From: Ceri 
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MM All,

Since I became Pagan, I've noticed a number of topics that are
guaranteed to spark heated religiously motivated debate. "Is witchcraft
a religion?" is one of them.

I was cleaning my files & found this comment. FTR I maintain my position
that one can be spiritual without being religious, most faiths under the
Pagan umbrella are ones that are deeply personal ones & therefore are
'defined' (allowing for the limits of that concept) by what label the
individual identifies with. AFAIC a Solitary Discordian Wiccan has as
much right to use those labels to describe their spirituality as an
Alexandrian Wiccan... 

Anyway this is an interesting perspective...

	Lee [chomp] wrote:
	Okay, I don't know if this would help anyone. I got this from Robin
	Artisson who is a Pellar and Cunning Man of the Old Faith (Traditional
	Witchcraft). He is the author of the Meadows of Elfhame site and the
	Halls of Clan Droen/House of Faringdoun Trod site, which have been
	referred to before and if anyone is interesting in reading more.

	My question was simple. Is Traditional Witchcraft a religion, and
	depending on what the answer is, please explain why.

	Here is the reply, word for word.

	FFF,
	Oak Man

	YES, Witchcraft is a religion. It fulfills the definition of religion
	in every way. See below:

	RELIGION (from Dictionary.com)
	reúliúgion   Pronunciation Key  (ruh-lijun)
	(noun)
	1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded
	   as creator and governor of the universe.
	2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and
	   worship.
	3. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious
	   devotion.

	WITCHCRAFT (compare with the above, point for point)
	1. The Craft Believes in and reveres powers, or in some cases, just a
	   single power, as being the source of the universe, and sometimes as
	   having the ability to control or make changes in the universe. For
	   some, this power or these powers can also reveal important things
	   about mankind or about the unknown.
	   Sometimes these powers are specific entities, and sometimes this
	   power or powers are natural forces, or generalized simply as
	   "nature" or an even more mysterious force. Sometimes they are parts
	   of the universe, and sometimes, they are parts of man. Fact is, the
	   "force" or "forces" or "power" or
"powers" still remain, in some
	   form. This is true for all Craft.
	   Even if you don't think that these powers are "Supernatural", that's
	   just a matter of semantics- Nature is an all-inclusive term.
	   "Supernatural" simply refers to things that cannot be proven
	   scientifically, not to things that are "above nature". Logically,
	   Nothing could be "above Nature."
	   And no matter what kind of witch you are or where you are, and no
	   matter what "powers" you believe in, I can assure you that you can't
	   'scientifically' prove that they are there, and that they act or
	   exist or interact with you as you believe they do. But the wise
	   know, and have always known, that not all portions of reality are
	   'provable' nor do they need to be- you also can't scientifically
	   prove that you love someone, or that you feel compassion, or that
	   you trust someone, or even that consiousness exists at all- but we
all
	   know those things are real.

	2. Witchcraft, more than most religions, Is a HIGHLY personal system
	   grounded in such beliefs as mentioned above, and for a few of us, it
	   is a a system that IS instiutionalized, in the form of a coven or a
	   series of covens or groups that all share the same belief, and that
	   have done so over time, and that will continue to do so; and this
	   belief expresses itself for ALL OF US through outward signs, such as
	   ritual, meditations, activities in groups or alone, offerings, or
	   written or spoken expressions of belief in the Craft and the powers
	   behind it, which every one of us at the list has done at one time or
	   another-

    and finally

	3. Every one of us pursues a better understanding of or ability in the
	   Craft, conscientiously and with zeal, on some level. That is called
	   "devotion". We all love the craft; we collect books on it; we read
	   about it daily; we write into E-lists to talk about it. A lot of
	   Christians do the same thing in regards to their own religion. So do
	   a lot of muslims. So do a lot of jews. So do a lot of Buddhists. And
	   so on. The Only people who crusade around arguing that the Craft is
	   not a religion are the people who hate religion, but who want to be
	   in the craft- and the only way they can do that is to turn the craft
	   into something that it is not. The craft to them HAS to be different
	   from religion, or they can't be involved in it.
	   Typically, these people come from VERY bad, restricitve, and shitty
	   christian backgrounds, and they associate the ignorance and
	   stupidity and shallowness of christianity with ALL religions, and
	   they become phobic of anything called "religion".
	   But what these sad people don't realize is this: 1. Witchcraft
	   descends from a religious tradition many times older than
	   christianity; it is the remains of the old European Pagan religious
	   tradition, albeit a distant cousin.
	   Christianity is not a good example of a religion. It is a BAD
	   example.
	   Religion is a natural impulse to mankind; all human societies and
	   EVERY human culture originally expressed seom religion, and kept it
	   in some form up until the modern day. The most primitive of people
	   have it.
	   Christianity is just one late bad example of religion; and
	   christianity is more political than it is spiritual. It has always
	   been that way.
	   RELIGION is not the problem. CHRISTIANITY and ISLAM and to an extent
	   JUDAISM are the problems, in the west. These are the things that
turn
	   people off to "religion"- but you must not let it. NOT ALL RELIGIONS
	   are bad like the current dominant religions in the west.

    R.A.




-- 
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Ceridwen is a default net alias
        Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.


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