I thought this country was a country of freedom and no one was to make fun of anothers beliefs! I think there is nothing wrong with what wiccans believe in! and I'm not even a wiccan! but my niece is.
2006-08-27 14:48:46 · 28 answers · asked by Krazi3 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
People fear what they don't (or refuse to) understand.
Blessed Be
Pabs
2006-08-27 14:55:56 · answer #1 · answered by Pablito 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If no one "was" to make fun of others beliefs, than it wouldn't be a free country. Part of freedom is learning to take criticism.
My problem with Wiccans is the pretentiousness that a lot of them display. A lot of them claim to be descended from long lines of witches that go back hundreds of years. Sorry, but Wiccanism is only 50 years old. There are no writings going back to the Pagan beliefs of the ancient Druids or other European Pagans. Wiccans don't follow one belief system, they mix several pagan belief systems into one. The Ancient Celts would not have agreed with having their religion mixed in with Roman pagan beliefs. But, Wiccans still do that. So, Wiccans insult the original beliefs they claim to honor. The witch burnings are horribly exaggerated by Wiccans. Wiccans just do not do proper research on the history of what they say they believe in. I am not a fundamentalist Christian, or a Christian at all for that matter. But, Wiccans try to paint themselves as victims of persecution that simply does not exist. If you want to know about persecution, read up on what ancient Roman Pagans did to Christians for hundreds of years. Than you might understand what REAL persecution is. There's a few points for you on why Wiccans get made fun of. Tell your niece to suck it up. Life isn't fair, and it never will be.
2006-08-27 21:53:05 · answer #2 · answered by wileycoyote_the_supergenius 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because there is still a stigma out there towards anything that is not one of the big 5. And because there are still a lot of misconceptions floating around out there about Wiccans.
But you also have to understand that in this country, freedom of religion not only means the freedom to practice your religion but also the freedom to criticise religious beliefs you disagree with. You can't stop it. All you can do is ignore the critics and hold your head up high.
I hate to say it since I am also Pagan, but you just can't practice an alternative path and not expect some criticism and raised eyebrows from others. It just doesn't work. The challenge is not to let them get to you.
2006-08-27 23:22:38 · answer #3 · answered by Abriel 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that the reason most people have a problem with Wiccans is because of a line from the Bible. Wiccans are also called witches. The line in the Bible reads, "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live." That means that Christians are supposed to kill witches. Since this isn't the Dark Ages anymore, a Christian just can't go out and kill himself a witch, so he has to settle for persecuting the witch instead. Also, Wicca has beliefs and practices that are at odds with what the Bible teaches. For example, the Bible tells you not to practice fortune telling or divination, and in Wicca, each person is encouraged to practice whatever form of divination they like the most.
Personally, since I am Pagan myself, I think that most followers of restrictive religions, like Christianity, are upset because the Pagans and Wiccans can do most everything they can't. It's like the Christians have the mindset of, "If I can't have any fun, then nobody can have any fun."
2006-08-27 21:57:15 · answer #4 · answered by Bastet's kitten 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Most don't. Many people secretly want others to have problems with whatever religion or other path they choose because this supports the special identity they're looking for. While it's reality that traditional christians find problems in Wicca, it's also a fact that everyone else doesn't give a flying sh_t and doesn't even care about Wicca or any other thing that people are trying to use to scream to others about their specialness. Go off and practice your religion all you want and try to avoid the VERY subtle pull of the ego to make it into an identity thing (a badge of your specialness). Most of us don't have this self-awareness so ... it may come later on.
2006-08-27 21:53:56 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The same reason people have a problem with what Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. believe in. People criticize anything that is different from what they believe, not just wiccans. It will never change, just get used to it, ignore it, and move on.
2006-08-27 21:52:54 · answer #6 · answered by WHATS UP! 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think most people don't know much about it, and they tend to believe what they see on TV or the movies. Lots of people just have a very set idea of what religion should be, and different ideas threaten them. It is a free country to practice religious beliefs, but also a free country to criticize others. That's just the way it goes.
2006-08-27 21:55:51 · answer #7 · answered by MissM 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well the basic source of your distress is this false belief that "this country was a country of freedom and no one was to make fun of anothers [sic] beliefs".
I suspect that you are referring to the Constitutional protections of the First Amendment, which in part states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".
However there is absolutely nothing that prohibits someone from "making fun of anothers [sic] beliefs". To do so is to exercise your freedom of speech, which is protected under the same amendment ("Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech").
So you see, you cannot claim the protection of the Constitution and its Amendments when it suites your arguments and then cast aside or ignore them when they do not.
2006-08-27 22:29:12 · answer #8 · answered by elars1989 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why? because people and hollywood still would rether believe in what the early Christian(Catholic mostly) church taught them to believe about the Religion. Even through most of their rites and rituals also holydays were taken from the Pagan/Wican Religion to try and get them to convert to the Christian religion. some did but most practicted dual religion . Christiantiy on Sunday Paganism /Wicca in there own homes or in covens the rest of the time. The Pagans /Wicans had no problem in beliving in most of what the Christian church was preaching as they all ready belived in triple Dieities.It was the Christian Church that wanted to stampout all belife and practices of the older Religion.
Rember :The Gods of one Religion are the Devils of the next.
2006-08-27 22:01:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
People fear the unknown, so they lash out as a reaction. Also, witches have had some unpleasant history, and Wiccan rituals remind many people of the witches. Remember the witch burnings of the past?
2006-08-27 21:52:12 · answer #10 · answered by ethereality 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm agnostic, but I have to say that I regard Wicca highly among the religions.
It rejects the idea that it is the only true path, and is beyond tolerant... it's accepting of all other religions.
on that basis alone, I wish more theists were Wiccan. There'd be fewer wars.
2006-08-27 21:52:14 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋