why are so many people afraid of "dark" or "occult" religions?

Question

In all the years I have practiced Wicca, I have noticed many people are afraid of it. Is this simply because they are ignorant of what it's really about? And the same goes for other non-christian religions. Is the fear nothing more than ignorance?

i use the terms dark" and "occult" to make it easier for some to understand what I am leading into. it has nothing to do with my personal feelings about my own religion. also... satanism... that being TRUE satanism... doesn NOT condone any blood sacrifice.

Answer 1

Hollywood, in a word, what they see most often ***is*** the "truth", Hollywood has us all sacrificing babies to Satan, and drinking bat's blood, and we pagans don't necessarily advertise our defense to these claims on sunday-morning television like the mormons. I like it better this way because at least we aren't trying to convert anyone.

Answer 2

Many people confuse Paganism, including Wicca, with Satanism, which really has more to do with a Christian ethos than a pagan one.

Many Pagans associate with the pentagram, which ironically at one point in history Christians did too seeing the pentagram as a symbol for the five stigmatas of Christ. This symbol which the Pagans still use was perverted by Satanists who reversed the symbol upside down to symbolize the goat which in Christianity Sheep symbolize God's elect and Goats the Devil's.

Also especially in Fundamental Christianity, Orthodox Judaism and Islam heavy suspicion is seen against anything that falls outside of it's realm. In fact this prejudice stems from the Old Testament which orders the death of those who preach any other religious system.

Obviously in the Western world we live in different times and do not burn witches anymore, but still there is a psychic scar on the populace who for more millenniums than not had imposed on them a heavily prejudiced system.

It is going to take quite some time to completely remove that collective programming. Thank God I live in a time and place where I can facilitate that process without being killed. It was not all that long ago when these hard won freedoms were not to be had and one could literally lose ones life just because of what they believed. It is still this way in certain parts of the world.

In light of all this information I encourage those of you who realize how fortunate you are to fight hard to keep it this way by speaking up for those who are not so fortunate.

Blessings to All

Answer 3

I like this statement because some people cling to a religion without putting much thought into it, they claim it but don't really incorporate it into their lives. And I agree, true and mindful spirituality is often discovered through difficult experiences or intense pursuits. To a spiritual person, religion is often incorporated into their spirituality, but on a more meaningful basis, it becomes a part of who they are, they find the real meaning of religion and spirituality. What I don't like about it is that it fuels the fire for some who think that anyone who claims a religion must not be a "real thinker" or a person with real and practical experiences. But I don't think that is the meaning of this statement, because in that same manner, people often cling to other forms of spirituality, or atheism, without any real thought or understanding put into that viewpoint either.

Answer 4

Because dangerous things have always HIDDEN in the DARK.
'Occult' means hidden. And many creatures hunt in the dark, often using stealth in their attacks. There are many spirits in this world, some good, some evil. Long experience has shown many cultures that many spirits are to be guarded against. The biggest problem with Wicca is that, being a new take on an old religion, it is not yet quite aware of the danger. This is what makes Ouija boards so dangerous. They provide an opening for virtually ANY spirit to channel through, and once here, they only leave if THEY wish to.

It's not ignorance.

Answer 5

I have to agree that their fear is ignorance, and that people fear what they don't understand. One of the things they don't understand is that the word occult has a very benign meaning, just hidden knowledge and wisdom. But they associate it with the devil, and evil, because that is what they were taught. You see, in the early days of the Christian church, the people at the highest levels of the church wanted to control the masses, and the only way they could gain that control was to brainwash as many as they could into believing only what they were told, and making sure that they were afraid to think for themselves. Those who refused to stop thinking for themselves, the Christians tried to get rid of, by either killing them off, or discrediting them, or destroying their writings. They succeeded in driving us underground for many centuries, but they couldn't destroy us, and soon it will be our turn to shine. By us, I am referring to all the free thinking people. I am not wiccan, but I am new age/ neo-pagan/ whatever other system of thought that fits. We all have to kind of stick together, because it is so very wrong for any one group to say that they are the only true faith and everyone else is going to hell. And even though they may not realize that they come across that way, they seem very smug about it,

Answer 6

Yes, that's precisely what it is. They don't understand what Wicca is all about and many are actually afraid to learn, thinking it's a "trick of Satan." I know some who are literally afraid to even say the word Wicca. They would run from the room if someone tried to explain it to them. They've been taught that ignorance is a virtue and anything that is not of their own religion is "evil."

I hope you had a nice Yule/Solstice celebration yesterday.

Answer 7

I think Texascomet's comment proved your point exactly. Clearly very ignorant and unwilling to learn anything about Wicca if her only comment is that it's Satanic.

We don't believe in Satan, dear. Perhaps you should try learning about witchcraft outside of horror movies.

Happy Solstice! (I LOVE that the Solstice didn't fall right on Yule this year - two days of merriment!)
)O(

Answer 8

Christians are not afraid of Wicca or any other religion. We do know that if it is not of God, then it's a false teaching and we should stay away from it. That's not fear or ignorance, that's the right way.

Merry Christmas.

Answer 9

Actually, no. It is not fear of other religions as much as it is the fear of God.
Judeo-Christian teachings encourage their believers to avoid any other religion because their gods displace God's role in our lives.

Acknowledging certain power(s) from the dark, or occult side of the spirit realm puts those practices in direct conflict with the commandments we are taught in the Torah & Bible.

We don't fear your religion.
We respect our God.

Answer 10

Here's an interesting thought: people speculate endlessly about the astronomical significance of stone circles. But the one archaeologically undeniable characteristic shared by almost all stone circles is their close association with human sacrifice. If you claim the mantle of pre-Christian European religion, those are your roots, and I'd ask you precisely what resources in your own tradition you have available to critique and reform those roots.

Your question tacitly identifies your own religion as "dark" and "occult" (i.e., hidden). In turn I would ask you what specifically about your religion leads you to characterize it as such.

And your avatar is frikkin creepy. If you set out to creep people out, you'll probably succeed. The whole "revelling in the dark side" thing is pretty sophomoric.