World Religions Paper

World Religion Paper (Rough Draft) By: Allison Workman The religion that I have chosen for my report is Wicca. Wicca is the religion of Witchcraft also referred to as the Craft. There are many myths that are associated with the Wiccan religion. Witches do not perform ride brooms and they are not â€Å"bad or scary† people. In fact most witches are normal people we come in contact with every day. I have learned many interesting facts in my weeks researching this religion. At this time my site visit and interview have not been completed due to family medical problems with my source. However, the interview and site visit are both scheduled for April 3, 2011 I will attempt to submit a summary of those by mid week next week for review. Compare and Contrast Wicca and Christianity are actually quite similar in many ways. However, there are vast differences in the beliefs of the parties as well. Both Christianity and Wicca have a symbol that is prominent within the religion. Christians have the cross that represents the death of Jesus to wash away the sins of mankind. Wicca’s symbol is the pentagram. Despite the reports to the contrary the pentagram is not the symbol of a Satanist; in fact Satan does not even exist in the Wiccan culture. The pentagram is the symbol of the four elements (water, air, fire, earth) and the sprit which draws them all together. Both religions have groups that worship together. Christians call these congregations and they usually meet in a Church. When a group of witches gather to worship the group is referred to as a Coven and they generally practice outdoors though not always. Some Covens will gather at the home of the High Priestess to worship. Meeting places will differ from Coven to Coven. Many of the Ethical and Social views of these religions are similar as well. The Wiccan Rede is â€Å"If it harms none, do what you will†. Christians generally try to live by the Golden Rule. â€Å"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you†. These two phrases have a similar meaning. Both religions believe that women and men are equal in value as human beings. Both religions also accept women in secular leadership roles. All Wiccan religious groups believe that women should hold religious leadership roles as well; some denominations of the Christian faiths are accepting of this, but others still believe that men should be the religious leader of the family/church. The number of differences between these two groups is much larger that the similarities. One of the most notable is that Christianity is a monotheistic religion and Wicca is a polytheistic religion. While Christians worship God. The Wiccans worship the God and Goddess simultaneously. The Wiccan religion is all about balabance so the worship of the God and the Goddess signifies the balance, though the primary focus to a witch is the goddess. Witches accept homosexuality completely where Christians believe that homosexuality is a sin. Christians worship every Sunday and Witches worship on the 13 full moons of the years and also perform rituals on the Sabbats.