What is Wicca? Is it a religion?

Question

Keep seeing it come up on Y/A. What does a wicca(?)believe? Please no offense, but is it worshiping the Devil? Are you witches? I'm a christian and have never met anyone who is a wicca. I am trying to learn something.Thank You. Also, how many people are wicca? Is it world-wide?

Answer 1

Happy to help

Wicca is a branch of Paganism.  Wiccans worship the God and the Goddess in their many forms and also practice witchcraft.  We do not worship satan since we don't even believe he exists.  Wiccans try to be in touch with nature and believe that "sins" are only those actions that harm ourselves or others.  

We believe that the source that created us has a male (God) and a female (Goddess) side.  Both are equal and neither has dominance over the other.  We call on their power in our spells and often do rituals to honor them.

I'd love to keep talking if you have any more quesitons.  My IM and email are always open to anyone who wants to learn.

Blessed be )o(

Answer 2

Yes, Wicca is a religion and no, they don't worship the devil. They don't believe in the devil.  Generally speaking they worship a god and a goddess and are an earth based religion.  Their rede is "an it harm none, as thou wilt" There are allot of books you can read on the subject if you want in depth answers. Also I am sure Wikipedia can tell you allot about it.  

Answer 3

The website www.religioustolerance.org has lots of useful information about Wicca. Check it out!

Answer 4

Wicca is a religion. It has nothing to do with the Devil. That is a Christian concept and since Wicca is not a Christian religion we don't have anything to do with any devil or Satan.

There are 3 core tenets of the religion. They are, briefly:

1. Honor the gods. Which gods are honored and how they are honored will vary depending on the tradition and/or the individual Wiccan.

2. Acknowledge the Sabbats (seasonal holidays, there are 8 traditional Sabbats). Again, how they are acknowledged will vary.

3. Embrace the Wiccan Rede which states, An it harm none, do as you will.

There is much more that could be written about those 3 statements and much more to the religion. I would suggest the following website as a good resource for accurate information on the religion - http://wicca.timerift.net/wicca101/index...

Link goes directly to a page geared towards non-Wiccans.

Edit - the 2nd answer is incorrect. Wicca and witchcraft are not the same thing. Wicca is a religion, witchcraft is a practice. Witchcraft can be practiced by one of any religion or no religion at all. There are some Wiccans who also practice witchcraft and many who do not. The two are not inherently related.

Answer 5

answer: It is a pagan religion that reveres life and nature. There is no set dogma but generally among pagans some of the beliefs are:  reincarnation, karma, harming none when possible, animals and children must be protected, a belief in multiple deities, a paradise like resting place until reincarnation.

Not all Wiccans are witches, not all witches are Wiccans.  Not all Wiccans and pagans do magic.

No, it isn't worshiping the Devil - that's a Christian thing for renegade Christians (LaVey Satanists don't worship Satan either).

There is no h**l, no sin, no devil, no need for a savior in paganism.  There is self responsibility and treating others as we want to be treated (found in religions throughout the world, not just Judaism and Christianity)

Answer 6

Its a religion practice of witchcraft

Answer 7

Wicca is a modern polytheistic religion.  It emerged in England in the 50s.  Today, sizable populations can also be found in the US and Austrailia, with smaller groups found in many, many other countries all over the world.  Since we have no central authority, we have no common census of us.  I think a million worldwide is probably the upper end of likely numbers of us.

The Devil is a Judeo-Christian figure.  We have nothing to do with him or any being like him: we do not acknowledge the existence of a being devoted to evil, so clearly we don't worship such a thing.

Someplace to start:

http://wicca.timerift.net/wicca101

Answer 8

Three main tenets of the Wiccan religion:

Honor, attune, and commune with the God and Goddess.

Acknowledge the sabbats. The sabbats are holy celebrations focussed on the harvest cycle, and the life cycle/interactions of the God and Goddess

Follow Wiccan ethics. Some sum this up as being the Wiccan rede alone: an it harm none, do as ye will. I consider Wiccan ethics to be an adherence to the Wiccan rede, as well as a recognition of the law of return (what you send out returns to you) and an acceptance of self-responsibility (you, and only you, are responsible for your actions. No Jesus to save you from your sins, and no devil to be responsible for the bad things in life.).

We do not worship the devil. We do not believe in the devil.

"Satan - Satan has no place in Wicca. Satan is an embodiment of evil, and supernatural powers within a Wiccan content are intimately a part of nature. The acknowledgment of Satan within a Wiccan context would imply that some part of nature is inherently evil, which Wiccans deny." (http://wicca.timerift.net/christianwicca... )

We are not witches. Witchcraft is the practice of magic. Wiccans have a reputation for magic, but many Wiccans do NOT practice magic. Witches can be of any religion, or none at all. Wiccans follow the religion of Wicca, which is focussed on spirituality and connection with deity. (http://wicca.timerift.net/witch.shtml )

Yes, Wicca is world wide, though as far as I know it is only a recognized religion in a few countries, due to it being so new, and so misunderstood. To my knowledge, the areas with the most practitioners are European areas such as Britain, Canada and USA, and Australia. I could be incorrect, though. It is hard to come up with a definite number of Wiccans, because many do not admit to it, because in some places Wiccans are not accepted by the community, and are sometimes even physically harmed (all for the sake of misinformation and willful ignorance).

For more basic info: http://wicca.timerift.net/wicca101/index...

Answer 9

Try wikipedia, they have the answer to everything ;-)

oh, and btw, the devil is a christian creation, therefore if a person is not christian, the devil does not exist.

Answer 10

Wiccans believe in a God and a Goddess and some believe in more than that. Some wiccans practice witchcraft some do not. Wiccans do not worship the devil. Wiccans do not believe in the devil at all. Some wiccans consider themselves witches some don't. Witchcraft isn't a religion. Wicca is a religion. Anyone can practice witchcraft not just Wiccans. Wicca is a very fast growing religion it's been around for less then a century and already has more than 1 million adherents. The majority of Wiccans live in America, Canada and Europe.  

Answer 11

Wicca is worldwide; and is generally attributed to Aleister Crowley, who claims he was initiated by his grandmother (for memory), and therefore was a hereditary witch.

However, not all Wiccans necessarily practise witchcraft.

As for the devil worship business... the devil is a creation of the Christian faith.  Therefore the only Wiccans that fear "the devil" are Wiccan Christians.  And yes... they do exist.

Wicca (it has been suggested) means "wise one"; therefore there is a crossover between this "new age" movement and Paganism in general (which predates Christianity).

Answer 12

Wicca is a religion... it is polytheistic, but also sometimes monotheistic. (Many gods and goddesses who are parts of one God) It uses magick, or will based self-psychology. It is modern and changing, based one xperience/gnosis rather than on the writings of long dead prophets.