Why does the Wiccan / Pagan religion seem to focus on females?

Question

Every time i hear or read anything about the Wiccan religion, it seems to focus on female practitioners. Is it because more Wiccan's are females? Are male's who practice Wicca looked upon differently that females who practice it?

Answer 1

There are several reasons for this. The first is that yes, the majority of wiccans tend to be female but there are many straight men involved with it too. This is often because women who have tired of patriarchal society jump at the chance to worship a feminine force as opposed to a male force. Some of them believe only in worshipping the feminine in an attempt to bring the world back in balance for centuries of male worship. The goddess is also seen as the main creator giving her slightly higher impoprtance than the god. There is however strong male dieties within the religion and true wiccan practice is to incorporate both evenly. Generally as a solitary practioner everyone is considered equal but as far as covens/groups go the priestess is given slightly more authority than the priests but the difference is hardly nopticeable mostly it means the High proestess get's to make slightly more descisions about how the ritual will go but the High preist's input is a valued commodity that must be taken into consideration before any final descision is made.

Answer 2

First off, it's not quite right to use the words Wiccan and Pagan interchangeably. Various forms of paganism focus on different kinds of people, and are very different religions. Try showing up to an Asatruar Blot and see how female centred it is!

But focusing on the Wiccan community, it should be mentioned that although the goddess was seen as the more important deity in Gardnerian tradition (Gardner being the guy who founded Wicca) the actual practice of the religion itself did not favor women at all. It was even written into the 161 laws that you couldn't have an ugly or old High Priestess, and she derived her power only through the High Priest. Very few "wiccans" I know now even know that.

As time passed, and Wicca, as a new religion no matter what it claims, evolved to suit the needs of believers, it became more and more female powered. I think this was caused by a backlash against the Abrahamic religions, which have very little to offer women. In Muslim society definitely, and in many traditional Jewish communities, the women are seen as inferioir to men. In a lot of Christian churches this is slightly less overt, but it is still there. Even in the deominations where it is allowed, a female pastor is often regarded with suspicion. The religions themselves are male dominated- how many important figures can you think of from the works in question who were strong and female? A lot of women felt left out, and so sought out the goddess centered spirituality of Wicca, and the rules changed. Yes, there are more female wiccans, and I think this is why.

Oh sure, a lot of them actually see men as less important than themselves (I think that's the backlash talking again) and can even come up with justifications for it. You can read some of them here! But wicca itself was not designed with this view in mind, and I don't personally think it's right to see either gender as better than the other. The wiccans who put the shoe on the other foot are just as guilty of gender bias as the churches they probably left in the first place.

But give it time. The Wiccan men are standing up for themselves. A lot of them have had it with the whole "all wiccan men are gay" stereotype you get from non wiccans, also. I think the situation will balance out, yet.

Answer 3

Wicca is a modern spin off of antique and modern pagan religions. These religions emphasize the female and the principal deity is often Mother Nature. I'll give you a few examples:
- Andean Indian religion is centered around Mama Pancha, Mother Nature
- María Lionza is the principal spirit of a Venezuelan nature cult
- Even in Christianity (Catholicism) for a lot of believers the Virgin Mary is more important than Christ, or God the Father himself.

It's only in the three monotheistic desert religions (Jewry, Christianity and Islam) that a single authoritative, severe and sometimes vengeful, "macho" male God is supreme. In those religions women and in general the female element are suppressed, sometimes forcefully. I don't have to give examples of that, right?

Answer 4

About 70% of Wiccan practicioners are female. The reason is that most Wiccans are converts from other religions. One of the Biggest draws to Wicca is the Feminine aspect. Although we value male and female equally, women are more likely to feel like outcasts wil less to lose by changing their religion, Where men feel a responsiblility to their family to keep the family name. Because most families don't approve of their children's conversion to Wicca.

My husband is a male Wiccan. He is heterosexual.

Answer 5

Yes, the Craft is extremely erroneous. Wiccans suppose in a Higher Power(s) within the type of God(s) & Goddess(es). The Male/Female stability is beautiful valuable to Wiccan ideals & worship. It's a extremely experiential faith; we're guided via our dating with the Divine and our reviews, now not such a lot through plenty of dogma, that's why it sort of feels we suppose exceptional matters. I would not say I worship the Earth or earth spirits in any respect... I revere the earth and all nature, however I worship my Gods. Do we do magic-- is determined by the Wiccan. Nothing like in The Craft although. Wiccans who suppose in magic normally see it as aspect of nature, too-- herbs that heal, utilising meditation to consciousness on ambitions, and many others. It's now not a number of hocus-pocus.

Answer 6

Women are sacred in Wiccan religion. There are male Wiccans, but it specifically appeals to females, especially feminists, because of its dominant female Goddess figure. Most male Pagans I know are drawn to the more balance Druidry, Shamanic, Hellenic and Anglo-Saxon practices.

Answer 7

Pagans are not all Wiccans. The answers are different if you're talking about Druids and Asatruar, or about Hindus, for that matter.

That said, there are a number of variations on Wicca, some of which are strongly oriented toward Goddess, even at the expense of God. Traditional Wicca tends toward focussing on balance, while Eclectic Wicca tends to focus on Goddess more than God, and Dianic Wicca honors Goddess as the Moon and Earth exclusively.

As far as men in Wicca are concerned, it varies. There are many men who are straight and masculine who devoutly worship Goddess in Her various forms in both Traditional and Eclectic Wicca. There are also gay men who practice both Eclectic and Dianic wicca, as well as Feri Wicca. They are not diminished or seen as inferior for their devotion; the ones I know are not particularly submissive, either.

Answer 8

Wicca was created with the idea of complete balance in mine - equality between males and females. I'm not sure where you are gettting the idea that it is focused on female. There is a lot of discussion about goddesses which is to remind people that deity is not only male, but there is not an emphasis on male or female - there is balance.

Answer 9

My guess is that Wicca is one of the few belief systems that emphasize the feminine qualities of the Deity. The Abrahamic religions all seem patriarchal, which may make women feel inferior. Wicca tends to be more equal in terms of gender, so by comparison it seems to have a larger feminine focus.

Hope that helps.

Answer 10

In my local community, there are more female Wiccans than male. But there are more male druids, recons and shamans than female. Of course there are both males and females in each of these groups, just different proportions. I suppose people gravitate to what they like best. And it could just be a local thing. I don't know.