what do pagans and wiccans really believe in?

Question

are pagans, wiccans and atheists anything alike. i know that some of them dont beileve in any god, and some of them beleive in mulitple gods. are any of them evil? and is witchcraft a part of these religions.can someone please explain a little to me.

ok i wasnt trying to ignorant, but since no one can answer my question the **** it. i cant understand why you cant just answer the ****** question, instead of talking about all this stupid ****. you people are ******

Answer 1

All Wiccans are Pagans,not all Pagans are Wiccan.The word Pagan is a blanket term which technically covers all religions except Judaism,Christianity and Islam.Atheists are totally unrelated and believe there is no god,no higher power-basically they worship science in a sense.

Wiccans and Pagans don't worship evil-your confusing us with Satanists.If you mean are any Pagans or Wiccans bad people-yes some same as every other religion.Wiccans believe in 1 God and 1 Goddess.Other Pagan religions vary hugely.Some have no gods as such,others have many which are all actually elements of 1 or 2 supreme gods.Yet more are true polytheist religions with many totally separate gods.

Magic is a part of Wicca and many other Pagan religions but not all followers of these religions use magic-it isn't compulsory.Pagans and Wiccans believe magic is everywhere-it's the natural energy that's all around us.Magic is what channelling it to do things is called.

I'm a Celtic Pagan (Which means I believe in many separate gods and goddesses)and I have recently started to learn to channel magic.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

Atheism really doesn't have anything to do with Paganism or Wicca since Atheism is the lack of belief in any higher power or supernatural forces and Pagans and Wiccans for the most part do worship God(s) and believe in supernatural forces. Witchcraft may or may not be a part of one's practices. It depends. Some practice witchcraft, some don't.

Pagan is an umbrella term for a wide variety of spiritual paths that are deemed "Earth-based", "reconstructionalist", and/or "New Age". So to describe what Pagans believe would be hard because not all Pagans believe in the same thing. For example I am a Heathen/Norse Pagan....I worship the Norse Gods, am a polytheist, and my path is recon-inspired rather than strictly recon. And yes I am also a witch.

Wiccans worship a God and a Goddess and revere nature. They celebrate the cycles of the seasons in what they call the Wheel of the Year. That's a very simplistic definition but I'm sure the Wiccans here can elaborate further.

Answer 3

Wiccans are Pagans. Any religion that is not one of the Abrahamic religions (Christian, Muslim, Jewish) is Pagan. But a Pagan is not neccesarily a Wiccan since there are litterally hundreds of Pagan religions out there.

An Atheist simply does not believe in a god. That does not mean they don't belong to a religion however. Buddhism, for example, has no god but is a religion.

Yes, most Wiccans believe in a god and a goddess. They are not evil and are not good. They also don't interfere with peoples lives unless asked.

Some Wiccans are also witches, however just about anyone can be a witch no matter what religion they are because witchcraft is not a religion, it is a practice.

Witchcraft is not evil unless it is used to harm anyone.

None of them are evil. Thats a Christian lie.

I, for example, am an Atheistic Wiccan. That means that I don't believe the gods are real beings, but simply concepts created by mankind.

Answer 4

Paganism is not a single religion, but rather a classification of religion such as Abrahamic, Taoistic, or Dharmic. Paganism is a classification term used to describe a grouping of various primarily earth-based religions that do not fall into the Abrahamic, Dharmic, or Taoic classifications. Many, but not all, of these religions are polytheistic in nature, and most have a heavy focus on a personal connection to the divine. There are several hundred Pagan religions, including Wicca.

Wicca is a complex and spiritual religion with Masonic, Hermetic, and classical religious roots created in the 1930's by a British civil servant named Gerald Gardner, combining various ancient concepts and a syncretic view of the divine that is quite different than really any religion before or after it.

Though Wicca is a newer religion, only about 70 years old, it is not less real and no less spiritual than any other religion. This partly comes from the Wiccan view of the divine.
Wiccans revere the sacred as immanent in nature symbolized in the form of a Goddess and a God who are seen as equal to each other. The view is syncretic, Wiccans see all goddesses as aspects of the "Goddess" and all gods as aspects of the "God."

The God and Goddess are seen as manifestations of divine energy that symbolize the cycles of nature, life and death, and rebirth. Wiccans do not see the God and Goddess as being separate from them or the rest of the world; therefore they have no need for a concept of salvation, since God and Goddess are at all times within and present to everyone. It is this openness and personal connection to the divine that has brought many people to embrace the Wiccan religion, which has continued to grow in followers in the United States, England, and many other countries.

Wiccans celebrate the cycles of nature and the seasons of the year in eight solar festivals which are commonly referred to as sabbats. Four of these festivals fall on the solstices and equinoxes; the other four fall approximately midway between the solstices and equinoxes, commonly known as the cross-quarter days. Wiccans also often revere the lunar cycles in ritual occasions often referred to as esbats, which are held at the full moon and/or the new moon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wheel_of_th...

Within the Wiccan religion, each person is responsible for their spirituality and developing a personal relationship with God and Goddess. Some Wiccans practice in groups called covens, which are initiatory groups that requires a period of study before entering and are usually run by a form of Wiccan Clergy; while others choose solitary practice or in small non-traditional, loosely affiliated groups. Wiccan clergy are people who help other Wiccans along this path and are not a mediator between them and the divine.

Though this is not always the case, Wiccans do not usually have churches. They create sacred space in the form of a circle or sphere when needed, which functions as a temple for ritual practices. There are several permanent temples in the United States and England, but it is not a requirement for Wiccan practice to attend such a temple.

Wicca and witchcraft are at times confused, or seen as being synonymous. Though the two terms may have connections between them, they are two different things. Wicca is a religion. Magick is a concept involving the use of personal energy and focused intent. Witchcraft is a practice in the use of magick that can be used by someone of any religion or someone with no religion at all. Though many Wiccans also practice witchcraft, which they see as working with divine energy to accomplish a goal or bring about change, not all witches are Wiccan and not all Wiccans practice witchcraft. The majority of Wiccans will not use witchcraft to curse or bring harm upon anyone else.

Lord AmonRaHa

Answer 5

Well, they all have one thing in common, none of them are evil in and of themselves. There are bad people in any religion, but that doesn't make the religion itself evil. For instance, Hitler was a Christian, does that mean Christianity is evil? You can't judge the whole by the individual. Atheists don't believe in any god and Wiccans are a type of Pagans. Wiccans believe in the 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief, and Pagans believe in various different things, but most revere the earth as divine in and of itself. Witchcraft is OFTEN a part of Paganism or Wicca, but it isn't particular to any religion. There are Pagan witches, non-Pagan witches, and Pagans who aren't witches. To learn more, you are going to have to research. I hope that helps. Blessed be. )O(

Answer 6

Paganism is NOT a religion. It is a blanket term for literally thousands of belief sets and religions not part of Abrahamic teachings, like Judaism, Christianity and Muslim are.

So being a blanket term, obviously witches who consider themselves religious will fall under paganism.

Some Wiccans also consider themselves witches.

I've even met a few atheist witches.

Some pagans are montheistic, some are poly theistic; wiccans tend to be poly theistic.

None of them is evil. There are beliefs; no belief set is inherently evil on its own. It's like saying electricity is evil, because it can kill. So can a lot of things - doesn't make them evil.

How the person following the belief set acts and interprets it is when good and evil comes in-purely individual.

Places to go to look this up - www.religioustolerance.org
www.sacred-texts.com

Answer 7

wicca is a religion with more or less set beliefs. basically, that the divine manifests as male and female, and that one can use magic to effect changes in life for the greater good.

pagan is BOTH an umbrella term for non-abrahamic religions and a religion in itself. i am a pagan, that is my religion. it has no dogma and no set of practices, and emphasizes respect for nature. there is no way to define the beliefs of all pagans because there are so many varieties, but most of us believe that we must live in harmony with nature and continually seek enlightenment. most of us practice some form of magic in that we believe that thru the power of intent and by channeling the universal life force, we can effect change. it's not really that much different from prayer.

and you're right, there are a lot of *****s lurking around.

Answer 8

Why don't you try ASKING a pagan, Wicca or atheist? If you don't know any, do some independent research. Avoid Christian descriptions, since they are intentionally biased against other belief systems (or lack thereof as in the case of atheism).

None of them are any more "evil" than Christianity.

Answer 9

No, completely different. Pagans have a kind of 'Native American' view of the world. Wiccans' use a kind of witchcraft-cu.m-pagan rituals to influence the world/themselves. Atheists don't believe in any of that 'stuff'. Some Wiccans and pagans 'will' say they are atheists, but are not.

Answer 10

Wicca is a religion. We dont believe in Satan. Thats a Christian thing. I believe in two aspects of Spirit, God and Goddess, Lord and Lady. Its in us and outside us. All we have to do is connect. Thats what I believe in a nutshell and I did it no justice at all