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Which and World Religions Fall BY skating Katie Freer World Religions Which 12,’7/12 Fall 2012 I read Wick’s Charm: Understanding the Spiritual Hunger behind the Rise of Modern Witchcraft and Pagan Spirituality by Catherine Sanders for my project. This book was very insightful into the religion and into reasons why people are no longer conforming to the church. I learned quite a few things from reading this book. The book begins with Sanders explaining why Which has grown in recent years. She comes to the conclusion that there are a number of factors. However, the two main ones she notes are the media and the church.
The media is accessing it and making in more normal. She cites the Harry Potter phenomena as an example. She writes, “Unlike Which, Railing’s books actually promote a clear understanding of good and evil . The stories and themes that fill the pages of the Harry Potter books have little to do with Which at all, in fact. ” However she adds, “The books do glorify magic and make fun of ordinary humans know to Harry and his friends as “muggers. ‘” However, the media’s influence goes beyond these books. There is a section of the publishing world dedicated to Wicking themes and it is widely successful.
The themes also appear in TV shows and movies that are widely popular. Sanders goes on to list and describe five reasons why Wisconsin leave the church and turn to the religion. The first is concern for the earth. Wisconsin love the earth and feel that Christians have turned a blind eye to environmental concerns. The second is empowerment for women. Many Wisconsin believe that the church has denigrated women and that Which empowers them, particularly with its emphasis on goddess worship. The third is frustration with the consumer culture. Many Wisconsin believe the church has bought into the consumer culture.
The fourth is the draw of the supernatural. Many in the mainline church denigrate the supernatural and Wisconsin turn to Which for its acknowledgement of the supernatural. The fifth is hypocrisy in the church. This is the number one reason Wisconsin leave the church. Sanders says Which is a religion that defies description. Any practitioner can add or subtract to his or her beliefs. One practitioner told the interviewer “if you ask three witches to describe their beliefs, you’ll probably get about four answers. ” The author goes on to talk about the most common beliefs. The first is all is one. Wisconsin hold the monistic and pantheistic belief that all living things are of equal value. Humans have no special place, nor are they made in God’s image. They have, for example, the same value as flowers, trees or grass. The cosmos is undifferentiated universal energy, and everything is one vast interconnected process. ” The second is you are divine. The third is personal power is unlimited. It is not limited by a deity, as in Christianity. The fourth is consciousness can and should be altered through the reactive of rite and ritual. The final one is there is no belief in absolute good and evil.
Sanders also mentions the invoking of the Mother Goddess or earth as a symbol. She also specifically points out their disavowal of Satan to prove a point. The interviews really made the book for me. The stories showed me why it could be so popular. The one I related to the most was within the chapter about college students. Kathleen first practiced because of the focus on nature and the elevation of women. She now mixes Native American spirituality with Which. She didn’t follow in err parents’ Christian tradition because she didn’t feel it was heartfelt and it seemed more like blind faith.