The Return of Paganism

Ancient Gods Rebranded in the Modern World

A scene from Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Wise Wolf Note: I’ve been getting a lot of interest lately from other writers wanting to collaborate and do cross-posts. I think it’s a great way to introduce my readers to voices they might not have discovered otherwise. So I’m kicking things off with Doc Holliday, whose Substack consistently delivers sharp analysis on culture and theology. I think you’ll appreciate his take on what we’re about to explore together.

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“They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up…” — Deuteronomy 32:17

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The world believes paganism is gone — a relic of primitive times when humanity bowed before idols and carved statues. We assume that with the rise of science, democracy, and progress, humanity outgrew the gods. But Scripture never said they were imaginary. It said they were demons (1 Corinthians 10:20), and demons do not die. They adapt. They evolve. They rebrand.

The same spiritual powers that demanded blood and devotion in ancient Canaan now wear new faces. They no longer stand as stone images in desert temples — they shape policy, entertainment, ideology, and economy. They no longer speak through priests in dark groves — they speak through leaders, movements, and media. Paganism never vanished; it simply disguised itself as progress.

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A Spiritual War Hidden in Plain Sight

From the very beginning, God warned His people not to imitate the nations around them:

“You shall not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.” — Deuteronomy 12:31

This warning wasn’t about statues — it was about systems. The nations were not just worshipping objects; they were aligning themselves with spiritual powers opposed to God. And those powers demanded the same things they always have: blood, devotion, obedience, and souls.

The terrifying reality is that humanity still gives them all four — just not in ways we recognize.

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The New Altars of an Old Religion

The altars of the past were carved from stone. Today, they are built from ideologies, institutions, and industries. The same ancient spirits are at work — but their rituals are packaged as “rights,” “freedom,” “progress,” or “innovation.”

They still demand blood — now through abortion, violence, war, and policies that sanctify the destruction of the innocent. They still crave devotion — now disguised as loyalty to state, party, ideology, or self. They still require obedience — now enforced by laws, algorithms, and social pressure. And they still hunger for souls — now captured through deception, distraction, and idolatry of self.

The land is still “defiled with blood” (Psalm 106:38). The innocent are still offered up. The powerful still build their empires on sacrifice. And humanity still bows — unaware that it is worshipping the same ancient demons Scripture warned of thousands of years ago.

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Sexual Revolution as Modern Worship

One of the clearest signs of pagan resurgence is the modern war against God’s design for sexuality and identity. Ancient fertility cults involved ritual prostitution, gender inversion, and acts meant to blur the boundaries between male and female. These were not random practices — they were acts of worship meant to defy the Creator and exalt the creature (Romans 1:25).

Today, those same ideas dominate our culture. What was once done in temples is now paraded in streets and broadcast on screens. The deliberate confusion of gender, the celebration of promiscuity, and the destruction of the family unit are not progressive milestones — they are the ancient liturgies of rebellion revived.

Paul warned of this very pattern:

“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images… God gave them over to shameful lusts… men committed shameful acts with other men.” — Romans 1:22–27

What was once worship to false gods is now celebrated as “liberation.” Yet at its root, the spirit remains unchanged — a calculated defiance of God’s order.

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The Blood That Still Cries Out

No aspect of paganism is more abhorrent than its obsession with blood. Ancient cultures offered their children to idols, believing the sacrifice would secure prosperity or fertility. God condemned these practices unequivocally:

“They sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood… and the land was polluted with blood.” — Psalm 106:37–38

And yet, our world continues to do the same. More than 70 million unborn children are aborted each year — their deaths defended as necessary for “freedom,” “health,” or “equality.” The language has changed, but the reality has not. Innocent blood still soaks the earth, and the spiritual powers behind it still feast.

Even beyond abortion, there is a growing body of survivor testimony and investigative reporting alleging that ritual abuse, trafficking, and occult practices continue in secret — often intertwined with positions of wealth, power, and influence. These claims mirror the biblical pattern: where power gathers, the appetite for sacrifice follows. Whether literal blood is shed or innocence is devoured through exploitation, the same demonic economy is at work.

God’s warning remains:

“For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things.” — Isaiah 59:3

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Commerce and Control: The Modern Temples

Pagan worship was never just spiritual — it was political and economic. Ancient empires built their wealth around temples, sacrifices, and trade connected to idol worship. Revelation describes a future world system — “Mystery Babylon” — that does the same:

“The merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries… In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people.” — Revelation 18:3, 24

Our modern system is no different. Corporations and governments shape economies around destructive ideologies, often profiting from death, exploitation, and manipulation. The lust for wealth has become worship. The market has become a temple. And the pursuit of power has become a priesthood.

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Deception as Doctrine

The prophets often described idols as blind, deaf, and dumb — and yet their worshippers were deceived into believing they had power. Today, deception is no longer carved from stone; it is coded into algorithms, woven into media, and preached as “truth.”

Paul’s warning to the Thessalonians echoes with terrifying clarity:

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie…” — 2 Thessalonians 2:9

The deception is not coming — it is here. It is in the information we consume, the ideologies we are taught, and the lies we accept without question. And as in ancient times, the ultimate goal of deception is worship.

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Babylon Rising

Revelation 17 and 18 paint a picture of a final global system that blends politics, commerce, religion, and blood. It is described as a prostitute — drunk with blood, clothed in wealth, seducing kings and nations. This is not a distant fantasy; it is the logical conclusion of the pagan revival we are witnessing.

From globalism to technocracy, from sexual ideology to state worship, from bloodshed to deception — the pillars of Babylon are being raised. The ancient gods have returned. And the world bows once again.

But Scripture gives us hope:

“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins or receive any of her plagues.” — Revelation 18:4

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The Final Word

The resurgence of paganism is not a conspiracy — it is prophecy fulfilled. The same spiritual powers that once ruled empires now shape nations and influence culture. Their temples look different, but their demands are unchanged. They still require worship. They still crave blood. And they still wage war against the Kingdom of God.

Yet the story does not end with them. Their reign is temporary. Their deception will fail. And their altars will fall before the One who crushed the serpent’s head.

“At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” — Philippians 2:10–11

The gods of the nations are returning. But their time is running out. The King is coming — and when He does, every idol will crumble, every false throne will fall, and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

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A Different Lens on the Same Reality

What I want to do now is approach this same phenomenon from a different angle. Instead of primarily building from Scripture, I want to examine how these patterns manifest in the ordinary rhythms of modern life. If Doc has given us the theological map, let me offer some field notes from ground level, where most people encounter these forces without recognizing them as spiritual at all. Because that’s the genius of contemporary paganism: it doesn’t announce itself. It masquerades as normalcy, progress, and enlightenment.

So let’s look at the architecture of this new religion and see how the old gods have learned to hide in plain sight.

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When Progress Becomes Worship

We live in an age that congratulates itself on being post-religious. The churches empty while the stadiums fill. Traditional faith is treated as a psychological disorder to be cured with therapy and education. Yet walk through any major city and you’ll notice something strange: the religious impulse hasn’t disappeared. It has simply migrated to new institutions with different branding.

The corporate headquarters rising like glass cathedrals. The university campuses functioning as seminaries for secular orthodoxy. The social media platforms where heresy is punished more swiftly than any medieval inquisition. The entertainment industry manufacturing mythologies more influential than any ancient priesthood ever dreamed. We didn’t abandon religion. We just stopped calling it that.

The Liturgy of Victimhood

Ancient paganism operated on a transactional basis: sacrifice this, receive that. The gods demanded payment, and humanity complied. Modern paganism works the same way, but the currency has changed. Instead of blood on stone altars, we offer up our children’s innocence, our neighbor’s reputation, our own dignity.

Consider how our culture has sacralized suffering. Victimhood has become the highest form of moral authority. The more oppressed you can claim to be, the more power you wield. This isn’t compassion; it’s a power structure as old as Molech. The weak are elevated not to be healed but to be used. Their pain becomes ammunition. Their trauma becomes currency. And the priests of this new religion harvest it endlessly, building careers and movements on the backs of those they claim to champion.

The ancient world called its victims “offerings.” We call them “marginalized communities.” Same transaction, different terminology.

The Algorithmic Oracle

In ancient times, people consulted oracles, read entrails, and interpreted dreams to divine the future. Today we have something far more powerful: predictive analytics, recommendation algorithms, and data mining. We’ve outsourced our decision-making to systems we don’t understand, operated by people we’ll never meet, serving interests we’ll never know.

The algorithm knows what you want before you want it. It knows what you fear before you fear it. It shapes your reality by controlling what information reaches your eyes. And like the oracles of old, it speaks in riddles we accept without question because we’ve been trained to trust the mechanism more than our own judgment.

This is digital divination. And we’ve made it mandatory. Try living in the modern world without consulting the oracle. Try finding work, maintaining relationships, or accessing basic services without feeding the machine your data. The old gods demanded sacrifices. The new ones demand surveillance.

The Cult of Authenticity

Nothing reveals the religious nature of modern culture quite like its obsession with “being yourself.” This sounds liberating until you realize it’s the exact opposite. The mandate to “live your truth” has become the most oppressive doctrine in contemporary society.

Ancient paganism was fundamentally about self-worship. The fertility cults celebrated base instincts. The mystery religions promised hidden knowledge that elevated initiates above the masses. The emperor cults demanded absolute loyalty to power. Every iteration worshiped the creature rather than the Creator.

Today’s religion of authenticity does the same. It tells you that your feelings are sacred, your desires are holy, and your identity is inviolable. Question someone’s self-perception and you’ve committed the unforgivable sin. The self has become the ultimate authority, the final arbiter of truth. This is narcissism dressed up as enlightenment, and it’s the foundational creed of our age.

But here’s the trap: a religion that makes you the center of worship is a religion that makes you responsible for your own salvation. It’s exhausting. It’s isolating. And it’s precisely what the ancient world offered before it collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions.

The Pharmacological Priesthood

Ancient paganism relied heavily on altered states of consciousness. Drugs, rituals, and sexual practices were used to access “spiritual realms” and encounter divine powers. The Eleusinian Mysteries, the Dionysian cults, the shamanic traditions all used substances to break down the barriers between the human and the spiritual.

We’ve industrialized this. Antidepressants, anxiety medications, attention drugs, and recreational substances flow through modern society like sacred oils through ancient temples. I’m not dismissing legitimate medical needs, but observe how we’ve built an entire economy around chemically managing the human condition. Observe how quickly children are medicated for exhibiting traits that previous generations considered normal. Observe how many adults can’t function without daily pharmaceutical intervention.

This isn’t healthcare. This is a sacramental system. The prescription is the blessing. The pharmacy is the altar. And the pills are the host. We’ve outsourced our emotional and psychological lives to a priesthood in white coats, trusting them to chemically adjust our souls.

The Theatre of Righteous Rage

Social media didn’t create tribalism, but it perfected it. Every day millions of people participate in digital rituals of collective hatred. The target changes, the mob is always the same. Someone is identified as evil. The righteous gather. The punishment is delivered. And everyone feels cleansed.

This is scapegoating in its purest form. The ancient world understood the power of collective violence directed at a designated victim. It brought communities together. It released tension. It created a sense of moral clarity. René Girard spent his career documenting how this mechanism operates, how societies use it to maintain cohesion and discharge aggression.

We do the same thing now, just faster and with more participants. Cancel culture isn’t new. It’s ancient. The technology changed, but the ritual remains identical. Find the transgressor. Isolate them. Destroy them. Feel better about yourself. Repeat daily.

The Green Dragon

Environmental activism has morphed into something that looks suspiciously like nature worship. Again, caring for creation is good and biblical. But observe how the movement functions. The earth is personified as a living entity with rights superseding human rights. Humanity is cast as a disease, a cancer upon the planet. Reduction of the human population is openly discussed as necessary for planetary survival.

This is Gaia worship. This is the return of animism. And like all pagan systems, it ultimately demands human sacrifice. The policies promoted in the name of saving the planet consistently harm the poorest and most vulnerable. Energy restrictions, population control, de-development, these fall hardest on those least able to bear the burden. But the priests of the green religion don’t live like their converts. They fly private jets to climate conferences and own multiple homes while lecturing others about carbon footprints.

The hypocrisy isn’t the point. The point is the structure: an elite priesthood interpreting divine will (climate science) to mandate sacrifices from the masses while exempting themselves from the same requirements. That’s not science. That’s religion.

The Pornographic Liturgy

Ancient pagan worship was often explicitly sexual. Temple prostitution, fertility rites, orgiastic ceremonies, these weren’t perversions of religion but core practices. Sexuality was sacralized and deployed as a form of worship and power.

The internet has created a global temple of sexual worship accessible to anyone with a smartphone. Pornography is the liturgy of this temple, consumed by billions with religious devotion. It shapes expectations, rewires brains, destroys relationships, and creates dependencies as powerful as any drug.

But it’s not just pornography. The entire culture has been sexualized. Children are exposed to sexual content younger and younger. Gender becomes performance art. Bodies become commodities. Intimacy becomes transaction. And all of it is celebrated as liberation while families disintegrate and birth rates collapse.

This is Baal and Asherah repackaged. The practices haven’t changed, just the presentation. And the fruit is the same: broken people, shattered families, and children sacrificed to adult desires.

The Medical-Industrial Sacrament

The medical establishment has become perhaps the most powerful priesthood in modern society. During recent years we witnessed their power in full display. The ability to declare emergencies, mandate treatments, restrict movement, and punish dissenters. The unquestioning obedience demanded of the faithful. The excommunication of those who questioned the orthodoxy.

Doctors have always held authority, but something shifted. The white coat became a clerical collar. Medical credentials became ecclesiastical authority. And “trust the science” became the creed you recite to prove your loyalty. Dissenting doctors were stripped of licenses. Contrary studies were suppressed. Alternative treatments were banned. And millions complied not because the evidence was overwhelming but because the priests demanded it.

This is the power of a religious system. It doesn’t need to prove itself. It needs only to establish authority and demand obedience. And the population, desperate for certainty and safety, will bow.

The State as Savior

Perhaps the most obvious religious shift is the deification of government. In ancient Rome, the emperor was worshiped as divine. In modern democracies, we pretend we’ve moved beyond that, but watch how people respond to political leaders. The messianic language. The absolute loyalty. The inability to criticize without being labeled a heretic.

Left and right both do this, just with different deities. One side believes government can solve every problem through enough programs and funding. The other believes government can protect them from every threat through enough power and surveillance. Both have made an idol of the state. Both expect salvation through political means. Both are worshiping created things rather than the Creator.

The state doesn’t need to call itself a god. It just needs to act like one. And we, exhausted by freedom and terrified by responsibility, gladly hand over the authority.

The Pattern Repeating

What makes all of this particularly dangerous is how invisible it is to those inside it. The pagans of the ancient world knew they were worshiping gods. We don’t. We think we’re being rational, scientific, progressive. We think we’ve moved beyond primitive religion. But we’ve simply traded one set of rituals for another, one set of priests for another, one set of demands for another.

The paganism of our age is more insidious precisely because it denies being religious at all. It wraps itself in the language of rights, science, progress, and compassion. It positions itself as the opposition to religion rather than the inheritor of religion’s power and methods. This makes it almost impossible to resist because resistance itself is framed as regression.

But the fruit reveals the root. Broken families. Isolated individuals. Confused children. Anxious adults. Crumbling communities. Rising despair. These aren’t the fruits of progress. These are the fruits of false worship. And they’re the same fruits the ancient world harvested before it collapsed.

The gods haven’t changed. They’ve just learned to market themselves better. And unless we learn to recognize them beneath their modern disguises, we’ll keep feeding them what they’ve always demanded: our children, our freedom, our souls, and our future.