Why do some other Pagans hate Wicca because it's eclectic in Nature?

Question

Honestly? I would rather agree with many other people's beleifs and ideas than blindedly agreeing with one religion entirely. It gos against the entire idea Christianity teaches. And if you "pagans" agree with that...you seem more...old Christian than new Pagan.

Answer 1

It could be a multitude of reasons, but I wouldn't go so far as to say some pagans hate Wicca, but then again you'll always have people in every culture that 'hate' no matter what - it's human nature.

But to answer your question from a personal stand point, I was introduced to paganism though Wicca, and I am thankful for that. However, the problem comes from lack of information on both sides. Most of the Wiccans you see (although, not all of them), you see them hollering about persecution in ‘the burning times’ or the Salem witch trials, or religious intolerance (which I won’t deny happens, but waving your pentagram necklace around with your black finger nail polish yelling ‘poor me’ doesn’t help much).

For example, I find many Wiccans proudly stating their religion goes back hundreds of years - Wicca was actually the creation of Gerald Gardner in the 1950's and 1960's - which he bases a lot of the rituals and beliefs on much older religions, but you can not say Wicca is an old religion, just because it borrows elements from older religions. Also, if you look at Gardner's writings, Wicca is a very strict religion with very firm beliefs. When you start adding your own beliefs and rituals, it starts becoming less Wiccan and more neo-pagan.

Now, for the sake of argument, I have no problems with Wicca - it's a very nice religion suited for a very wide audience, and it's because of it's mass appeal, it also draws people to it for the wrong reasons. Like myself, Wicca is the first religion most people will come across who have no knowledge of paganism, and a few things will happen - people (and when I say people I refer to the mostly teenage variety) will find out it's not about casting love spells and lighting candles and playing with Ouija boards and move on (which this is where most of the dislike comes from, because these people are what most see), some people will actually take it for what it's worth, and make something beautiful out of it (and these people, you'll hardly ever see, so you don't see this side of the religion), or people will move on to other forms of paganism that fits their life.

What everyone seems to be missing is the fundamental truth to all religions. There is not one way to reach the divine - just like there can not (and should not in my opinion) be just one way to live. The journey is what matters the most. Individuals all have different lessons to learn in this life and all must ultimately choose their own path to get there - people should respect that. It’s ideological yes, but it’s the truth.

Answer 2

It is the actions of a minority of eclectics that has created this phenomenon.

There is a big difference between Eclecticism and cultural misappropriation, claiming people's gods are "aspects" and other nonsense.

I know for a fact there are eclectics that the majority of Pagans have no trouble with.

Answer 3

That's why some of the more extreme Pagan sects turn me off--they're just like extremist Protestants.

Answer 4

Not all do. I have to agree with Arwen.