Three superficial points of similarity between Satanism and Wicca:
Conclusions:Lumping together the followers of a wide diversity of religions (e.g. Buddhists, Druids, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, New Agers, Santerians, Taoists, Wiccans and other Neopagans, followers of Vodun, etc.) as Satanists creates massive confusion in the public mind. Most of the public reserve the term "Satanist" for people who identify themselves as Satanists. Such definitions create great confusion, and stir up religious animosity against followers of benign faith traditions. During the late 20th century, these beliefs trigger lynching, attempted mass murder, fire bombings, shootings, common assaults, etc. in the U.S. They have induced at least one Senator, one member of the House of Representatives and even George W. Bush when he was Governor of Texas, to call for an end to religious freedom for Wiccans in the U.S. military. Recommendations:We strongly recommend that the terms "Satanist" and "Satanism" be used only to refer to religions that involve a belief in Satan. In other words, the terms should be restricted to describing those individuals who regard themselves as Satanists, and who identify themselves by that label. While reading an essay on religion, you might find it useful to ask yourself what the author means by some of the terms that she/he uses. Words like Christian, cult, occult, Satanist, and Witch have many different meanings to different groups. It is quite possible that you and the author attribute a very different meaning to a specific term. If these ambiguous words are not clearly defined within the essay, you might consider sending the author an Email asking that they modify future editions of their writing to include a clearly definition of any ambiguous terms used. We prefer to use the names Wicca, Wiccan, Neopaganism, and Neopagan in this web site, because they are least ambiguous to the majority of our visitors who are neither Wiccan nor Neopagan.
Sponsored link:
|
![]() |
Wicca: main menu |
![]() |
Satanism |
![]() |
The Occult |
![]() |
Definitions of Pagan and Paganism |
![]() |
Definition of Witch and Witchcraft |
![]() |
The Satanic Ritual Abuse hoax |
![]() |
Christian web sites that describe Wicca |
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
-
Some essays describe Wicca and Satanism as very different religions:
"Wicca vs Satanism: The big lie," at: http://www.puertasdebabel.com/
"What Wicca is Not FAQ," at: http://www.mdpagans.com/
Rhonda Carswell "Historical aspects of Wicca," at: http://chuma.cas.usf.edu/ (apparently offline)
Patti Wigington, "Do Wiccans and Pagans Worship Satan and Have Sex Orgies,?" About.com, at: http://paganwiccan.about.com/
-
Some essays describe Wicca as part of Satanism. Most have gone beyond
providing information and mainly disseminate religious hatred and
misinformation. Some are probably honestly deluded by copying misinformation from other hate web sites; others intentionally tell lies in the hope that people will be diverted from Neopaganism to the only true relgion -- theirs:
"How can witches worship Satan if they don't believe that he exists?," Chick Publications, at: http://www.chick.com/
"Wicca verses [sic] Satanism," Jesus is Savor. See: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/
David J. Stewart, "Wiccan and Satanism." See: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/
William Schnoebelen, "Satan's hoof prints are all over Wicca," See: http://www.fillthevoid.org/
"Wicca and Satanism," Blessed Quietness. See: http://blessedquietness.com/
- Charles C Haynes, "Witches test our religious tolerance," Freedom Forum, 1999-JUN-27 at: http://www.freedomforum.org/
Copyright © 2000 to 2012 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2000-SEP-11
Latest update: 2012-JAN-31
Author: B.A. Robinson