I am wiccan why all the hate

To be honest I wouldn't even pose the question "Why do people hate me" thats giving others ignorances way to much power. Just do and be exactly who you are in life and walk on by!

Disorders,

Why the hate?

I look to science for answers to the underlying forces to most if not all questions. Questions of behavior and belief are no different.
One of the most interesting ideas to come to my attention lately is the idea of Memes, a term Richard Dawkins coined in 1976, coincidentally at the time I was studying evolutionary biology. Having moved on to related fields, I only became aware of memes recently, but it seems to me they appear to answer and explain many behaviors accurately (and perhaps not by coincidence along much the lines I'd been thinking for years).
Memes are ideas that behave as viruses, infecting people and changing their beliefs and behaviors in order to reproduce themselves. They don't have to be true, or cause no harm to their hosts, they only need to influence the host to reproduce and spread them much like a virus does.

Just as most microbes have developed defense mechanisms to try and kill other competing or food source microbes, memeplexes often develop defense mechanisms to try to kill off their competition. The demonization of the holders of competing memeplexes in addition, the attempts to discredit their memes(ideas) through 'spinning/falsifying' the facts and other logical or illogical arguments is part of these defense mechanisms. This seems to be the source of the hatred, some memes are intolerant of others.
~Down

Really interesting, down. I have to read more of Richard Dawkins; I've been meaning to, among other books I want to read.

Food for Thought.... (from my pov)

I have been thinking about the original posters QUESTION, and I feel that it is not so much that she wonders why people hate her, but rather why people dislike her based on her religion of choice....
That which people are thrown off by when they hear she is Wiccan - she probably receives a reaction that is less than love, an reaction in which Christ would NEVER have approved of, to any one or any religion, not even that done unto someone who is an active member of a satanic cult.

WE...... really need to stop judging (based on religious differences) and start loving a person for who they are - a child God is waiting to be His again... to come home.

And - WE have no right (what so ever) to express that another person might just need to find another religion if their religion is different than what we believe in with in our Faith..... God says to love thy neighbor (all people in this world) - and not to judge, dismiss or hate based on petty differences.

LoVe,
Rhapsody -

I accept the person , want to get to know the person, if they can teach me new , then I have grown

I am so sorry your treated this way I truly am. I am in the same boat your in .. I'm sorry

If I come up with an answer on why others use "hate" as a disorder of their thinking function, I will glady share.. In my own eyes the reason why others hate one being or one religion is they are afarid of what might happen if they actually open up their eyes, and hearts to someone differnt from them.

Nuff said....

Well, disorders said there were a lot of Christians at his/her school (sorry, I forgot disorders' gender, and I'm too tired to go back and try to discern the correct one), and while not all Christians judge this way, many who are anti-Wiccan base it on the biblical passages that say witchcraft is evil, of the Devil, etc. Some people believe the Bible is infallible and every word of it is The Word of God. However, others understand that the Bible was written by man, and it's been translated thousands of times, so what the original said may be quite different, not to mention that the original could have contained errors, and was based on the views of the writers at that time in history. Everyone interprets religious texts (any religion's texts, not just the Bible) differently, and some think it gives them the right to mistreat others, unfortunately.

In addition, the images we've seen of witches in media and fiction have further harmed the reality of some witches. Yes, there are good witches and bad witches. All power--including the powers one gains from religions, political gain, financial gain, etc.--can be used for good or evil. I don't blame fiction for false imagery, because it's fiction, but many people think what is depicted in fiction is reality sometimes. It's better to use non-fiction books and documentaries as sources for getting to know something, but even then, you have to take into the account the views of the person who is doing the depicting. The best way to learn about people is to get to know them.

Wiccans do not worship the Devil, nor do they believe in a devil. They have many gods and goddesses. Even Wiccans believe differently from other Wiccans. I think it's like that with all religions and non-religions. (One atheist's beliefs differ from another atheist's beliefs.) This is why it's better to get to know the person before judging him or her based on something that doesn't describe an entire group.

I think hatred IS a disorder of thinking, feeling. Just like any harsh, untamed, unmanaged anger is a dis-order in a sense. But just because someone suffers with such does not IMO give them an excuse to dismiss it. Everyone would be better off trying to improve themselves in how they react and respond to things in life, to others etc. Just my POV>

I think people hate anyone who is "different". A lot of people only seem happy when in a group of fellow conformists, where everyone thinks and acts and believes the same way.

And they're so pathetically ignorant of any other way of thinking!

I know I don't hate you!! And no one worthy of the name of Christian would hate you either--it's just unfortunate that so many narrow-minded bigots out there have tried to claim that THEY are the "true" Christians--HA!

I know that wiccans are definitely not "devil-worshippers". And being a wiccan doesn't make you a "bad" person.

Please try not to worry too much about what a pack of ignorant bigots think of you. They just aren't worth worrying about!!

Sending you lots of hugs!!!!!

Love,
Patti

I think Wicca is a very uplifting religion. While I am another flavor of Pagan, learning about Wicca is how I got more settled into my spiritual beliefs so I am aware of what Wicca is for the most part. What ticks me off is when people say "I'm Wiccan, blessed be! (blah blah blah.)" and not even know what Wicca really is. Mostly it's the teenagers since I have to be around them as I am a teenager myself but I've also met 40-some year olds who are"fluffy bunnies!"
You know, if your boyfriend thinks you Satanic, ask him if you are LeVayen or Spiritual? If he thinks you something else than what you are, he obviously doesn't know you well enough, in my opinion at least. Stick to your faith! At least you have it. The world needs more people with faith no matter what flavor as long as it is helpful.