Category talk:Pagan Characters

Ick. The overtones of the word 'Pagan' are way too much. While I know one group vaguely in the wiccan-hat direction has taken the name 'Pagan' to describe themselves, most of the religions that seem to be intended to go here have decidedly not. Pagan is a derogatory term.

From www.dictionary.com: pa·gan     /ˈpeɪgən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pey-guhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks. 2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. 3. an irreligious or hedonistic person. –adjective 4. pertaining to the worship or worshipers of any religion that is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim. 5. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of pagans. 6. irreligious or hedonistic. [Origin: 1325–75; ME < ML, LL pāgānus worshiper of false gods, orig. civilian (i.e., not a soldier of Christ), L: peasant, n. use of pāgānus rural, civilian, deriv. of pāgus village, rural district (akin to pangere to fix, make fast); see -an1]

Note that it is specifically excluding all non-Christian/Jews/Muslims, and can even mean someone who is anti-religious. And the word's root is "worshiper of false gods", which is both condescending and, in the case of the marvel universe, blatantly false. (Thor exists, after all).

This is one of the reasons religion has to be handled with care. This category is offensive, both to me, to people who follow religions you are going to lump here, and probably to the characters in the marvel universe if they had the voice to express that opinion. --Squirrelloid 17:24, 12 May 2007 (UTC)