curious. pagans and wiccans...?

Question

do you consider to be the same? or does it offend wiccans when they are called pagan? or offend pagans when they are called wiccan?

how do you view eachother exactly?

if you must know, i ask this because during a talk with my evangelistic friend the other day he was talking about a bunch of different pagan roots in the potter series, and then calling wiccans evil and all this stuff. so it made me wonder of the relationship between the two.

Answer 1

Wicca is a branch from the Pagan tree. So Wiccans are Pagans. But Pagans are not necessarily Wiccans.

Answer 2

Paganism is a broad class of religions. It may also be difficult to outline however most often is visible as being any faith that both is non-Abrahamic (no longer Jewish, Christian, Muslim and many others), is polytheistic or is centered on pre-Christian European traditions. There are many pagan religions adding Wicca, Druidry, Thelema and quite a lot of reconstructionist faiths amongst many others. Some may also be enormously exceptional than others at the same time a few percentage many similarities. Wicca is a distinct pagan faith that makes a speciality of a God/Goddess duality, celebrates 8 sun vacations, quite a lot of lunar parties and is in general related to witchcraft. People who declare to be "pagan/wiccan" by and large have no idea what a Wiccan is and won't relatively be transparent on what a pagan is both. If you are Wiccan, you are Wiccan and a pagan... there is no ought to specify that you are a pagan Wiccan... all Wiccans are pagan. If you're pagan, that does not make you Wiccan... plenty of pagans don't seem to be Wiccan. If you assert you're Wiccan, that is ample, no ought to tack "pagan" onto it. Adding a backslash or sprint makes them seem not sure as to what they honestly are. If anyone is sincerely Wiccan, they comprehend it, there must be no uncertainty approximately that. -Scarlet

Answer 3

Wiccans are Pagan, but there's far more to Paganism than just Wicca. If someone calls me Wiccan, I'll correct them, as I'm not - but I won't be offended. I'll get a bit annoyed if they attempt to insist that I am, of course.

And, BTW - your friend is barking up the wrong tree. If the Potter books are Wiccan because they deal with magic, then they're also Christian because they celebrate Christmas. Both arguments lack merit.

Answer 4

Paganism is often used as an umbrella term for several religions, including Wicca. All Wiccans are Pagans, so as Wiccan I have no problem with the term.

All self-identifying Pagans, however, are not Wiccans. They may be Druids, Goddess Worshippers, Asatruar, etc. And they definitely get offended when they are all presumed to be Wiccan. (With good reason)

Pagan is the common lexicon also simply means "non-Christian" or "non-Judeo-Christian." Again, the term is applicable to me, although it's not terribly useful since it only identifies what I don't believe, not what I do. (If someone asked a Christian what his religion was, would he say "non-Hindu"? of course not.) To presume that anything non-Christian is Wiccan, however, is the pinnacle of ignorance.

Answer 5

Wiccans fall under the Pagan umbrella yes, but they have a very different approach to it then most reconstructive pagans. We all love each other though. :)

The term pagan is become used more frequently because it has so many different branches. Many people are going back to thier gods. I have never been wiccan. I knew it was never going to be my path. I am not OFFENDED when someone calls me a Wiccan but I do correct them. Most people just don't KNOW is all.

Answer 6

All Wiccans are Pagans, not all Pagans are Wiccans. It's just like all Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholics.
I wouldn't be offended if I were Pagan but not Wiccan and I was called Wiccan, but I would correct the person's error.

Answer 7

The purest definition of Pagan is one who lives as a natural human being right along side, and in the face, of nature, revering all things. Living in balance with all. The knowledge of the properties of all things, earth science, is what has taken on different labels i.e. witchcraft, wiccan, etc., but it all falls under the Pagan way.
THERE IS NOTHING EVIL ABOUT THESE WAYS!!!!!!
That was a ruse, a fantastical story, to keep people from their natural ways, our natural instincts, intuitions, etc..
With that, I consider anyone, anyone who works with the properties of anything in anyway, a Pagan. So, of course I am not offended to be called witch, wiccan, crafter, etc.. It all falls under Pagan.
Blessed Be

Answer 8

All wiccans are pagan, but NOT all pagans are wiccan.
Pagan is an umbrella term that cov ers wiccans, druids, celtic recons, norse heathens, hellenic pagans, slavic pagans, roman recons.. and so on and so on.

And yes, since I'm a Norse Heathen, i find it a little bit... um.. cheap, to be called a fluffy wiccan.

Answer 9

Offically, I believe "pagan" refers to pre-Christian spiritual practices. In this day and age, it seems to be a blanket term for anything outside of Christianity.

"Witchcraft" and Wicca are not the same. 'Witchcraft' is perhaps more of an adjective - Wicca is an organized spiritual path created by Gerald Gardiner in the 1930's. It is eclectic in that it's roots are folk magic & ritual of different cultures.

I don't mind being called "pagan", though I gently correct someone who might refer to me as "wiccan'. Neither one is an insult.

Answer 10

wicca is a pagan religion, but not all pagans are wiccan, I don't think people getting the terms mixed up offends most of us though