The biggest myth or misconception about your religion?

Question

I know this question gets asked in rotation, but I haven't seen it here in a while, so here goes...

What is the biggest myth or misconception that people have about your religion? Which one annoys you most?

It's a hard choice for me, but personally I'd go with "Wiccans sacrifice to Satan!" It's wildly inaccurate not just once (hello? the Wiccan Rede? "If you harm none, do what you will"?) but twice (Wiccans don't buy into the whole God/Satan thing and have no real equivalent being in our cosmology, that is, nobody in the position of an Adversary to an otherwise "good" God).

Answer 1

Oh boy, I could REALLY go to town with this one!!
To choose just one is tough, because there are so many ignorant ones.

I guess the one that bugs me the most is the imbecile who insists that Catholics believe we 'earn' our salvtion. Bunch of BS - the Church does not, andnever has, taught such a thing. But oh, they just KNOW we do!

LOL...I gotta go with Bishop Fulton Sheen - he said that few people in America hate the Catholic religion, but there are many who hate what they mistakenly believe is the Catholic religion—and that if what they hate really were the Catholic religion, Catholics would hate it too. Highly inaccurate and inflammatory lists, like the one published in Boettner’s Roman Catholicism, have done much to foster this kind of hatred. Even worse, they have discouraged Fundamentalists from finding out what the Catholic religion really is, and that is a disservice both to Protestants and to Catholics.


Like others before him, Loraine Boettner found an enemy of his own fashioning. He castigated it, misrepresented it, and ridiculed it; but it was not the Catholic religion as it truly is. Those who are curious about the Catholic religion do themselves no favor by allowing themselves to be hoodwinked by such lists of "inventions." If they want to know what really happened, how Catholic beliefs and practices really arose, they will have to turn to more careful and better-informed writers.

Answer 2

The biggest myth or misconception is that it's "devil worship", for the same reasons you listed. But that's ignorance from people who don't know any better, and I don't consider that "annoying". Sad, yes, but not really annoying.

What I do find annoying -

* Those who think Wicca is all about the spells and who call themselves Wiccan because of the "k3wl powrz" that they think they can "get".

* Those who think that Wicca is all "lightness and fluffiness and goodness and pink unicorns".

These annoy me because they're people who in theory actually HAVE done some reading and research (or at least should have, anyway), so ignorance is not an excuse.

Answer 3

I think that possibly the single most annoying misconception about my religion comes from within it. So many people seem to think that the phrase "An it harm none, do as you will" means that Wiccans are called upon to do no harm. This leads to all manner of silliness, including the idea that Wiccans must be pacifists, that Wiccans must be vegetarians, and that Wiccans must always be somebody else's definition of "nice." The above phrase actually says that we may do as we please as long as we don't cause harm while doing it. It doesn't say a thing about actions we take that do cause harm. The rest of your ethics and capacity for rational thought are supposed to come into play in those situations.

Answer 4

That I have no morals as an atheist. Do you Christians realize how many homeless people I've given money to when approached (every time), how many stray dogs I've brought home and adopted (5 so far in my life), and the countless times I hold doors open for people, help the elderly (I work in a nursing home!), bought an extra sandwich at lunch for the hungry dog or cat hanging around the gas station (every time also)? I realize that there is no God to take care of these things, so I offer something concrete instead of a vague prayer.

Yet they only see my atheism as my defining trait. I think maybe the Christians need to grow a heart.

P.S. By the way, I work in a Baptist nursing home. Even though every resident likes me (almost) and I'm a hard worker, I have to keep my nonfaith a secret from them, or they won't want me in their rooms, or I'll get so many lectures I won't have time to do my job (I get a couple already who rag me about my tattoos lol). It's not fair to me, but I would never hold it against those that I am helping to make comfortable near the end of their lives.

Answer 5

i agree with you, wiccans and witches get a bad wrap. the belief of the human sacrifice thing during rituals is just pitiful. the real problem is that people are so close minded that you can't even explain to them what it is that we really do, and if they say their listening, they tell you they don't believe you anyway. not everyone is like that of course, but it's a big majority.
oh, the other thing is that we worship idols. for all the rituals i have done, i have never had an idol to worship. we have candles and incense, but i believe those are in the catholic church too.
it's amazing how many similarities there are between witchcraft/wicca and catholicism/christianity that most people just refuse to acknowledge - especially when it comes to things like christmas and easter, but that's another story!

Answer 6

If there was a misconception which one could mention about their religion what proves that the rest of the religion isn't a made up story? Don't you think they wouldn't be in that religion if there was a misconception which they could mention?

This is a misconception from other religions/people towards Islam, Jihad, will get you 72 virgins in heaven.

Answer 7

As a Christian (and formerly an atheist), the biggest misconception about my religion is the same misconception that I had before, and it is as follows:

That people think the way to heaven is by doing A, B, C, etc...and by not doing X, Y, Z. Another way to put it is that people think that by being a good person and not being a bad person is the way to heaven. Yet another way to put it is that people think that their obedience to the LAW is the way to heaven.

...because of this misconception, EVERYBODY goes ON AND ON about various actions and behaviors...such as homosexuality, fornication, lying, etc...

...and others go on and on about non-Christians who are so "good" and how "bad" Christians are...

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The second (and similar) misconception that drives me crazy is that the fact that non-Christians assume that ANYBODY who calls themselves a Christian are, in fact, a Christian.

You can't walk into a garage and call yourself a car and have people believe you.

But, everybody accepts it when a person walks into a chruch and calls themselves a Christian.

Then, they say and do things that beffudle non-Christians...and provide non-Christians with a strawman to tear down in order to "disprove" the validity of Christianity.

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The third (and right in line with the first two, which is why I include it) is that non-Christians make judgements about Christianity based on their own evaluation of Christians, rather than based on their own evaluation of Jesus Christ by reading the book of John.

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But there are MANY others that drive me nuts...this is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak...!

I.e. Most "Christians" don't read or even know what is in the Bible, misunderstandings of "free will", misunderstandings of the work of the Holy Spirit, misunderstandings of faith working by love versus dead faith, misunderstandings on what "grace" means, misunderstandings on what the GOSPEL is...to just name a few!

Answer 8

I have to agree with you with the Wiccan thing. People always ask me, even though I am not Wiccan but a witch, if I sacrifice children to Satan. It is hogwash. I would never harm another much like a child. It is as if I would sacrifice my child to their God. It is unheard of.

Answer 9

The biggest myth concerning Christianity is that only imbeciles are its adherents. Some of the world's most intelligent people are Christians.

Answer 10

Being told that as a Catholic I am not a christian. That I need to be "born again" Well excuse me for getting it right the first time. Being an Italian Roman Catholic is a the source of my faith and I don't need Pat Robertson's blessing to get into heaven. Just my belief that Jesus .Christ, the only son of God died on the cross for our sins. I don't need the 700 club and their constant begging to "buy" my way into heaven. My way has already been bought and paid for by Jesus Christ.