from Epiphany correspond to the time of the Saturnalia, and this period is actually a reduced image of the twelve months of the coming year. During Roman antiquity, these twelve days of the Saturnalia commemorated Saturn-Chronos, the devourer of his own children: In the Middle Ages, another massacre of children was substituted: that ordered by Herod at the time of Christ’s birth.” (Pg. 180)
This book will interest those studying Christmas/pagan links.
September 15, 2019
This is a book that I suspect must have been better in the original French. I don't know why this translation was chosen for the title; I don't have a good knowledge of French, but it looks to me that the original title translates to something closer to "Christian Mythology: Festivals, Rites, and Myths of the Middle Ages." That title is something I would have been much more likely to pick up, and also seems (in my opinion) to better reflect what the book is.
Regardless, it's a reasonably interesting discussion of the pre-Christian origins of some elements of various saints and Catholic feast days in a Western European (primarily French) context. This can be a very interesting topic, but this book is lacking something that would make it fascinating and instead made it something I continually wanted to merely skim--despite simultaneously having the sense that it wasn't going into particular depth on anything. While there are a fair number of endnotes, I would have strongly preferred footnotes in this particular text--and more of them.
I am left wondering what the book reads like in the original French, and also what an English translation prepared by a different translator and published by a different press might have looked like.
Regardless, it's a reasonably interesting discussion of the pre-Christian origins of some elements of various saints and Catholic feast days in a Western European (primarily French) context. This can be a very interesting topic, but this book is lacking something that would make it fascinating and instead made it something I continually wanted to merely skim--despite simultaneously having the sense that it wasn't going into particular depth on anything. While there are a fair number of endnotes, I would have strongly preferred footnotes in this particular text--and more of them.
I am left wondering what the book reads like in the original French, and also what an English translation prepared by a different translator and published by a different press might have looked like.
May 16, 2018
A lot of really interesting thoughts. Loved how Walter pulled and teased out Celtic mythology from Medieval folklore and hagiography. I think there were some things he missed because of a lack of understanding of Judaic and Middle Eastern affects on Christianity, and I was surprised he missed the fact that St. Patrick's Day occurs on the same day as the Roman Lupercalia, since he caught so many other things. Anyway. It was interesting and worth a read. Definitely helps if you have some sort of background in medieval studies and know something about the liturgical year and the modern pagan Sabbats.
February 24, 2015
First of all the title is misleading. This is not a book about the pagan origins of Christianity, it is the discussion of superstitions of the early Catholic Church - some of which are embraced even today.
Mr. Walter obviously performed a great deal of research in compiling his narrative and facts but unless one has a narrow interest in the selling of crucifixion cross splinters, bones of saints, and other non-nonsensical frauds concocted by the church of the Middle Ages, it has little to offer.
If one has an interest in the actual pagan origins of the Christian religion there are countless books which provide specifics of: previous virgin births, examples of divine impregnation, etc. This book does not even attempt to delve into those areas, which is fine if the title indicated what the book was actually dealing with.
Mr. Walter obviously performed a great deal of research in compiling his narrative and facts but unless one has a narrow interest in the selling of crucifixion cross splinters, bones of saints, and other non-nonsensical frauds concocted by the church of the Middle Ages, it has little to offer.
If one has an interest in the actual pagan origins of the Christian religion there are countless books which provide specifics of: previous virgin births, examples of divine impregnation, etc. This book does not even attempt to delve into those areas, which is fine if the title indicated what the book was actually dealing with.
February 4, 2008
Sounded really interesting. This book traces the pagan roots of Christianity, specifically focusing on the church calendar and the holidays. I was interested in the subject matter, but the book read like a very dry Phd thesis. I got really bogged down in all the minutia. I think the author wrote this book as a research resource rather than a book to be read cover to cover. (or else he needs a better editor)
January 12, 2008
This nonfiction title covers the pagan origins of many "Christian" feasts and traditions. I've been skimming through to find items of interest and found it rather informative. The writing style is moderately interesting.
I don't know if there's a better "one-stop" resource out there on the subject. If there isn't, this has a lot of explanations such as the probable origin of Santa using flying reindeer to travel.
I don't know if there's a better "one-stop" resource out there on the subject. If there isn't, this has a lot of explanations such as the probable origin of Santa using flying reindeer to travel.
June 11, 2012
This book is very scholarly. It talks more about folk traditions in Europe, mostly France, than about Christianity. Very interesting! The writing style is "professorial" so it is a bit technical in parts. The author does go into detail about many European saints, many of them may be completely fabricated, as their holidays correspond to Celtic pagan holidays, which the Church usurped into celebrations we have now such as Christmas, Easter, and All Saints Day (Halloween).
November 6, 2012
Lots of good information. It was a bit advance for my current understanding of paganism and christianity. I'd probably extracted much more juice if the layout was by popular holidays etc. with the pagan background explained. That being said, reading this turned me on to medieval rites and myths that I probably wouldn't have learned about if it were written in the way I just described. Meh...
October 17, 2012
It was not what I was expecting. I couldn't really understand a lot of it. The terms were not defined and I had to keep referencing other books to find out what the author was talking about. I skimmed the rest of the book, and got the gist of it. A good companion book might be The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays.
October 17, 2008
This was a pretty interesting book.
Not a light read. It keeps your brain reeling.
Discusses the origins of many christian/catholic customs, traditions, and holidays, that actually tend to stem from paganism.
Not a light read. It keeps your brain reeling.
Discusses the origins of many christian/catholic customs, traditions, and holidays, that actually tend to stem from paganism.
March 9, 2014
Interesting connections in antiquity
I found the research and sources of this treatise to be a very helpful beginning look at a new paradigm on hagiography. The hypothesis answers the questions regarding the legends and myths of the saints for me in a fitting framework.
I found the research and sources of this treatise to be a very helpful beginning look at a new paradigm on hagiography. The hypothesis answers the questions regarding the legends and myths of the saints for me in a fitting framework.
August 3, 2007
This book is really weird and cool; it talks about how European pagan traditions were absorbed into Christianity in the middle ages, like 'carnival' turning into Christmas.
August 24, 2007
Fascinating stuff.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews