I responded to a question about church in the parenting section last night. The question was about whether or not you went to church. I responded that I didn't because I'm Wiccan, and there's not that many Wiccan churches. But I also said that I'm hoping I can join a Wiccan church here soon when I move. The question only asked what church you go to. No where did they say it had to be a Christian church.
I recieved two thumbs down for this answer. What I don't understand is why. Just because I admitted to being Wiccan?
Why are Christians allowed to flaunt their religion and beliefs but Wiccans are suppose to hide their beliefs? Why is it such an issue? Paganism has been around for much longer than Christianity. So, why do Christians always talk down to us?
2007-01-01 00:38:44 · 34 answers · asked by Wiccan~Momma 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I wasn't asking for someone to try and convert me. Thanks but no thanks. And I'm okay with explaing my religion sometimes, but geez! Give me a break! If you wan to know about Wicca research it.
2007-01-01 01:45:01 · update #1
You hit the nail on the head. Christians are utter hypocrites.
Being Wiccan is only a "taboo" in their narrow world-view. They want people to think that being Wiccan is "evil" somehow so they can steer people away from it.
However, the internet has broken these barriers of ignorance nicely I think.
Don't worry, as an atheist I get TONS of thumbs down. I think of them as medals. They KNOW I'm right but can't bring themselves to admit it, nor can they enter into a debate as they'd lose. So they do what any childish brat would, they put a thumbs down and run away.
2007-01-01 00:42:38 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 9⤊ 2⤋
Don't worry about a thumbs down. It does not really mean anything. If you stay here in the religion and spirituality section you will find many thumbs down when Christians show an attitude.
I am Wiccan, former Christian. Not just a Christian, I was a preacher going from house to house holding bible studies and baptizing people. I did this 25 plus years. I studied the bible diligently and even now I can hold my own with the bible thumpers.
I am out in the open and hide nothing. The area I live is very Baptist and pagans are so far underground it is hard to find any. There was sone group that tried holding rituals in pujblic and did everything right according to city ordinance, but the large Baptist church would gather and sing and pray for the pagan sinners. so now all pagans are very secretive.
It will get better though, the more we get out in the open and fight for our rights and the more we tell the christians we will practice our religion just as openly as you enjloy, the more we will see changes. We just need to get those in the boom closet out.
2007-01-01 00:48:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
Being Wiccan (or any kind of pagan) isn't taboo, but think about how every other minority is treated...people who are of a minority race are often not treated well, people who are of a minority sexuality are often not treated well.
For all the variety in people and the desire for it (we all know it would be terribly boring if everyone were alike and liked the same thing) many people have very little tolerance for anything different than they are...and if they've been given misinformation and swallowed it hook/line/sinker then you'll be hard pressed to change their mind.
The xian bible has passages about pagans and witches, etc and paints them as evil...anyone who isn't xian is a 'devil worshipper'...well, people foolishly believe that nonsense.
Accept that if you choose to continue this path, you will always be met with some dissention. Try to be patient and accept that these people, though closed minded, actually fear for your 'soul' and many mean well even though they go about it in a poor way.
Be yourself...don't preach your beliefs but educate when you see opportunity to do so and hopefully you can help correct some misconceptions.
Paganism has been around much longer than xianity and many of xian holidays and traditions are based on the pagan...the stories of all the god/dess(es) are myths so anyone claiming theirs is correct and all others are wrong, is not only incorrect but foolish.
We should all respect and cherish this world we live on and work toward caring for her and each other...beyond that, it doesn't matter what imagined diety one honors or if they honor a blade of grass.
2007-01-01 02:34:00 · answer #3 · answered by . 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Wiccan/Pagan questions and answers will generally get a couple of thumbs-down responses. But then, so will just about every other answer out there, so don't worry about it. Your faith is not contingent upon the acceptance and permission of others.
A quick note for Angel: "Wiccan worships the creation, Christians worship the Creator."
Just because Wiccans believe that the spirit of the Divine exists in all things, we don't believe that those things ARE "the Divine".
I can recognize that the trees in my back yard have a spiritual energy all their own that connects them to the Gods and to the universe... even as I have a spiritual energy all my own that connects me to the Gods and to the universe.
That doesn't mean that I think the trees *are* the Gods.
2007-01-01 01:44:09 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
It's 2,000 years of being told, "We're right, we're holy because we have the light of Jesus." The "Christian Church" is responsible for more killing than all terrorism in Islam a trillion times over. Right from the beginning, they raided temples, raped and tortured and murdered priests and priestesses of the old religion. Stole the very stone to make their cathedrals or build right on the same sight as our temples.
To many of them, and especially to the Catholic Church, paganism is demonic, and only evil can come from it. They're responsible for the Crusades, The Inquisition, Witch burning, and have been intimately involved in just about every major war, even WWII, when the Church backed up and looked the other way while the Nazi's exterminated millions of people of all walks of life.
Paganism is a threat. We're taking their people away from church. People are getting tired and leaving, so the backlash is coming at us. They have to paint us as the worst types of people so they will appear holy. They think we should be ashamed of our beliefs. They can't understand why, instead, we're damned proud to call ourselves pagan. People hate what they don't understand.
2007-01-01 00:49:08 · answer #5 · answered by Raven Knight Magick 1 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Wow i'm sorry, yet u.s. government has ordinary it as a faith. Now onto your definitions of occult. a million. coping with supernatural impacts. exceptionally lots each and every faith deals with a supernatural impression. 2. on condition that no faith has been shown yet all of them are previous human be attentive to-how. 3. maximum religions have some style of an initiation. 4. hidden from view, properly shall we seem at countless the favored religions for the time of background a million. Christianity replaced into hidden for 6 hundred years 2. Judaism; will we are saying Holocaust 3. Any faith that's no longer Christianity during the crusades. So i think in accordance on your own words each and every faith has been an occult at one time or yet another. No, i'm no longer precisely a Wiccan, yet once you call them nature freaks and referred to as them an occult I felt that I had to shield them. Now to disprove you. 3 and four. No it is not secret, if it replaced into then how do you be attentive to approximately it? maximum Wiccans do no longer cover who they are, and that i do no longer blame those that do. on condition that their are some those that dislike what they don't comprehend. Secondly how are they hidden, i will locate Wiccans everywhere i pass. i'm hoping sometime that persons will supply up hating human beings for their ideals.
2016-10-06 07:05:03 · answer #6 · answered by marceau 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Being Wiccan is not taboo, but being 76% of Americans label themselves as "Christian", and some of those are fundies and Bible literalists who take everything they read and are told for truth, without question, they will always scream "persecution" and thus use that as the justification to persecute the minority faiths.
There are many enlightened Christians, but there are just as many narrow-minded ones that think as "believe as I believe or I'll hurt you."
Us Wiccans are forced to hide our beliefs because of this fear of persecution by that minority Christian groups that seek to harm us, if not physically, socially. There are numerous accounts of these fundies turning Wiccan parents into the Department of Child Welfare Services for abuse to "save the children", or vandalizing Wiccan family's homes, our ostracizing the Wiccan children at school.
My family is Wiccan. We're not tree-huggers or hippies. I am a businessman and wear a suit to work. But, I've been discriminated against in business and th workplace for not being Christian.
One of my daughters has experienced two instances of discrimination at school in the past year because she wears a pentacle instead of a cross or a CTR ring, and we've taken these to the state school board.
Look at über-Christian Laura Mallory in Loganville, GA who fought the local and state school boards to remove the Harry Potter series of books from the school libraries because "they are an evil attempt to indoctrinate children in Wicca religion." More importantly they aren't Christian books. Of course, what is she going to do with The Chronicles of Narnia and Wizard of Oz?
So I do wear my Pentacle ring or pendant, but not in business situations where it might effect my family's welfare. I am still too worried about it.
2007-01-01 07:36:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't let it get to you, Wiccan and Pagan based questions and answers ALWAYS get a few thumbs down here. Even when they have nothing to do with, nor are in any way disparaging to Christianity. It's just par for the course for a very small minority of Christians who don't really understand Jesus' true message.
Blessed be )O(
2007-01-01 00:51:23 · answer #8 · answered by Lone 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
If you think you and other Wiccans are the only ones who get eaten alive because of what they believe, just look at some of the comments on this site about us Christians. Atheists get it too. People are just very intolerant sometimes and this will come show up in a person no matter what faith they take on, whether the actual religion is good or bad. That's the way the world is.
2007-01-01 00:55:30 · answer #9 · answered by Lady of the Garden 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
While I usually jump in to defend the Christians, you are absolutely right - there is an unjustified stigma associated with Wicca. Most Christians have never read up on Wicca, do not understand its origins, beliefs or practices. They mistakenly lump Wicca and Neo-paganism in with Medieval Christian occult practices, or (worse yet) satanism (Ha ha - look at the post just above mine!). This ignorant view scares many Christians (especially fundamentalists and charismatics).
Unfortunately, it will take some time before Wicca is common enough for most Christians to accept it as a valid religion instead of devil-worshiping cult. In the mean time, I'm afraid there isn't much you can do to improve their view of your religion.
P.S. - Christian opposition to Wicca has nothing to do with female empowerment. They are exclusively opposed to it because of supposed "occult" connections.
2007-01-01 00:47:37 · answer #10 · answered by NONAME 7 · 6⤊ 1⤋