"Wicca" Emerging as America's Third Religion (ritual, Creator)

[lilithu]

I put Wicca in quotes because it wasn't clear to me from the article whether the author was really refering to Wicca or using the term to refer to Wiccans/Pagans/nature-based worshipers in general. Anyway, me thinks it an interesting story.


Christians and Pagans agree that the Wiccan community is growing at an exceptional rate, and is projected to be the Third Largest religion by 2012.

(PRWEB) April 21, 2005 -- Earth Day celebrations are seen as a way to recognize the need to save and protect Mother Earth. For some that image is not simply a slogan or phrase but the center of their worship and religious life. Known as Wiccans, aka Witches and Pagans, Nature worshippers are becoming more numerous and their concepts are emerging to challenge traditional rules of society based on biblical law. They are emerging to become a major force in spiritual communities, having increasing number of adherents, and expecting the same rights and privileges as Christians and other faith practices of the United States.

Steve Wohlberg, in his book the Hour of the Witch, was the first to state the conclusion that we are now in a turning point and that Wicca would emerge as the third largest faith in America and would directly challenge Christian ideals of church and state. This is collaborated by leading Pagan leader and researcher, Phyliss Currott stating the Wiccan community is doubling in size every 18 months. That is a predicted future community of twenty million or more members in the United States by 2012. By both Christian and Pagan standards that would be a significant shift in American society.

Wolhberg continues "Witchcraft is growing so fast on high school and college campuses that Wiccan visionaires are rushing to establish their own schools." This is meant as a warning to Christian parents. Chas Cliftion, editor of Pomegranate: The International Journal Of Pagan Studies has a collaborating statement: "We (Pagans) are like a third world country that can't put up enough elementary schools fast enough.". Pagans and Christians agree that Wicca is becoming a major religious educational force in America.

In desperate need of training and trained teachers, many turn to WitchSchool.com on the internet. This is not a small informational site but a full fledged school with over 130,000 students, a staff of over 300, and every online tool of any major university. According to the President Davron Michaels, "The school is a important part of the emerging healthy community that can provide the needed training for services and duties required of our members. Right now that mission includes helping the over one new hundred students a day that join us to get their quality understanding of the basics of Wicca. We are providing education at every level for thousands of Witches world wide. It is a sacred trust that we are faced with everyday.'

So is it possible that this Earth Day, that we are seeing the seeds to a future community, deeply spiritual and dedicated to simply loving Mother Earth. Can America's Third Religion be Wicca?

It is something to ponder.

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/4/emw231351.htm

[Feathers in Hair]

That's an interesting article, Lilithu! Thanks for bringing it up!

[MaddLlama]

Hmm, I'd like to know where they got their stats from. Not that I think they're being intentionally misleading, but there aren't a whole lot of numbers to go with this...

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by MaddLlama

Hmm, I'd like to know where they got their stats from. Not that I think they're being intentionally misleading, but there aren't a whole lot of numbers to go with this...

I dunno. When I looked at adherents.com, the total population of Wiccans as of 2004 was 0.1%, even smaller than UUs. My guess is that if there are numbers to back this up, it's based on growth rate, which isn't always the most reliable indicator, especially of small populations.

But I thought it was interesting enough to post for discussion. Primarily, I would be interested to see how this affects the church and state debate. Some conservative Christians have been arguing for a loosening of the separation of church and state, including govt funding of "faith based initiatives." How would people react if Wicca/paganism really did become a religious force to be reckoned with in the U.S. and started asking for funds for soup kitchens dedicated to the Goddess?

[MaddLlama]

Originally Posted by lilithu

I dunno. When I looked at adherents.com, the total population of Wiccans as of 2004 was 0.1%, even smaller than UUs. My guess is that if there are numbers to back this up, it's based on growth rate, which isn't always the most reliable indicator, especially of small populations.

I agree, and also a lot of census based statistics are unreliable because a lot of Pagans don't like to be identified. But, I do think that Paganism in its modern myriad of forms has an incredible growth rate.

But I thought it was interesting enough to post for discussion. Primarily, I would be interested to see how this affects the church and state debate. Some conservative Christians have been arguing for a loosening of the separation of church and state, including govt funding of "faith based initiatives." How would people react if Wicca/paganism really did become a religious force to be reckoned with in the U.S. and started asking for funds for soup kitchens dedicated to the Goddess?

I think it would be absolutely fantastic to see more "public" (as in, in the public eye, not necessarily public funded) Pagan charities. I think that if it is going to be a major player on the religion front, it will help with tolerance and dialogue on both sides.
Frankly I'd like to see more Pagans get involved with UU churches. CUUPS is great, but they're a really tiny organization. And I think working with the UU's would give Pagans more of an opportunity to get involved with causes.

[Mike182]

hmm, i agree with the Llama on the stats side of this. Wicca,Neo Paganism and New Age religions in general are under "other" in the UK official stats for religion, and it is a very small percentage (that percentage will also count other "other" religions that are not Wicca,Neo Paganism or New Age.


and let's not forget our chaos magicians, discordians, druids, necromancers, shamans, heathens, golden dawny and ceremonials, Crowleyites, Kemetics, LHPers, Hedges, Kitchens, and the different traditions within wicca, ..... in other words, any stats given aint gonna narrow it down, and i'm sure i've missed a few

Edit: masons, i forgot masons...
Edit 2: oh yeah, and our general syncretists (really chaos, but don't tell anyone!)
Edit 3: leading on from syncretists, our lovely Christian Pagans! and others who combine Buddhist and other non Pagan philosophies, practices and beliefs!
Edit 4: and then you have to look at the differnet styles of polytheism - one overarching God and other lesser ones, all aspects of the one (or two) god(s), all seperate with no single creator/almighty.
Edit 5: ooooh, i forgot to mention the differnet pantheons as well! Norse, Celtic, Hellenic, Egyptian, Roman, ones that we don't know who they are but were there before the afore mentioned, local spirits and deities.
Edit 6: i'm gonna stop editing this post, i think i've already proved that the proverbial "we" are so diverse that any general statistics will say very little, if anything at all, about the community.

[Kcnorwood]

It's still intresting knowing that we're up & coming!

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by Mike182

hmm, i agree with the Llama on the stats side of this. Wicca,Neo Paganism and New Age religions in general are under "other" in the UK official stats for religion, and it is a very small percentage (that percentage will also count other "other" religions that are not Wicca,Neo Paganism or New Age.


and let's not forget our chaos magicians, discordians, druids, necromancers, shamans, heathens, golden dawny and ceremonials, Crowleyites, Kemetics, LHPers, Hedges, Kitchens, and the different traditions within wicca, ..... in other words, any stats given aint gonna narrow it down, and i'm sure i've missed a few

Edit: masons, i forgot masons...
Edit 2: oh yeah, and our general syncretists (really chaos, but don't tell anyone!)
Edit 3: leading on from syncretists, our lovely Christian Pagans! and others who combine Buddhist and other non Pagan philosophies, practices and beliefs!
Edit 4: and then you have to look at the differnet styles of polytheism - one overarching God and other lesser ones, all aspects of the one (or two) god(s), all seperate with no single creator/almighty.
Edit 5: ooooh, i forgot to mention the differnet pantheons as well! Norse, Celtic, Hellenic, Egyptian, Roman, ones that we don't know who they are but were there before the afore mentioned, local spirits and deities.
Edit 6: i'm gonna stop editing this post, i think i've already proved that the proverbial "we" are so diverse that any general statistics will say very little, if anything at all, about the community.

Hi Mike, namaste.

As I said in the OP, judging from the wording I think the writer is using the word "Wicca" to refer to all nature-based worshippers.