Wicca

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University

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WICCA

Thesis Statement

Due to misleading information which is easily accessible from several sources such as the internet , print media as well as electronic media Wicca has grossly been misunderstood by many . However this is a harmless religion and practitioners are ordinary people with normal human ambitions

Wicca is a nature oriented religion founded and popularized in the U .K by Gerald Gardner in the 1940 's ( HYPERLINK "http /www .religioustolerance .org " www .religioustolerance .org , it is based on ancient beliefs

and practices with an aim of ensuring the survival of witchcraft values believed to have existed centuries ago This wishes to counter largely believed claims that Wicca is a devil worshiping religion . It will look at the origin of the religion analyze some of the counter claims and their weaknesses and then present facts as they are , hoping that these facts will state beyond a reasonable doubt the true values and nature of the Wiccans

Being a member of Wicca religion , I know that it an earth based religion that seeks to bring to life many of the traditionally held practices and beliefs . According to HYPERLINK "http /www .religioustolerance .org " www .religioustolerance .org it is a religion based on the symbols , seasonal days of celebration , beliefs and deities of ancient Celtic society ' It seeks to revisit the prehistoric period when humanity had a great reverence for the forces of nature . It owes its beginnings to the Paleolithic period where it existed together with other religions in Europe and is believed to have had a great impact on the Christian practices ( HYPERLINK "http /www .withway .net " www .withway .net . This is before millions of followers were persecuted by the Roman Catholics for being perceived to be witches , pagans , and having satanic tendencies

From 1950 's Wicca religion has witnessed a rapid expansion and growth in Europe and America , capturing the souls of thousands of people who wish to rebel from the mainstream , which are too rigid and conservative ( HYPERLINK "http /www .religioustolerance .org www .religioustolerance .org . majority of people in the world today either from ignorance or naivety exhibit open hostility to Wiccan 's believing that it is a devil worshiping and satanic oriented cult There is a self righteous notion among , especially among the Christians that anything that doesn 't seek to profess the Christian faith is satanic . They tend to have an ill-advised view that there exist only two super-forces : Almighty God and Satan . They vehemently deny the existence of any other super human force

This belief probably emanates from a widely perceived notion during the medieval ages that was lumping witchcraft and Satanism in the same basket this is still the widely held belief and has been instilled in most people 's minds through horror movies and books (Bowes . S . 2004 Pg 16-45 . This belief may also have been perpetuated by the solitary and secretive lives of most of the Wiccans . However , these claims are widely tolerated by most Wiccan 's...