Paganism generally refers to an earth-based or nature-revering religion. To pagans the earth is a beautiful, alive, and sensual place to commune with and enjoy fully through the senses. According to pagans the human body is a perfectly designed instrument to enjoy the richness of life. In this path the body and the world are affirmed in the highest sense, rather than being something to transcend as seems to be the case in many other religious paths.

Life purpose in the pagan tradition is intimately linked with the earth. Tremendous emphasis is placed on the self as one with nature. Indeed the new term eco-self fits perfectly into the pagan understanding. Because a human is seen as interconnected with nature, pagans live a life that is full of ritual and celebration of the earth's cycles. One of the major life purposes for a pagan is to align with the earth's seasonal shifts and honor them. Major religious ceremonies for pagans often lie on the solstices and equinoxes, the times of seasonal shift.

Marawolf, a pagan practitioner, describes life purpose to a pagan as follows, "The purpose of life as seen through a Pagan's eyes might be best described as: to live in harmony with nature, to develop our personal and spiritual potential, to be aware of and to manifest the inherent divinity within us all, and to help all people to do the same." (http://elevated.freeyellow.com/page25.html) Divinity in the pagan tradition does not mean a transcendent soul separate from nature, but rather the self as one with all of creation. This type of realization has led many pagan practitioners to become environmental activists, because they see the destruction of nature as destruction of the great being that supports us all and that we are one with.