Difference Between Pagan and Pilgrim

Pagan vs Pilgrim

Pagan and pilgrim are two words we usually use in the religious context. These have entirely different meanings, implications, and origins.

A pagan is a term used to denote a person who worships the nature, earth, and the Gods of the olden age. Wiccans and certain aboriginal tribesmen are considered as pagans by many. A pilgrim is a person who has a firm belief in a particular religion and undertakes a journey for a spiritual reason. This spiritual journey is known as pilgrimage and it can be to a place considered holy by the specific religion. For instance, Mecca is the pilgrimage destination of Muslims and Jerusalem is where the Christians and Jews go on pilgrimage. A pilgrim can take a pilgrimage to any of the many pilgrim sites. A pagan does not travel anywhere to show his devotion or worship.

There are different types of pilgrims. The most common ones are the religious pilgrims and the cultural pilgrims. As mentioned earlier, religious pilgrims make pilgrimages to the holy places of their religion. Sometimes the pilgrimages need not to be any physical location. They can set out on a pilgrimage to many such destinations in search of spirituality and meaning of the religion. In such pilgrimages, the pilgrims trust in the Divine power and set out on the journey. Cultural pilgrimages involve a secular thought. It can be based on hobbies, interests, and cultural instincts. For example, if a hardcore communist visits the birthplace of Karl Marx, that is known as a cultural pilgrimage. Similarly the visit of a person inclined towards arts and cultures, to the museums and heritage sites also is cultural pilgrimage.

The term pagan is usually used by Christians and Muslims to denote a person who does not believe in the practices and Gods of their own religion. Sometimes it is used as a derogatory term as well. So over the period of time, different terms like pantheism, polytheism, and shamanism have evolved to denote the different types of pagans and their beliefs.

Summary:
1.Pagan is a person who believes and worships nature, earth, and the old Gods and Goddesses. Pilgrim is a person who believes in a God specific to a religion.
2.Pilgrims go out on pilgrimages, which are journeys to the holy places of their religions. There are no such travels for pagans.
3.There are different categories of paganism like polytheism, shamanism, and pantheism. Pilgrimages also can be of different types like religious pilgrimage and cultural pilgrimage.
4.In a religion, the term pilgrim is used to denote or refer to a person who is very much devoted to the religion and its principles and pagan can refer to a person who does not believe in that religion.
5.Pilgrim is the term used in all religions while pagan is the term most commonly used by the Christians and Jews to refer to people outside their religions.

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