Are there any Wiccans out there who are Not Pagan?

Question

Christian Wiccans?
Atheist and Agnostic Wiccans?

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

Or would they still be considered Pagan?

Answer 1

It is possible to be an atheist Wiccan under the following conditions:
You have to believe that the gods EXIST, but that they are not gods, but instead human constructs with power over humanity.

This Jungian belief is basically the idea that we have some sort of shared collective psyche, and the constructs of this "hive mind" have powers identical to the powers of the gods in Wicca.

I find this personally incompatible with Wicca, but it is a possible method. In my experience, such atheist Wiccans eventually either leave Wicca or meet their gods and give up atheism in a heartbeat.

Such a person would also be technically a Pagan.
***
As for Christianity and Wicca as a syncretic, hyphenate religion, while there those who very sincerely believe that they are following both, they are not...

The fault rests on how one defines Christian.

If you define Christian as one who believes Christ existed, regardless of whether or not one believes in his teaching, it is possible that one could define oneself as a Wiccan Christian, but most Christians would say, quite rightly, that merely believing Christ EXISTED is NOT what makes a Christian.

Merriam Webster (m-w.com) defines a Christian as " one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ*"

It is possible to PROFESS belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ and be a Wiccan.

..You'd also be a liar.

Because it is impossible to BELIEVE IN or AGREE WITH those teachings as a Wiccan.

One common teaching in Christianity that is used to define Christianity is the Nicene Creed. If we examine it, we can see it is ABSOLUTELY NOT COMPATIBLE WITH WICCA. Observe.

(My comments follow in brackets:)

The Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God, [Wiccans are polytheists]
the Father, the Almighty,[Wicca does not teach omnipotence]
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
[Wicca does not support Creationism but instead teaches "as above, so below, which includes the idea that the Universe may be interpreted by observation of its parts]

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
[Wicca teaches that there are multiple gods, and that all people are children of gods. Wicca does not mention Jesus at all.]

Through him all things were made.
[Wicca teaches that humankind makes many things.]
For us and for our salvation
[Wicca has no concept of salvation]
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
[Wicca has no heaven, nor a Holy Spirit]
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
[Wicca teaches that humans are born human and gods are born gods. Transformation in one life from one species to another is not a part of Wicca.]
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
[HUGE POINT! Wicca teaches that RESPONSIBILITY for all of a Wiccan's actions are upon that Wiccan, and must be taken care of by that Wiccan. Thus, in Wicca, it is impossible to die or suffer for someone ELSE except in very specific, personal situations (like taking a bullet for someone.) Wicca teaches there are no SINS, so there was literally no reason for Christ to die!]
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
[This is in no WICCAN Scripture]
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
[Wicca has no concept of who sits to what side of any father deity.]
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end. [Wicca has no teaching about a half-god judging living or dead, and, in fact, has teachings about who judges the dead...There is also no teaching of a Kingdom to Come in Wicca.]

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
[And Wiccans don't]
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
[Which Wiccans don't do.]
He has spoken through the Prophets.
[Who are not Wiccan.]
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
[Which Wiccans do not.]
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
[Wiccans neither baptize nor sin.]
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
[Wiccans do not.]
and the life of the world to come.
[Wicca does not teach of a coming future world, but of NOW worlds.]

I am sure there are some who think they are Wiccan and Christian, but they aren't. Either you think Jesus died for your sins (Christianity) or you acknowledge the doctrine of Self-responsibility as a proper person or adult human (Wicca). They are mutually self-exclusive.

I actually feel sorry for those that do think they are one and the same because every one of them I have met confuses Wicca (Worship of the gods and living by their standards) with magic, and Christianity has a long and perfectly valid tradition of magic that existed BEFORE WICCA ever existed. Here are some books discussing it:
The Magical Writings of Thomas Vaughan:
http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Writings-Thomas-Vaughan/dp/0615149014

Greater Key of Solomon:
http://www.amazon.com/Greater-Key-Solomon-MacGregor-Mathers/dp/142092818X

Ancient Christian Magic:
http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Christian-Magic-Marvin-Meyer/dp/0691004587

The Divine Synthesis and Realization of Magic by the Christian Revelation
http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Synthesis-Realization-Christian-Revelation/dp/1425305385/

"Christian Wiccans" either have Christianity all wrong or have Wicca all wrong, and that's sad. Many have also been unfairly persecuted, and judge all who oppose their claims as discriminating or being mean when, in fact, they are trying to help.

Answer 2

No, all Wiccans are pagan, because Wicca is a Pagan religion. Though there are Pagans who are not wiccan.

There is no such thing as christian, atheist or agnostic wiccans. You either believe in deity or not. Wiccans are theists and are not christian. A christian-pagan or wiccan would be a serious hypocrite. I was that way for a while, until I realized that I could only believe in one or the other, and I dropped christianity at the roadside like a bag of garbage.

So point is: There is only Wiccan. No mixed religion with it.

Answer 3

I have been Christian for a large part of my life (30 years) and I have been Wiccan for only 5 years (there were a few years of nothing in between each path) and it is my opinion that a person could be Wiccan and still hold many - many Christian teachings. This person might label themselves a Christian Wiccan but to truly be Christian and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures, well, it would be difficult to be Wiccan as well.

The closest I've seen is Gnosticism and it isn't Wiccan.

Answer 4

Pagan is an ornery word with many definitions, but whether you're meaning a non-Christian or a Neopagan, Wiccans are clearly members of it, and I've never known a Wiccan to insist he or she wasn't Pagan.

Since Wicca is a religion, I don't find "atheist Wicca" to be a logical category. That would be like an atheist Christian. I've yet to see a form of "Christian Wicca" that could legitimately be described as both Christian and WIccan, so I would label it according to individual case. If its Christianity with a Wicca flavor to it, then no. If it's Wicca with Christian flavoring, then yes. And if its neither, its at least Pagan under the "non-Christian" definition. Whether they consider themselves Neopagan depends on waht they're doing.

Answer 5

This question, or one just like it, has been asked.

The answer is simple. ALL Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan.

Paganism is a word used for all nature-based religions. It is the religion of the common folk and predates Christianity by many thousands of years.

Agnostics do not believe in the Christian version of God. They believe in a universal life force, but not a "one God" as Christians profess. With that in mind, it is very possible for someone to be Pagan and Agnostic.

Atheists do not believe in any God or Gods and cannot be Pagan, since Paganism, while Earth-based, is still a polytheistic religion.

Answer 6

Wicca is, by definition, a Pagan religion -- Wicca is polytheistic, duotheistic, or henotheistic, and sees the Divine in Nature. If it isn't Pagan, don't call it Wicca. I have found that when words are used too loosely, or the definitions are too flexible, the word looses it's meaning entirely.

Now, that having been said, there is quite the gray area between Paganism and Christianity. There are many Pagan traditions that were absorbed by Christianity, and some Christian ideas do have Pagan origins. Gnosticism was an ancient spiritual and mystical path that incorporated Christian and Pagan ideas. There are Christian Wiccans, but they are more Pagan than Christian.

Clarification -- there are people who call themselves "Christian Wiccans," but the worldview is more Pagan than Christian. You can't have both.

Answer 7

If you reverse that then yes, you can be Pagan and not Wiccan. I don't consider myself to be a Wiccan but I believe a lot of Pagan and Native spiritualities personally. Pagan is an umbrella for an "Earth God" or "Goddess" belief. The same as Christianity is a "Sun God" religion or belief. Pagans believe that the Earth is the life bringer, that she cares for us and provides everything that we will need, and is to be respected. While Christianity is an evolution of a Sun God religion, based highly on a lot of Greek and before that Egyptian religions. It's actually a hybrid of a tonne of Sun God religions. Some stories in the Bible can be traced back over 4000 years before the Bible and have their origins in Egypt.

Answer 8

All Wiccans are Pagans, but not all Pagans are Wiccans.

Answer 9

I am wiccan with pagan and early semi christian leanings
kinda a mix of alot early beliefs and worship Blessed be

Answer 10

Just so you'll know not all witches are Wiccans or Pagans. There are Christian witches.

Answer 11

I do know some Christian Wiccans, but I think the church would still consider them Pagan.