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Wicca (English: / ˈ w ɪ k ə /), also known as "The Craft", [1] is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion.Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant.
Eclectic paganism, also occasionally termed universalist or non-denominational paganism, [1] [2] is a form of modern paganism where practitioners blend paganism with aspects of other religions or philosophies, including the blending of separate pagan traditions.
There is "considerable disagreement as to the precise definition and the proper usage" of the term modern paganism. [6] Even within the academic field of pagan studies, there is no consensus about how contemporary paganism can best be defined. [7] Most scholars describe modern paganism as a broad array of different religions, not a single one. [8]
Wicca, an alternative minority religion whose adherents, regardless of gender, call themselves witches, began in the. Most Wiccans in the U.S. practice alone, though they congregate in large ...
By definition, a pagan is someone who's spirituality and practices differ from more mainstream religions like Christianity and Judaism. ... and witchcraft practices that are serious really spend a ...
[3] [9] [10] Some Christians who convert to neopaganism are hesitant to entirely give up their original faiths, and become Christo-Pagans. [11] Some Christo-Pagans use rosaries and prayer beads, [2] and pray to non-Christian deities, such as Persephone. [7] [8] Some may also practice ceremonial magic or magick.
The Triumph of Christianity over Paganism, a painting by Gustave Doré (1899). Paganism is commonly used to refer to various religions that existed during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, such as the Greco-Roman religions of the Roman Empire, including the Roman imperial cult, the various mystery religions, religious philosophies such as Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and more localized ethnic ...
The history of Wicca documents the rise of the Neopagan religion of Wicca and related witchcraft-based Neopagan religions. [a] Wicca originated in the early 20th century, when it developed amongst secretive covens in England who were basing their religious beliefs and practices upon what they read of the historical witch-cult in the works of such writers as Margaret Murray.