Wiccans, do we worship Satan? Christians, why do you say that we do?

Question

Hello, all:

I've seen a fair number of responses on Y!A tonight that indicate that Christians think that either Wiccans worship Satan, or that our powers come from Satan.

Wiccans, what do you think leads to this misconception? And Christians, why do you think that we worship Satan, or that our power comes from Satan? Where is the evidence?

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to respond.

And thank you to all those Christians who are speaking up to say that they do not believe this to be the case. :-)

Also, thank you to those Christians who are explaining their beliefs politely. I may not agree with you, but I appreciate your civility and respectfulness.

Answer 1

I am neither Wiccan nor Christian but study comparative religions. I think that Christians percieve Wiccans to be Satan worshippers because they are taught that the Christian way is the right and only way. Wiccans are also associated with witchcraft, something that over history has been greatly misunuderstood and persecuted. People persecute what they do not understand and many people are too close-minded to go out and look for their answers. Before I looked in to Wicca and Wiccan beliefs I had myself been told that Wiccans worship Satan. But I know now that this is certainly not the case.

Answer 2

I think there's a bit of hype on both sides. I know plenty of moderate Christians who don't think that Wiccans worship Satan, and yet I often see Wiccans with a persecution complex trying to portray all Christians as only trying to persecute us and our ways... which is a little hypocritical if you think about it.

Obviously, there are Christians who DO in fact have several misconceptions about the religion... which they like to display violently (as can be seen by all the hidden answers at the bottom of the pages of Wiccan questions).

As to my theory of why some Christians still somehow believe that we worship Satan... I do think it does have a lot to do with the fact that witchcraft is integrated into the Wiccan religion. Many Christians believe that witchcraft is a device of Satan, and they have the right to believe that if they so wish (however I also have the right to believe that they are narrow idiots, in retrospect).

Answer 3

I worship Goddess Shandara and god Lugh and that's the extent of my list. I don't see Satan anywhere on that list. the last time I checked, Satan just "popped" into the Christian lexicon within the last 800 years or so (give or take a hundred). so Satan being Christian derived he just doesn't fit in with my Religious practice of Wicca. As for my using Satanic powers, I've only used the power three times in more than 35 years of Being a Witch. If satan WAS the force behind the success of those spells then he accomplished something bright and beautiful and loving in all 3 cases for those spells were intended to save lives in a totaly unselfish way. Therefore I highly doubt that part too.

Brightest Blessings,
Raji the Green Witch

Answer 4

No longer really Wiccan, but I'll answer: Wiccans do not worship Satan. Satan is a biblical word for "adversary", and the Christians trying to wipe out other religions used to take the gods of those religions and call them "the devil" and try to convince people their original gods were evil.

Christians say that, because they are still trying to convince everybody that only they have the right answer. Yes, they still stoop to fear tactics, like telling someone their god is a devil.

If Christianity was really the best option, would they need to work so hard to sell it?

Answer 5

,I was a Christian for 26 years and was absolutely scared to death of anything that had to do with witchcraft, satanism, the occult, Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc. It was "of the Devil," because somebody at some point told me it was. When I finally started questioning on my own and thinking for myself, I came to the realization that the phrase "what we don't understand, we fear," is true. I have read alot over the last 5 years and not once have I came across anything in my readings that say I must worship the Devil. I think to worship something, it has to be a conscious and purposeful act. Which means that somebody can't "accidentally" worship God or the Devil. It has to be an act done on purpose with a purpose. So if Christians say that Wiccans worship the Devil, we are just so deceived that we don't know it, is total bullsh*t. How can you worship the Devil if it's not the Devil you're worshiping?

Answer 6

Church domination of society is the reason for that bit of propaganda.
It began in the Middle ages, when the church was continueing to build it's power base throughout Europe.
The Pope had decried that since the Pagans worshiped a "Horned God" that he must be the devil.
Prior to this, there is no mention of what the devil looked like, but the newer description (as established by the church in Rome) is quite different from what the Old Testament describes Satan as "the most beautiful of God's Angels".

Most of the lithos and descriptions of the Horned God are very similar to the Church's description of the devil.
This is what gave rise to the belief that Pagans worshiped the devil.

Answer 7

Wiccan here :]
I'd say a lot of is ignornace [in the literal sense, not the purely insulting one.].
Besides; many Christians believe anyone disagreeing with them worships satan- I've heard some go so far as to accuse Atheists of it!

At least some aren't so delusional though :).

Blessed be.

Answer 8

People fear that which they do not understand. I do not believe in Satan, that is in Christian theology only. The teachings that are passed down is what continues the misconception. Accused women and men being hung or burned for being a witch and only just recently have some of these people been pardoned. also, no one likes to admit that they are wrong or that their parents were wrong, so they keep on with the belief that they know is false.

Answer 9

wiccans dont worship the devil. wiccans dont believe in satan or god. unless they are another faith. they believe in earth worship and the great spirit. christians think wiccans worship the devil because they never looked into the religion to understand wicca. we all have religious base from pagan, earth worshipping faiths. i think life was more simple prior to the new religions. the pagan faiths were so peaceful, all the other religions seem to case wars, murder, genocide, rap, etc. its bananas.

Answer 10

Sterotype, just as there are on the other hand many false sterotypes about Christians.

Of course, proving when one lumps a bunch of people together without looking at the person as an individual, or studying their theology very very thoroughly, many misconceptions will be considered true. People see many of these false sterotypes in the media outlets and that don't help, particularly people with an IQ equal to their shoe size, you know: "it must be true cause I heard it on TV, FOX news, too".