Wicca Is a Nature- Based Life-Affirming Religion

Merry meet! Many people ask the question “What is Wicca?” The answer is “Wicca is a nature- based life-affirming religion that follows a moral code and seeks to build harmony among people and empower the self and others. (S. Ravenwolf 1998)”[1] It is both polytheistic and monotheistic, depending on whom you were to ask. The basics of Wicca are that it is the worship of the Goddess, and her consort, the God. Nature is sacred and a major part of any good Wiccan’s life. However, Wicca can also be called Paganism as it is a nature-based religion. But, the focus of this paper is not what the name is, but what it is truly considered to be. Is it to be considered to be a religion, a sect, a cult, or a religious movement?

Should it be considered as a neo-Pagan movement, Wicca the religion, Paganism the sect, or Witchcraft as a cult-worshipping? Outside of those who practice, there is a flurry of activity in the search for what it is. This subject will be viewed through both the eyes of practitioners and non-practitioners, and through a sociological and cultural view. By the end of this paper, it will be said what is the average labeling of this “religion”, that has slowly been becoming more popular each day that passes.

“The word Wicca was originally the Saxon term for a male Witch and was pronounced ‘witch-ah’; the female wicce was pronounced ‘witch-ay.’”[2] This term was adopted by Gerald Gardner as a general name for Witchcraft in the 1930s. “The term pagan comes from the Latin paganus, plural paganii, which originally referred to peoples who did not accept the dominance of Roman culture, preferring their local governments or pagus.”[3] These peoples were also usually not interested in becoming Catholic, the religion of the Holy Roman Empire. It was also used to describe someone who did not have a monotheistic belief, which pagans do not.[4]

Barbara Jane Davy, author of the textbook “Introduction to Pagan