You know what would be interesting?

You know what would be interesting? A study comparing and contrasting all the myriad "pagan" religions at their height or their end.

Consider practices shared many common aspects (temples, statues, pictorials, offering and sacrifices to name a few) across cultures as varied as Greece, Rome, Egypt, Assyria, etc. It was a simple enough matter for Alexander to adopt local practices after a conquest, after all. But the cultures themselves differed wildly.

Then, too some aspects common in the Americas are missing or rare in Europe and the Middle east. Notably human sacrifice. There was some even in Rome, but it was exceedingly rare. In the Americas it was routine, at least in some regions.

Lastly, the Americas retained pagan religions well into the common era. In Europe widespread paganism didn't last long past the 6th century CE.

Human sacrifice in Central and South America was Priest-Class driven to prevent destruction of civilization by the Gods.

Human sacrifice in North America has been driven by the notions of Progress, Industrialization and Just Wars and the effectiveness of the Death Penalty.

Quote: Nareed

You know what would be interesting? A study comparing and contrasting all the myriad "pagan" religions at their height

The Catholic church is very much a pagan
religion. They have cannibalism, idols,
they pray to several entities, have umpteen
rituals and ceremonies. They even celebrate
Christmas and Easter on the same dates
as other pagan religions celebrate the
solstice and equinox. Their god hanging
on a cross around their necks, you don't
get any more pagan than that.