Do younger Wiccans hiding their beliefs from their parents lessen the respect others may have for the religion?
by 
Wickels
ANSWERS: 9
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Personally, I don't think so but it DOES lessen my respect for the parents. After all, if they were tolerant enough to accept that their kid was not a cookie-cutter clone of them, their child would not feel the need to hide in the first place.
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The only thing that lessens my respect for Wicca is the Mc-Fluffies flaunting their "Ancient Wikkan Majik" for attention, or the femmies claiming some great Abrahamic conspiracy. I'm sorry a decent belief system has to be butchered by pop-Western Teenie-Bop idiocy. I agree with jerv though. The most shameful thing is a society that in intolerant of anything different or whatever they don't understand. Their sensational reactions to the Pagan religions are probably what has this pop-culture obsession with it going.
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I wouldn't think so. Children are children, and most will naturally fear telling their parents that they are moving in a direction they know is different from their elders' religion. This is true of all religions, even non-religions. Madelyn Murray O'hair's son didn't want to tell his mom when HE became a Christian. It works both ways.
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No. For many wiccans it is the only way they can co-exist with their non-wiccan family and friends. They are forced to hide their beliefs in order to maintain harmony in their lives and keep relationships intact with their non-wiccan family and friends/associates. Sadly for some they feel they have no choice.
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People can do what they want, if they dont want to tell them they dont have to not many people do, besides going solitary has its secrets in itself and so not many people show they are wiccan because what they do is secret to them. If people want to tell them about what they believe and do then go for it, its called coming out of the Broom Closet.
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No, I don't think so. I don't think that it is just younger Wiccans who hide their beliefs from their family, either. While I agree with what has been said about parents respecting the beliefs of their children, I also think there is room for children respecting the beliefs of the parents. I don't tell my family of my beliefs for the former reason (and I'm 32 years old). If I would, my father would honestly, sincerely, and painfully worry about the fate of my immortal soul. Beyond all his bigotry and disrespect, this fact remains true. I don't want to have him constantly worrying about it, and - frankly - my religion isn't really any of my family's business...it isn't something that they are entitled to know.
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I really don't think ANYTHING could lessen the respect I have for that religion...it is already pretty low.
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I guess it depends on the person; but I don't think the question is healthy. When you say, "I'm Wiccan," or "I'm Christian," you aren't defining yourself; you're describing your personal belief system. Really, each person follows his or her own religion. Your religion is whatever you do to deepen your relationship with whatever god or gods you believe in. It may look a lot like someone else's, but it's ultimately your own. And what you do and what you believe is really your own business. You don't "owe it to Wicca" to confess it before men, the way Christians believe they owe it to Jesus to confess him before men. Wicca isn't some discorporate entity to whom you owe your allegiance. It just describes, more or less, what you do and what you think. People have all kinds of reasons for keeping their thoughts to themselves. Some are good, some aren't. We don't need to condemn people for their decisions; we don't need to condemn ourselves, either. Try to do what you think right and proper under the circumstances, and don't worry about making mistakes. You will. When you do, try and learn from them. Be at peace.
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Gerald Gardner said in his writings that the followers of Wicca should always keep their beliefs secret and always deny their beliefs outside of the coven. So them hiding their beliefs mean that they are showing respect to "traditional Wicca". See http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gbos/gbos38.htm for more about the rules of "traditional Wicca".
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