Is Wicca a Cult?
It's actually been a while since I've seen Wicca referred to as a "cult", but I'm absolutely sure there are still people out there who believe it is.
What is a cult? According to Merriam-Websters Dictionary Online, the SIMPLE definition of "cult" is: a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous.
My own, more simpler definition of "cult" is that it is a group of people made solely dependent upon a radical leader and coerced into relinquishing all physical possessions to that leader and ending all personal relationships outside the group.
For Wicca to fit the criteria of both definitions, Wicca would have to have one central authority, demand its followers to become solely dependent upon that authority and be completely isolated from society. Wiccans have NOTHING to do with any of this. Wiccans live normal lives like everyone else. Many are married with children, work day-to-day jobs, pay their bills and have interpersonal relationships with friends. If Wicca were a cult, they wouldn't do any of these things.
The only difference between Wicca and another religion, say Christianity, is the subject of worship. The manner in which Wiccans worship differs slightly, but not by much.
So why do people claim Wicca is a cult?
It's part of that fear-mongering mentality that some people have to keep followers faithful to a spirituality. Naturally it's usually extremists and fundamentalists that make the wild claims that Wicca is Satanic or a Cult...as not all Christians believe this (believe it or not there ARE religious people who are very open minded and accepting of other people and other faiths while maintaining their own). They have the need to keep people from "straying" from their religion to another, and the only way they know to do this is to call another religion names (apparently it's more acceptable to call a religion names, but not people).
Wicca is not a cult as defined by the definitions stated above. There IS another definition of "cult"...according to Merriam-Websters Dictionary Online, the FULL definition of cult is: "1) formal veneration 2) a system of religious beliefs and rituals 5) a great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement or work. So technically, according to the FULL definition of cult based on Merriam-Websters, ALL religions are cults, INCLUDING Christianity. Let's look at this definition in a bit more detail to understand why Wicca AND Christianity are considered cults, based on this dictionary definition:
A Cult involves:
1) Formal Veneration
Both Christianity AND Wicca involve formal veneration...or, in simpler terms, worship. Both use altars, dedicated tools, food, and prayer to worship their God(s).
2) A System of Religious Beliefs and Rituals
As stated above both Christianity and Wicca both have formality when it comes to worshiping [the] God(s) in the form of religious ritual. They both believe in God(s), they both believe their prayers are somehow heard by [the] God(s) and somehow [the] God(s) answers.
3) A Great Devotion to a Person, Idea, Object, Movement or Work
Both Christians and Wiccans have GREAT devotion to their deities. Christians may spend hours in a church praying to their God, whereas Wiccans would do various activities to show devotion, including prayers before their altar, community works, spiritual practices, etc.
So as you can see, through the FULL definition of "cult" by Merriam-Webster, Wicca is indeed a cult, but so is Christianity...and for people to condemn Wicca for being a cult (simple definition) are actually being hypocritical considering Christianity is ALSO a cult.
Wicca is only a cult in the manner that it involves formal veneration, is a system of religious belief and rituals, and has great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement or work. That's it!
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