Are Wiccans and Witches theist or atheists, or may they be either?

Question

I'm curious because I've come across some who have said they are atheists, but I was reading something online that classified Wiccans and Witches as theists.

Oops...typo...I lost the 's' off the end of 'theists' in the question...sorry

Answer 1

traditionally witchcraft has never been religious, but as its name suggests, its a craft/skill/ability etc.

the wiccan religion however, in obviously religious!

witches who are not wiccan can be atheists or theists depending on how they regard the concept of god/goddess, whether as spirits or actual gods and goddesses.

blessed be
)o(

Answer 2

Wiccans for the most part are theists, being either pantheist or polytheist. There are a small percentage of Wiccans who see the God and Goddess as archetypes rather than actual deities so they might be classified as archtypists. Atheist would be a bit of a stretch for them.

Witches, it depends. Witch is a term for someone who practices witchcraft, and there are many types of witchcraft out there and many types of Witches. Witchcraft doesn't have to be attached to any one religion, and indeed doesn't have anything to do with it. I've known Wiccan Witches, Atheist Witches, Satanic Witches, Christian Witches, Jewish Witches, Heathen Witches, and the list goes on. So some might be atheist, some theist. It depends.

Answer 3

First, let's make sure we get the definitions right:

Wicca is a specific religion formed by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s. Their practicioners identify as witches. However, they do not have a monopoly on the term; plenty of non-Wiccans identify as witches too.

Theism is the belief in the existence of deity. Atheism is having no belief in the existence of deity. That's ALL these terms mean.

Wicca is essentially a theistic religion. You have The God and The Goddess. But one could, technically, be a Wiccan who takes a more pantheistic views, considering the God and Goddess to not be actual deities in the western sense but rather male/female "energies". So Wicca is loosely organized enough to include this. One who doesn't believe in deities would therefore be an atheist by definition. It would be WAY too oversimplifed though to call Wicca a non-theistic religion.

Likewise, those who practice witchcraft could be theistic or atheistic. Granted, most who identify as "atheist" first and foremost are people who additionally reject notions of witchcraft or anything else metaphysical. However, again, "atheism" only means "no belief in deity". One might not believe in deity, but believe there is something to witchcraft and even identify as a "witch".

So overall, the terms can be mutually exclusive.

Answer 4

Witches may be either. They practice a particular form of magic. I've known of witches were were Wiccan, Jewish, Christian, Satanic, various other forms of Pagan, and atheist.

Wicca is a religion. I know there is at leat one user on Y!A that calls herself an atheist Wiccan, but I would not use the word in such a way. I would say she follows a magical practice strongly following Wiccan structure, but Wicca is first and foremost a relationship between followers and deities which the followers view in certain ways. It is a religion, and you can't be a religious atheist.

Answer 5

According to Wikipedia: Atheism, as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods[1] or rejects theism.[2] When defined more broadly, atheism is the absence of belief in deities,[3] alternatively called nontheism. Wiccans and Witches and Pagans and Neo-Pagans believe in the presences of a God and Goddesses. Here's the Wikipedia definition: For most Wiccans, Wicca is a duotheistic religion. In the book Nature Religion Today, the authors write: "The deities of Wicca are understood as embodiments of a life-force manifest in nature."[5] The Goddess and God are seen as complementary polarities and this balance is seen in nature. They are sometimes symbolised as the Sun and Moon, and from her lunar associations the Goddess becomes a Triple Goddess with aspects of "Maiden", "Mother" and "Crone". Some Wiccans hold the Goddess to be pre-eminent, since she contains and conceives all. The God is the spark of life and inspiration within her, simultaneously her lover and her child. This is reflected in the traditional structure of the coven.[6] In some traditions, notably Feminist branches of Dianic Wicca, the Goddess is seen as complete unto herself, and the God is not worshipped at all. Wicca is essentially an immanent religion, and for some Wiccans, this idea also involves elements of animism.[7] A key belief in Wicca is that the goddesses and gods are able to manifest in personal form, most importantly through the bodies of Priestesses and Priests.

Answer 6

Some Wiccans claim to be atheist because the religion isn't defined enough to say that you have to believe in the God and Goddess, but a majority of us are theists.

Answer 7

Most Wiccans are theists. It's possible to be an atheist pagan, but the Wiccan faith has a belief in the God and Goddess. Although I will say they don't believe that their God and Goddess are anthropomorphic like Christians do.

Answer 8

They can be either one; I know some Atheist witches who believe all magic is energy manipulation by a person. I know others who believe in amy multitude of gods, and some only follow one god, but believe that others do exist.

There are even Christian witches - note I say witches, not Wiccans, for those about to get into a bunch over that.

So no god, one god, or many gods - up to the individual.

Answer 9

I certainly have certainly no situation with atheist witches. A witch is somebody who practices witchcraft, and witchcraft is a mystical prepare frequently mutually with people magic and which has a tendency to emphasise emotion and dedication over orchestrated ritual. No deity is needed for witchcraft. "Atheist Wiccans", on the different hand, are a thoroughly diverse tale.

Answer 10

Most, but not all Wiccans are what could be classed as "soft polytheists". That would make that portion THEISTS.

There is a percentage that view the Gods and Goddesses as archetypes. That percentage can be Spiritual Atheists