I would be grateful for any comments to this. I am trying to write something useful for people so that perhaps I don't see so much discrimination, at least in my own life.
-----
A Field Guide to Wicca for Non Pagans
As the target of at least one evangelical Christian due solely to my religious preferences, I feel that perhaps it's time to address some of the misconceptions that are widely held about Wiccans, in hopes that at least perhaps ONE individual may actually think about what is written before displaying the same knee jerk response that the majority of Virginia voters did when they voted their religious preferences into the Constitution of the Commonwealth.
So what IS Wicca? Although there are many different definitions, I think that they all boil down to one thing - duality of Deity. Whatever an individual Wiccan calls their Deities, whether it be Sprit, "the Gods," "The Lord and Lady" or just "Nature" that Deity is made up of male and female parts, neither superior to the other. As in nature, both parts are necessary to creation of new life and maintenance of what already exists. There it is. That's what Wicca is about.
Please notice that the definition of Wicca does NOT include recruiting people to the cause, controlling political parties, forcing behaviors on others, worshipping dark forces of doom, casting spells on people you don't like (or people you DO like for that matter), or otherwise interfering with the Free Will of others.
Granted, there are many individuals who call themselves Wiccan who do these things. There are many who call themselves Christian who do similar bad things. (As an aside, I feel it's our responsibility to point out when someone has acted outside the bounds of their faith and not to accept such bad behavior as acceptable, but that's another paper).
So, why do some evangelicals and fundamentalists mount hate campaigns from the pulpit, and incite parishioners to attempt to "stamp out" Wicca and Wiccans wherever they can? Why would a religion whose main Deity taught tolerance and respect for others, have people contained within it who not only wish harm on others, but commit it? Perhaps part of it is misinformation. Let's start with addressing some popular misconceptions:
1) Wiccans are Satanists.
This is a tough one to explain to those who don't understand history. Oftentimes, a picture of Pan is held up as "The Wiccan God" and a parallel is drawn between Pan's traditional horns, cloven hooves and tail as proof that Wiccans worship Satan. There are a number of ways to poke holes in this myth, so let's start with some of the most obvious:
There is no "one Wiccan God." Most Wiccans are polytheistic, believing in many Gods. But wouldn't that mean that those Wiccans who DO believe in Pan are Satanists? While it might be tempting to try to tie that up in a neat little package of proof, the facts are quite different. Pan predates Christianity. Despite the desire to universalize both the Christian Deities as well as their Nemesis, the entity of Satan appeared first in the Old Testament as an office ("the Satan," who was similar to a District Attorney, or "devil's advocate" who challenged Job's integrity to the God of the Old Testament 1 Chronicles 21:1 and Zechariah 3:1-2). Satan as evil entity did not appear until Matthew 12:24 in the New Testament.
Satan, being a creature of Christianity, simply is the Christians' issue, not ours. In order to believe in the existence of Satan, one must believe the New Testament's story of his existence and his nature. It is very difficult for many Wiccans to understand that some Christians do not consider their religion a 'belief system" but instead as a "fact system" and can't fathom that this view is not held by Wiccans. We simply do not believe that the New Testament is true, and do not believe that Satan exists. This makes it impossible for Wiccans to be Satanists.
2) But What about the Pentacle? That's a Satanic Symbol!
Untrue. The Pentacle is an ancient Pagan symbol that signifies the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water with a top point representing Spirit. Some use a downward pointing center point which signifies Spirit being the base of the elements. However, this symbol predated Satan, and was adopted by some Satanists in the same way that the Swastika was an ancient Hindu symbol adopted by Adolph Hitler. Most wearing a Pentacle are either Wiccan, or don't know what it means but wear it because "it's cool."
3) Wiccans, Even if Not Satanists, Worship Evil
With all the kids running around dressing "goth" and sporting pentacles, it's difficult for many non Wiccans to understand the difference between practitioners of the Wiccan religion, and practitioners of rebellious behavior. Some teenagers and young adults target those around them (especially parents) with as shocking behavior as possible, and for some, the most shocking possible is for their child to reveal they reject the family's religion in favor of one thought of as "evil."
In reality, Wiccans don't believe in absolute good or absolute evil. The vast majority of Wiccans follow the Wiccan Rede, which states "An it harm none, do what you will." This means that Wiccans strive to harm no one in their daily lives, and carefully consider all consequences before knowingly causing harm to another. This makes it rather difficult to embrace evil, since we believe that the consequences will find you with at least as much harm to you as you dished out.
With popular movies like "The Craft" out there, it's difficult to overcome these preconceived notions. However, as hollywood often exaggerates and outright ignores truth for sensationalism in an equal opportunity manner, everyone is treated in an equally outrageous manner.
4) Wiccans are Witches and Witches are Evil
While many Witches are Wiccans, not all Wiccans are Witches. The way I like to explain it is that Wicca is the religion we follow. To be "a witch" is the way that one may choose to interact with their environment. To be a witch is not to follow any particular religious path. As far as being evil, there are witches who do things that others may not consider appropriate. There are also witches who identify their religion as Christian.
Wiccans, as opposed to Witches, generally follow the Wiccan Rede, which prohibits them from doing wanton acts of "evil." Please keep in mind, however, that what is permitted behavior under Wicca is not the same as permitted behavior under Christianity. If a Wiccan does something prohibited under Christianity, such as homosexual acts, those are not prohibited under our ethical structure, and therefore are not considered "evil" or to be causing harm. On the other hand, committing sexual acts upon anyone who does not consent (which includes children who do not have the capacity to consent) IS causing harm, and is therefore prohibited under Wiccan ethics.
5) Since Wiccans don't believe in God, how can they possibly have morals or ethics?
This is one I've heard quite often. The questioners presuppose a world in which one only does what is "right" if they are afraid of punishment for doing "wrong." They often can't conceive of situations where Atheists, or those who do not believe in the Christian God, could possibly refrain from doing "bad things." Without meaning to be snide, many of us do good simply because it's the right thing to do.
Wiccans do believe in God, but they believe also in Goddess. Most believe in many Gods and many Goddesses. While Wiccans do not have a "hell" where they are punished with eternal damnation if they commit acts contrary to their religious beliefs, they strive in all ways to become closer to their Gods, which includes doing what is right.
6) Wiccans torture and sacrifice animals and babies. That's why they meet secretly in the woods.
While there are many reports of people (normally kids) who torture and murder animals, Wiccans do not do these things, holding all animals sacred to the Gods. Again, there may be people who commit unspeakable acts against animals and/or other humans may claim to be Wiccan, but they are not following the Wiccan faith or the Wiccan Rede.
Many Wiccans meet in the woods or other natural settings because of their reverence for nature. Many say, "the Earth is our church." Many are secretive about their religious path because of the religious persecution they still experience, largely due to misconceptions and outright untruths that are told regarding their religious practices. Despite First Amendment guarantees, Wiccans and other Pagans are still fired from their jobs, their religion is held against them in child custody disputes, their parenting skills are questioned due solely to their religion, they are deemed unfit to run for political office or to hole appointed public positions, and sometimes whispered hate campaigns and stares cause them to "voluntarily" leave their places of employment. Various pastors of churches rail against them, directing parishioners to shun them or worse.
7) Wiccans are dangerous, and wish to undermine everything that Christians hold dear.
Most Wiccans are not anti-Christian. In fact, most Wiccans have better things to do with their lives than attempt to interfere in the religious practices of another. Like those of many other religious faiths, they simply do not believe that the Bible is truth and have instead chosen another path. Wicca teaches respect for other religious paths, and teaches that each person should remain free to experience their religious preferences in the way that they desire, so long as they harm no one else.
Wiccans tend to interfere with religious practices only when they are unfairly imposed on others without their consent without affording the same opportunity for other paths. For example, Christian prayers before public meetings.
Wiccans will generally provide information to those who ask about their faith, but are prohibited from prostheletyzing. They are also prohibited from recruiting your children, dragging them off to secret coven meetings or otherwise attempting to interfere with your relationship with your child.
8) Halloween is a Pagan holiday and if we celebrate it, we are actually worshipping Pagan Gods against our will.
There has been a lot of debate concerning Halloween and whether or not it is anti-Christian or associated with "evil." Most of the world's Wiccans celebrate holidays that correspond with pre-Christian harvest holidays and/or equinoxes. Many pre-Christian cultures celebrated holidays at these times of the year to mark specific points of the year that were in timing with their agrarian culture. As life focused around the harvest and whether they would have enough food to make it through the winter, these holidays were meant to give thanks to the Gods or to ask for the Gods' blessings as they began difficult times of the year. They would pray for the fertility of the fields and their livestock which was their only means of survival.
As Christianity became the dominant religion in these areas, the meanings of the holidays were changed, however the timing remained, as it was much easier for the populations involved to observe at those times. There has been much written on the historical facts surrounding the holidays, which can be easily found by Google search, so I won't bore you with them here.
Concerning Halloween itself, most Wiccans celebrate the aspects of the holiday specific to their religion. As Christmas has its secular aspects, like Santa Claus, and Pagan aspects such as the Christmas tree and the Yule log, as well as its Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus, Halloween, called Samhain or November Eve by most Wiccans, has religious aspects as well. It is a time of remembering those who have gone before. All Saints Day and All Souls Day are similar holidays in the Christian faith, although they are observed differently. As an aside, during Halloween, Wiccans keep their black cats inside as should everyone else due to unscrupulous individuals that do harm to them for their own, non Wiccan purposes.
9) We Don't Need to Pay Much Attention to Wiccans - Thank Goodness There Aren't Many Out There
Not all Wiccans wear jewelry or other accouterments indicating their religion. Therefore, there may be many more of them than are immediately visible. Most have no reason whatsoever to reveal their private religion to the world, especially given the number of misconceptions that are out there, and the rampant persecution they still endure. They are doctors, lawyers, police officers, military, teachers, parents, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, activists, pacifists, heterosexuals, homosexuals, married, single, domestic partners, men, and women. They come from all walks of life, all socio-economic classes, and from most countries in the world. Despite all of their differences, the vast majority have no interest in interfering in the lives of or imposing their belief system on anyone else. They only ask the same consideration from everyone else.
The American Religious Identification Survey of the American adult population indicated that between 1990 and 2001, the Wiccan community grew by 17 times, making it the fastest growing religion reported. In 2001, 134,000 Americans identified as Wiccan. The Pentagon says that more than 1800 Wiccans are on active duty in the armed forces.
10) Wicca Isn't a Real Religion Anyway - It's a Cult
How do you measure a "real religion?" How do you define a "cult?" Many define a cult as a religious group that they've never heard of. Others, such as the FBI, define it by Isaac Bonewits "Advanced Bonewits Cult Danger Evaluation Frame" which consists of 18 factors which rate a group on a scale of 1-10 based on 18 factors:
1. internal control
2. external control
3. wisdom or knowledge claimed by leaders
4. wisdom or knowledge credited to leaders
5. dogma
6. recruiting
7. front groups
8. wealth
9. sexual manipulation
10. sexual favoritism
11. censorship
12. isolation
13. dropout control
14. violence
15. paranoia
16. grimness
17. surrender of will
18. hypocrisy
Wicca is a religion of control within the individual, with leaders who are generally democratic, who encourage practitioners to fully evaluate and explore their religious preferences. There is no dogma, no recruiting, and no front groups. The loosely affiliated group called Wiccans have no central authority and its individual practitioners are across the economic spectrum. Sexual manipulation and favoritism are not a part of Wiccan belief. Censorship is not tolerated and isolation is not practical given no central authority. Most Wiccan groups wish the best for those who want to leave and congratulate the person on finding a better path. The Wiccan Rede prohibits violence. While individual Wiccans may become paranoid or grim, they aren't common traits of the group. The vast majority of Wiccan groups demand that practitioners think for themselves, and there is no higher incidence of hypocrisy in Wicca than in any other religious group.
So is Wicca a "real religion?" In 1985, as a result of Dettmer v. Landon, 617 F. Supp. 592, the District Court of Virginia ruled that Wicca is a legally recognised religion and is afforded all the benefits accorded to it by law. This was affirmed a year later by Judge J. Butzner of the Federal Appeals Court fourth circuit (799 F 2d 929, 1986). While judges don't make a religion "real" it does provide a legitimacy. Wiccan clergy have been given rights in all 50 states to perform marriages, and have received the same in many countries around the world. Several Wiccan groups have been given IRS non profit 501(c)(3) status, and many more have been granted non profit corporate status across most states in the US.
In other words, Wicca is as real as any other religion.
11) I Have Questions That Weren't Answered Here
I'll be glad to try to answer them for you. Just drop a blog comment and I'll do what I can.