Revivals of the ancient Roman polytheistic religion have occurred in several forms in modern times. Seeking to revive traditional Roman

cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

and

mores Mores (, sometimes ; , plural form of singular , meaning "manner, custom, usage, or habit") are social norms that are widely observed within a particular society or culture. Mores determine what is considered morally acceptable or unacceptable ...

, they have been known under various names including cultus deorum Romanorum (worship of the Roman gods), religio Romana (Roman religion), the Roman way to the gods ( it, Via romana agli dei), Roman-Italic Religion and Gentile Roman Religion. A number of loosely related organizations have been created during the

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

period.

History

Interest in reviving

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

religious traditions dates from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. People such as

Gemistus Pletho Georgios Gemistos Plethon ( el, Γεώργιος Γεμιστός Πλήθων; la, Georgius Gemistus Pletho /1360 – 1452/1454), commonly known as Gemistos Plethon, was a Greek scholar and one of the most renowned philosophers of the late By ...

and

Julius Pomponius Laetus Julius Pomponius Laetus (1428 – 9 June 1498), also known as Giulio Pomponio Leto, was an Italian humanist. Background Laetus was born at Teggiano, near Salerno, the illegitimate scion of the princely house of Sanseverino, the German historian ...

were early advocates. In 19th century Italy, the fall of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

and the process of

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

led to

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

sentiments in the intelligentsia. Some Italian intellectuals considered that a revival of Roman polytheism was a serious alternative to Roman Catholicism. People such as the archaeologist Giacomo Boni and the writer Roggero Musmeci Ferrari Bravo promoted the restoration of Roman

and

. Some of the religious revivalists were interested in

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

ism,

Pythagoreanism Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek col ...

and

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

; these included Amedeo Rocco Armentano,

Arturo Reghini Arturo Reghini (12 November 1878 – 1 July 1946) was an Italian mathematician, philosopher and esotericist. Biography Arturo Reghini was born in Florence on 12 November 1878. In 1898, he became a member of the Theosophical Society for which he ...

and . In 1914, Reghini published the article "Imperialismo Pagano" () where he argued for the existence of an unbroken initiatory lineage in Italy, connecting ancient Roman religion to modern times through people like

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political institutions are a ...

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

and

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

. The attempts to revive or revitalize Roman cults coincided with the rise of the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

and several of the polytheists tried to ally themselves with fascism. This ended in 1929 when

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

signed the

Lateran Treaty The Lateran Treaty ( it, Patti Lateranensi; la, Pacta Lateranensia) was one component of the Lateran Pacts of 1929, agreements between the Kingdom of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and the Holy See under Pope Pius XI to settle ...

, leaving polytheists such as Musmeci and Reghini embittered with fascism. Loosely influenced by Reghini's and

Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, esotericist, and radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocratic, masculine, traditionalist, heroic, and defiant ...

's of the 1920s, various groups have appeared in Italy during the

period, most notably the ''

Roman Traditional Movement The Roman Traditional Movement ( it, Movimento Tradizionale Romano, abbreviated MTR) is a Roman-Italic neopagan organisation in Italy. It was founded in 1988 as a unification of several existing groups. Among the founders were , and Roberto Inca ...

'' and ''Curia Romana Patrum'' in the 1980s, which unified some calendars. Inspired by the Roman Traditional Movement and by the Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes, the idea of Roman religious practice in modern times spread outside Italy into countries of European or Western culture. Practitioners of the ancient Roman religion can be found especially across

Latin Europe The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Lati ...

and in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. The most notable international organization of reconstructionist Roman religion is

Nova Roma Nova Roma (Latin for 'New Rome") is an international Roman revivalist and reconstructionist organizationStrmiska, Michael: ''Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives'', pp. 335-36. ABC-CLIO, 2005 created in 1998 by Joseph Blo ...

, founded in 1998, which has active groups in every continent.George D. Chryssides, ''Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements'' (2011, 2nd ed.)

References

External links

Pietas Traditional Association

Movimento Tradizionale Romano

Nova Roma
Ancient Roman religion Modern pagan traditions {{neopaganism-stub

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links