- NEW!
by AntigoneRising on July 28th, 2008
As opposed to a "fake" religion? How does one define a real and fake religion?
The definition of religion is thus:
Main Entry: re·li·gion
Pronunciation: ri-ˈli-jən
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Anglo-French religiun, Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back — more at rely
Date: 13th century
1 a: the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1): the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2): commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
Yes, Wicca is a religion. It meets the criteria of definitions 1, 2, and 4. For some Wiccans, it will meet the criteria of #3, as well.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion
by Vampyre Bat on July 28th, 2008
I hope so. I'm Wiccan. A religion is legally defined in the US as a practice or belief with defined elements that alters the behavior of those who believe in it. Wicca does that for me and the others that practice it
by Disturbed in a Jr COAT is so confused on August 19th, 2008
Yes, it is one of the oldest documented religions in the world. It is older than Christianity.
by The Devils Own on July 28th, 2008
Yea, why wouldn't it be?
by Sgt Churba - Rational Response Squad on July 28th, 2008
Yes, it is a religion both in the traditional and legal Sense. It is a minority religion, but still, a religion.
by Jen-Jen on July 28th, 2008
IS WICCA A RELIGION?
What the U.S. courts say:
The word "religion" in North America is often associated with a centralized organization, local religious buildings, a minister preaching to a congregation, a single male deity, an extensive creed, etc. These factors are not really present within Wicca. This causes some people to conclude that Wicca/Witchcraft is not a religion. Being founded on beliefs and practices of a pre-Christian aboriginal religion, Wicca simply does not have a similar structure to more conventional religions. It bears many more points of similarity to Native American Spirituality and to Santeria than to Christianity, Islam or Judaism.
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U.S. Law:
One law which attempts to define a religion is:
bullet The Civil rights Act of 1964 states "To be a bona fide religious belief entitled to protection under either the First Amendment or Title VII, a belief must be sincerely held, and within the believer's own scheme of things religious." (USCA Const. Amend 1: Civil Rights Act 1964 701 et seq., 717 as amended 42 USCA 2000-16)
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U.S. Court decisions:
Some court decisions which have recognized Wicca are:
bullet An important ruling of a state Supreme Court was in Georgia: Roberts v. Ravenwood Church of Wicca, (249 Ga. 348) in 1982. It was similar to Dettmer v Landon, below.
bullet The District Court of Virginia declared in 1985 (Dettmer v Landon, 617 F Suup 592 [E. Dst. Va.]) that Wicca is "clearly a religion for First Amendment purposes....Members of the Church sincerely adhere to a fairly complex set of doctrines relating to the spiritual aspect of their lives, and in doing so they have 'ultimate concerns' in much the same way as followers of more accepted religions. Their ceremonies and leadership structure, their rather elaborate set of articulated doctrine, their belief in the concept of another world, and their broad concern for improving the quality of life for others gives them at least some facial similarity to other more widely recognized religions." 1 This was a landmark case.
bullet Judge J. Butzner of the Fourth Circuit Federal Appeals Court confirmed the Dettmer v Landon decision (799F 2nd 929) in 1986. He said: "We agree with the District Court that the doctrine taught by the Church of Wicca is a religion." Butzner J. 1986 Fourth Circuit.
bullet A case was brought in 1983 in the U.S. District Court in Michigan. The court found that 3 employees of a prison had restricted an inmate in the performance of his Wiccan rituals. This "deprived him of his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion and his Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the laws." More details
bullet A case Wheeler v Condom was argued before a U.S. Postal Service Administrative Judge regarding who had the right to pick up mail addressed to The Church of Y Tylwyth Teg (a.k.a. Y Tylwyth Teg), and The Association of Cymmry Wicca and delivered to a Georgia post office box. The 1989 decision recognized both groups as valid religious organizations. 2
bullet Many other cases are listed in the Welsh Witchcraft web site. 3
Wicca has never been considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, that court once ruled on the Santeria religion. The case was: Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. and Ernesto Pichardo v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993). This case involved the legality of animal sacrifices which are not a practice of Wiccans. However, the ruling did recognize the rights of a religion which is very different from Christianity and many other organized religions in America. If the legality and status of Wicca were ever to be challenged in court, the Santeria ruling would likely be considered a precedent for the court to follow.
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Sponsored link:
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Government recognition
Wiccan and other Neopagan groups have been recognized by governments in the US and Canada and given tax exempt status. Wiccan priests and priestesses have been given access to penitentiaries in both countries, and the privilege of performing handfastings/marriages. On 2001-MAR-15, the list of religious preferences in the U.S. Air Force Personnel Data System (MilMod) was augmented to include: Dianic Wicca, Druidism, Gardnerian Wicca, Pagan, Seax Wicca, Shamanism, and Wicca. 4
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Some documents
The Alternative Religions Educational Network (AREN) maintains a list of documents designed to help the Neopagan community fight for equal rights. 5 Included are:
bullet Major court decisions:
bullet Dettmer vs. Landon: concerns the rights of a Wiccan inmate in a penitentiary (described above)
bullet Lamb's chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District: concerns the rental of school facilities after hours by a religious group.
bullet Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc and Ernesto Pichardo v. City of Hialeah, (508 U.S. 520) in 1993: This concerns the right of a Santerian group to engage in animal sacrifice during their religious ritual. This ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is of interest to Wiccans because it puts strict limits on laws that target specific religions or groups of religions.
bullet Wallace vs Jaffree: concerns the Alabama "moment of silence" law which allowed an interval of silence in place of prayer (until it was declared unconstitutional)
bullet Excerpts from state constitutions which deal with religious rights.
bullet The text of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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Other court rulings:
bullet The 1964 concurring opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Douglas, in the case of United States v. Seeger, (380 U.S. 163), confirmed that the United States is a pluralistic nation, founded on the belief that religion must not be used to indoctrinate or coerce. This was also supported by the majority ruling in Lee v. Weisman, (505 U.S. 577) in 1992.
bullet Military Courts of Justice in the U.S. have also found Wicca to be a valid religion, deserving of protection under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In United States v. Phillips, (42 M.J. 346) in 1995) the concurring opinion by Judge Wiss stated: "First, Wicca is a socially recognized religion. It is is acknowledged as such by the Army. See Dept. of the Army (DA) Pamphlet 165-13-1, Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains (April 1980), revising A Pamphlet 165-13, "Religious Requirements and Practices of Certain Selected Groups: A Handbook for Chaplains" (April 1978). Further, it is acknowledged as such in courts of law." 7
http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_rel.htm
by seeker of truth on August 21st, 2008
wiccia is a religion, thou some would call it a cult but that is more out of a lack of understanding and religious byist.
by urk on July 28th, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dettmer_v._Landon
Wicca is a State recognized, howbeit highly questioned, religion.
by Moledaddy6869 on September 22nd, 2009
Also... I forgot to add this. Alot of the Christian rituals and etc derived from acient Celtic/Druid rituals. ;0)
*MOLE* )O(
by Rufus_T_Firefly on February 12th, 2009
It is as viable and valid a religion as Christianity.
by Lori K still ignores stalkers and trolls on February 12th, 2009
Although a relatively "new" religion, it's certainly a religion.
by Tom Terrific on February 12th, 2009
Prefatorily, it should be noted that the term "cult" is value-neutral; it is fundamentalists who think it primarily pejorative. "Cult" and "religion" are not mutually exclusive.
Etymologically, the word "religion" connotes "relinking," referring to the relationship between man and the divine. While Wicca does not believe that man is "fallen" or out of communion with the divine, as Christianity does, most people, including at least some Wiccans (I am one) believe that we are progressing from a point of less spiritual awareness to a point of more spiritual awareness - which means that "religion" means the same thing to us as it does to a Christian: a means or approach to deepening communion with the divine.
Because this is the essence of what "religion" is, I would say that any approach adopted to deepening communion with the divine is real if it is efficacious to that end. If your religion is playing croquet, and playing croquet deepens your communion with the divine, then your religion is real.
Wicca is real insofar as it works. For some, it's real. For others, it's not.
Just like Christianity, by the way.
by Heo1. on July 28th, 2008
First time i hear about this religion.
by Piso on July 28th, 2008
Nope a Pagan Cult
by shadowofdeath is back on September 14th, 2009
yes it is and it is a pagan religion. pagan religions date back to one of the oldest religions. that is before the Christians came through and decided that they were superior
by THE PREACHER on February 12th, 2009
I know that i am a sinner. i know that I need a Savior. I know that i get wrong impressions, as well as positive ones. I adhere to the belief that God is my creater, his Son is my Savior, and his holy Spirit impresses me for the good, giving me victory over sin. God and his written word, the Holy Bible offers me eternal life in paradice. Wicca can't touch this!
by wiccateacher on January 10th, 2009
Wow- some of these answers are way off- Uncle Gerald he did not coin the word 'Wicca' nor did he bring it here in the 1950's
Check this out.
http://wiccateacher.synthasite.com/950's
by -O-uknow on December 26th, 2008
Depends on where it is recognized.
by Aero the lifeguard on December 26th, 2008
It is according to the definition of religion, my own opinion of what a religion is, and it is legally considered one as well.
by Andman on August 19th, 2008
Never heard of it.
by TERRYTUKER on July 28th, 2008
expellie amma
by MSB on December 26th, 2008
Depends on how you define religion.
I believe all religions are a set of man-made practices, a collection of beliefs and a means of expressing those beliefs. With this thinking, there are no fake religions.
Some people believe that there is one religion that is correct that was handed down or inspired by some Higher Power. To these people, only one can be real, the others fake.
by PixieDust_and_DemonHorns on January 15th, 2010
http://realmagick.com/articles/14/14.html
http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/being-a-witch.html#witches-familiars.html
http://spells-witchcraft.org/book-of-shadows.html
http://www.angelfire.com/moon2/mystique_angel/Symbols.html
http://www.witchway.net/ritual/ritual.html
http://www.nazarite.net/christian-symbols.html - Christian symbols and a bit about them
by Jesus is God on August 26th, 2009
Satanic ones.Or as james said false religion.The bible is clear on wicca being evil.
by Occams Electric Razor on December 26th, 2008
there are no real religions because none of them can be proven to be factual and definitively true or accurate..so all religions are just cults and none of them are any more or any less of a religion than any other one is.
by daniel on September 22nd, 2009
wicca is an idea and concept, a creation of confusion from Lucifer.
it leads followers into other forms of confusion where they believe they are rising to higher levels of power and status, luring them with imaginary titles, to engage in the most abominable things, and you will be fooled into following Lucifer, Satan because he may show "signs and miracles".
The Holy Father in Heaven, Lord in Heaven, The One True G-d, King of the Universe, is the LIVING G-D.
Let the TRUTH be KNOWN.
SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND.
SEEK THE TRUTH.
youtube.com/daanielsong
YOUTUBE>"Interview with an Ex Vampire"
tp://home.iae.nl/users/lightnet/world/essays.htm
http://www.atgpress.com/kifap/britcol/b1.htm
--"When Cornwallis surrendered to Washington he surrendered the battle, not the war. Read the Article of Capitulation signed by Cornwallis at Yorktown (footnote 3)
Jonathan Williams recorded in his book, Legions of Satan, 1781, that Cornwallis revealed to Washington during his surrender that "a holy war will now begin on America, and when it is ended America will be supposedly the citadel of freedom, but her millions will unknowingly be loyal subjects to the Crown."...."in less than two hundred years the whole nation will be working for divine world government. That government that they believe to be divine will be the British Empire.""--
---
...Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins"
"The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes any more-- {12} cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; {13} cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and bodies and souls of men.
BODIES AND SOULS OF MEN.
the illuminati, "the enlightened", they follow Lucifer, "the light bearer" and if you haven't read, most of our "presidents" were masons/illuminati and were loyal to the "british empire" though really if you've seen this video, when people swear allegiance to the "crown" they swear allegiance to a corperation that rules the world basically and as you can guess, is controlled by Lucifer.
On http://www.illuminati-news.com/Articles/149.html
Illuminati Document,
Presented by Wes Penre, Apr 09, 2008
Introduction by Wes Penre, Illuminati News
I can't guarantee the authenticity of this document, although the context pretty much describes the truth as it is. We don't know when it was written and exactly by whom, but it looks like it was composed by a British person if we look at the spelling of words, which is British English.
This information was sent to me by someone who for obvious reasons wants to be anonymous. This person gave me this reply when I asked if he/she could verify the authenticity of it:
THE SECRET COVENANT
An illusion it will be, so large, so vast it will escape their perception.
Those who will see it will be thought of as insane.
We will create separate fronts to prevent them from seeing the connection between us.
We will behave as if we are not connected to keep the illusion alive. Our goal will be accomplished one drop at a time so as to never bring suspicion upon ourselves. This will also prevent them from seeing the changes as they occur.
We will always stand above the relative field of their experience for we know the secrets of the absolute.
We will work together always and will remain bound by blood and secrecy. Death will come to he who speaks.
We will keep their lifespan short and their minds weak while pretending to do the opposite.
We will use our knowledge of science and technology in subtle ways so they will never see what is happening.
We will use soft metals, ageing accelerators and sedatives in food and water, also in the air.
They will be blanketed by poisons everywhere they turn.
The soft metals will cause them to lose their minds. We will promise to find a cure from our many fronts, yet we will feed them more poison.
The poisons will be absorbed through their skin and mouths, they will destroy their minds and reproductive systems.
From all this, their children will be born dead, and we will conceal this information.
The poisons will be hidden in everything that surrounds them, in what they drink, eat, breathe and wear.
We must be ingenious in dispensing the poisons for they can see far.
We will teach them that the poisons are good, with fun images and musical tones.
Those they look up to will help. We will enlist them to push our poisons.
They will see our products being used in film and will grow accustomed to them and will never know
their true effect.
When they give birth we will inject poisons into the blood of their children and convince them it is for their help.
We will start early on, when their minds are young, we will target their children with what children love most, sweet things.
When their teeth decay we will fill them with metals that will kill their mind and steal their future.
When their ability to learn has been affected, we will create medicine that will make them sicker and cause other diseases for which we will create yet more medicine.
We will render them docile and weak before us by our power.
They will grow depressed, slow and obese, and when they come to us for help, we will give them more poison.
We will focus their attention toward money and material goods so they many never connect with their inner self. We will distract them with fornication, external pleasures and games so they may never be one with the oneness of it all.
Their minds will belong to us and they will do as we say. If they refuse we shall find ways to implement mind-altering technology into their lives. We will use fear as our weapon.
We will establish their governments and establish opposites within. We will own both sides.
We will always hide our objective but carry out our plan.
They will perform the labour for us and we shall prosper from their toil.
Our families will never mix with theirs. Our blood must be pure always, for it is the way.
We will make them kill each other when it suits us.
We will keep them separated from the oneness by dogma and religion.
We will control all aspects of their lives and tell them what to think and how.
We will guide them kindly and gently letting them think they are guiding themselves.
We will foment animosity between them through our factions.
When a light shall shine among them, we shall extinguish it by ridicule, or death, whichever suits us best.
We will make them rip each other's hearts apart and kill their own children.
We will accomplish this by using hate as our ally, anger as our friend.
The hate will blind them totally, and never shall they see that from their conflicts we emerge as their rulers. They will be busy killing each other.
They will bathe in their own blood and kill their neighbours for as long as we see fit.
We will benefit greatly from this, for they will not see us, for they cannot see us.
We will continue to prosper from their wars and their deaths.
We shall repeat this over and over until our ultimate goal is accomplished.
We will continue to make them live in fear and anger though images and sounds.
We will use all the tools we have to accomplish this.
The tools will be provided by their labour.
We will make them hate themselves and their neighbours.
We will always hide the divine truth from them, that we are all one. This they must never know!
They must never know that colour is an illusion, they must always think they are not equal.
Drop by drop, drop by drop we will advance our goal.
We will take over their land, resources and wealth to exercise total control over them.
We will deceive them into accepting laws that will steal the little freedom they will have.
We will establish a money system that will imprison them forever, keeping them and their children in debt.
When they shall band together, we shall accuse them of crimes and present a different story to the world for we shall own all the media.
We will use our media to control the flow of information and their sentiment in our favour.
When they shall rise up against us we will crush them like insects, for they are less than that.
They will be helpless to do anything for they will have no weapons.
We will recruit some of their own to carry out our plans, we will promise them eternal life, but eternal life they will never have for they are not of us.
The recruits will be called "initiates" and will be indoctrinated to believe false rites of passage to higher realms. Members of these groups will think they are one with us never knowing the truth. They must never learn this truth for they will turn against us.
For their work they will be rewarded with earthly things and great titles, but never will they become immortal and join us, never will they receive the light and travel the stars. They will never reach the higher realms, for the killing of their own kind will prevent passage to the realm of enlightenment. This they will never know.
The truth will be hidden in their face, so close they will not be able to focus on it until its too late.
Oh yes, so grand the illusion of freedom will be, that they will never know they are our slaves.
When all is in place, the reality we will have created for them will own them. This reality will be their prison. They will live in self-delusion.
When our goal is accomplished a new era of domination will begin.
Their minds will be bound by their beliefs, the beliefs we have established from time immemorial.
But if they ever find out they are our equal, we shall perish then. THIS THEY MUST NEVER KNOW.
If they ever find out that together they can vanquish us, they will take action.
They must never, ever find out what we have done, for if they do, we shall have no place to run, for it will be easy to see who we are once the veil has fallen. Our actions will have revealed who we are and they will hunt us down and no person shall give us shelter.
This is the secret covenant by which we shall live the rest of our present and future lives, for this reality will transcend many generations and life spans.
This covenant is sealed by blood, our blood. We, the ones who from heaven to earth came.
This covenant must NEVER, EVER be known to exist. It must NEVER, EVER be written or spoken of for if it is, the consciousness it will spawn will release the fury of the PRIME CREATOR upon us and we shall be cast to the depths from whence we came and remain there until the end time of infinity itself.
and it seems in response to this leaking an anonymous posted a commented
Xianist says 12/15/2008:
This article is really just a synopsis of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion...it's nothing new or astounding.
Have you ever thought that maybe you've been fed disinformation on purpose? You're not any different then William Cooper. Quite possibly you're already working for us and you don't even realize it.
It's as plain as black and white. You either accept this, join us, or perish. It is what is meant to happen. It's humanity's destiny.
Evil is good, and good is evil. We are the yang from ying in this world. Without us you would be a mindless drone in "utopia" always worshiping God without really loving him as the great architect of the universe. We bring the order in society. We've created the balance.
The very toothpaste, which you use (hopefully multiple times) on a daily basis, could be infecting your body with all of the horrendous materials we've crafted. Our diseases have been pushed into absoluteness. There is nothing that our sinister tentacles have not infiltrated. Why do you think so many believe and trust the FDA? If only they knew the ingeniousness behind the booster shots, flu shots, antibiotics, and their biological mutations. We're profiting from the death of your family, friends, children, spouse, and even you. Ever been to the doctor? Had surgery or have been in the Emergency room? Remember the saline drip? You were never asked for your consent to push this cold clear killing agent into your blood. But, you were led to believe it was to rehydrate your body. As if your body doesn't naturally do so already!
Look at the society you live in. Who are the new icons in America? Not politicians, hardly athletes, but your musicians, especially rap artists. We have controlled the African population in the American states so well. We've glorified their impoverished lifestyles. Their purposes are to only breed like the cells of an infectious disease, and completely waste any money we've given to them on a slew of material objects we've designed solely for them. We build them up, making them feel like they have equality. Even gave them a TV station to reach the masses of Africans to continuously force down their throats what, how, and why we want them to act. We've given them their own magazines, as if we actually care about their culture. They have been our best test subjects aside from a few of our own.
Our very existence was created by God, for God, of God. We cannot be destroyed without first destroying the great architect of the universe, which is the definition of impossible. My brothers are the ones who serve you at the banks, create your food, made the vehicle you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you wear, the movies you watch, the books you read, the music you listen too, the fragrances you wash with, absolutely everything in you, on you, around you, we have created.
God may have made you in his image, but we bred you into existence. What is imperative is that you know the extent of our ownership over you, namely your soul. You have been given a number. We have been given the master list of the numerals enlisted for death. Our savvy is death. Our secondary aptitude is control. Together we have become the unstoppable force, blowing in the wind, inhabiting every shadowy corner of the world. We are that unspoken word, ready to be spoken, but only when we determine the time is right.
by jokerblue on August 26th, 2009
yes it is.
religion is after all belief. and if others believe with you why not call it a great religion?
by Moledaddy6869 on September 22nd, 2009
At least you seem to be seeking out the truth for yourself. Whatever the truth may be. No matter the religion people choose to believe. I find it best to respect their descion but be able to agree to disagree. When someone trys to shove their beliefs and convictions off on you...I personally think that is where the line should be drawn. BTW...some ppl do that and don't even know they are. They think they are are just sharing "THE TRUTH"...(their truth that is.)
*Mole* )O(
by raebabe3258 on January 11th, 2010
Share your answer here...
by johngo on February 12th, 2009
Yes. It is no more and no less fictional than any other one.
by 404 on December 26th, 2008
Not a cult or religion. It is a practice and a belief.
I'm a Wicca, and i would like to know if anyone could point me in the direction to a good website. For spell and tools.
by GothTroubleMaker on June 26th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
how do you feel about this? wicca
by jokerblue on May 15th, 2011
| 4 people like this
should the groom help the bride pick a handfasting dress?
by Haley_S3227 on June 25th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
I am turning seventeen in a couple of months. I was wondering if there is any special wiccan tradition?
by Katrina_M3834 on May 10th, 2011
| 3 people like this
What are Wiccan weddings like? traditional and modern
by Haley_S3227 on May 10th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
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Comments
(smiling) Thanks. You saved me the trouble of asking.
by SABOTEUR on August 19th, 2008