Most religions before Christianity worshiped outside in nature as that was how it was intended to be. Christianity wanted to change all the rules and force their dogma on the masses. If you don't follow their rules, you are going to hell. Or at least we are going to roast you alive along with your family members.
Christianity is all about Paganism as they stole from it: Christmas from Saturnalia (and an even older Egyptian festival); St Valentine's Day from Lupercalia (Lupercus and Faunas were nature Gods and Lupercalia was a festival for shepherds as well as fertility hence Cupid and his love arrows); Easter from Estara and many other Goddesses including Persephone and Ostara and so forth.
My mother is now worried the next pope is going to be the antichrist so she wants me to start going to church and stop being a Pagan. She wants me to get to heaven so she can be with her own family. I tried to assure Mom I will be a part of the afterlife and that she will never be alone, but I am not going to church.
I sometimes muse with my devout Catholic mother and sister that the Virgin Mary is the Goddess Diana/Artemis because an early Catholic priest saw how popular the Moon Goddess was and decided to declare Mary and Diana one and the same (hence Mary being called the Queen of Heaven and Mother of God). Mary Magdalene was Isis personified in many aspects of early Christianity as Isis was also very popular. You can't have two very powerful and important Goddesses in a male dominated organization, so Magdalene was demonized and Mary remained a perpetual virgin.
Even now Lucifer gets a bad name especially among Conspiracy groups. Lucifer was an important God of Light and one time consort of Diana. He also was an early protector of witches as was Diana and Hecate. Now, every time one reads about Hecate she is mentioned as being evil when she was one of the most important Titans to the Greeks. Even ZeusJupiter respected who she was as she could come and go through any realm as she pleased.
It used to be we could be condemned as heretics and tortured with some of the most barbaric and cruel methods ever devised all in the name of the Lord.