What are the biggest misconceptions that people hold about your religion?

Question

Please state your religion, and the misconceptions...

Thanks!

Answer 1

There's lot's of misconceptions about Asatru. What's sad is they aren't just being spread by fundie Christians, I notice even some fuff bunnie Wiccans are adding to the confusion.

A popular misconception is that Asatru believers are racist or discriminatory. This is not the case.

An other misconception is that Asatru is a form of Wicca when in fact the two religions are only very distantly related.

Answer 2

Wicca.

1) That we worship the Devil or Satan. Wiccans have no equivalent figure in our cosmology; therefore, it is impossible for us to worship such a being.

2) That witchcraft (which many Wiccans practice) is calling on "dark forces" to harm people. In fact, Wiccans are bound by the Wiccan Rede ("If you harm none, do what you will"), and view witchcraft as the process of touching the energy that interconnects all things in the universe and bringing about change by force of will. We value free will and autonomy highly, and therefore do not do things like curse people or cast spells to "bend" the will of someone else.

3) That Wiccans "worship the creation rather than the Creator." Wiccans don't worship nature per se. For the most part, we believe that the universe is the body of God/dess, and therefore that all things contain Divine energy and that the world itself is sacred. There can be no separation from God/dess. All things not only proclaim Their glory, but ARE Their glory. It's therefore more accurate to say that we worship the Divine as manifest in nature; we worship the Creator, IN the Creation.

4) That Wiccans and witches are always the same thing. They aren't. Witchcraft is a technique, like prayer, that is used in many different religious contexts. Many Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccans by a long shot.

5) That all Wiccans are women. While some Traditions of Wicca are women-only, most Traditions have both male and female members.

6) That Wiccans worship only a Goddess. In fact, the original Traditions of Wicca (and most Wiccans today) honor Deity as both male and female, God and Goddess, which are seen as complementary principles.

7) That Wiccans hate Christians. Hey, if your religious path works for you, we have no problem with that -- as far as many Wiccans are concerned, all religions are valid paths to the Divine. It's when Christians start getting in our face and taking away our right to worship as we see fit (or even to hold a job or raise our children) that we start having problems with individual Christians and their attitudes.

8) That Wiccans sacrifice animals. See the Wiccan Rede, mentioned above.

Answer 3

I"m a Roman Catholic. People often times have the misconception that we worship the saints or Mary, the mother of God. However, this is false! We worship and adore God and GOD ALONE. We merely ask the saints and Mary to intercede for us. In other words, that they help keep us close to God and help us to grow even closer since they had very close and personal relationships with Him. (I've even actually had someone reply when I said I was Catholic, "Oh...well I'm a Christian." As if it were two different things! Which they are not! All Catholics, Protestants, and anyone else who believes in Jesus and God are Christians.)

Answer 4

I am Christian (Pennicostal to be specific) and the biggest misconception is that people think that all Christians are or should be perfect. The problem is that part of the religion is that you must relize that no one (with the exeption of Jesus) is perfect.

Answer 5

Agnostic.

Misconception: It's like being bisexual, they just think if you meet the right person (bible/church/leader), you'll make up your mind once and for all, and believe! Ain't gonna happen, even if I meet the most charismatic religious figure, read a wonderous book, or attend a fabulous church.

Misconceptions: I've never read the bible or book, or I've never been to a church, or I've never been to the right church, or I've never heard the right leader, or I've never learned about the right religion.

Been there, done that.

Answer 6

I am a Christian.
Misconceptions included, but are not limited to the following:
Bible pusher
Closet Christian
Fool
Stupid
Uneducated
Fairy tails
Unprovable
Lies
Bible was written by drunks.
Bible is full of error
No historical or archaeological proof.
Some say Jesus was only man and not both man and God.

Answer 7

religion: none
relationship: Christianity.
*btw, Christianity has the longest list of misconceptions

the biggest misconceptions are that

1) Christians reject science or are anti-intellectual.
*Adam was the first botanist and wasn't stupid, just innocent

2) anyone who is a "good person", simply believes in God/Jesus or follows the practices in Christendom are Christians.
*Narrow is the way.

3) that Christianity is the cause of pain in the world
*war, suffering, etc would still happen whether or not those associated with Christendom fought

4) That God isn't all loving because there's a Hell, or He allows people to suffer
*Hell is separation from God. If God is in the good place, logically sin (which God can't stand) is in the bad place. there are no gray areas
*our world, God needs lives to work through. also, quit whining and do something about it. if you want suffering to stop, you have to make it happen. God's there to help/guide/rule/love/etc, not do OUR job.

5) how people think Allah, Zeus, Vishnu and the Universe are all God.
*They share no common personality traits, so why would you think they were the same?

6) that the Bible is inaccurate.
*look at the contexts, and the language. Hate and Love can have many different meanings in Greek or Hebrew

7) that Christians have to be pushovers.
*God isn't wimpy, so why should you be? we're called warriors, we're told to fight principalities and powers, etc. Also, your life is precious. don't you think that is a reason to try and keep it? (the verse you're probably thinking of means trying to keep your life/soul from God).

8) people think it's wrong to get angry
*be angry and sin not. anger is a good thing, as it creates drive. anger that results in sin (such as when you harm someone out of anger) is wrong

9) people think that making the symbol of the cross or wearing one'll protect you
*God's your protector. not wood, nor steal, nor air.

10) that it's okay to sin, 'cause you're forgiven
*repentance is constant. do not use your forgiveness as an occasion to the flesh. don't abuse God's gifts

11) that God is anti-woman
*God is fair. He punished man, and He punished woman. He instructed husbands to love their wives and treat them with respect, and even to put their lives on the line for their wives if they have to. He also told wives to honour their husbands (yes, love does have to exist in a marriage).

12) that Christians are hateful and hypocritical
*we do not tolerate sin, but we tolerate people, as every non-believer is a potential Christian. as for hypocritical, we're told not to be.

and that's just a few...

Answer 8

Well, the simplest bitt is that people would love to think I sacrifice animals and virgins. I don't sacrifice anything not willingly given, infact, I've decided to not eat meat most of the time [however, I would like to hunt an animal at some point to reach into my primal side].

I'm somewhat of a Theistic Satanist.

Answer 9

The biggest misconceptions that people have about Catholics is that they have no feelings. I think this because they feel free to trample our beliefs with lies and innuendo without batting an eye.

Answer 10

Misconception of Christianity: That Christ taught that a man is saved by his righteousness not by faith.

John 3:18 He that believeth on him [Jesus] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.