ANALYSIS: ‘Pagan’ is getting a makeover. Not everyone got the memo.

RNS) Is calling someone a “pagan” a bad thing or a badge of honor? Do we even know what the term means?

Those questions were prompted by a recent speech by Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput in which he lamented the decline of faith and morals in the modern world. “Even many self-described Christians,” he declared, “are in fact pagan.”

And it doesn’t sound like he meant that as a compliment.

In an email, Chaput declined to elaborate on what he meant by that line, which came near the end of a 3,000-word address delivered in June to an international association of Catholic leaders meeting in Spain. The archbishop said “the words and the context of the words speak for themselves. It is all quite obvious.”

Others, however, aren’t so sure his message is clear given the many meanings of “pagan.”

“It’s kind of a sliding word,” said the Rev. Patrick McCollum, a leading practitioner of pagan religion and a peace activist who promotes religious pluralism.

more: http://www.religionnews.com/2013/07/11/analysis-pagan-is-getting-a-makeover-not-everyone-got-the-memo/