Is Hellenismos an ethnic religion? Must one be ethnically Greek to practice it?
Although a few separatist groups in Greece do claim that one must be ethnically Greek to practice Hellenismos, the majority of Hellenic polytheists view the religion as culturally specific, but not ethnically exclusive. To be sure, ancient Hellenic religion was the product of a specific people, and to that extent it may reasonably be referred to as an ethnic religion. But in the ancient world, Hellenismos achieved a wide adherence throughout the Mediterranean and beyond, and was practiced by people who were not ethnically Hellenic. So it is today, especially in North America. Since most North Americans do not have a single, definable ethnicity, we tend to look to other criteria as signs of religious “belonging”: a call from our gods, a life lived according to certain ethical standards, a commitment to the furtherance of ancient Hellenic religious culture. In addition, the bloody results of past calls to “ethnic purity” in Europe and elsewhere are enough to convince many people that rad
