So from that Wikapedia link
- Most Wiccans believe in a God(s)
- Believe in "...the freedom to act, along with the necessity of taking responsibility for what follows from one's actions and minimising harm to oneself and others"
- Practice many different rituals
- Use "tools" in these rituals
- Have special occasions they celebrate throughout the year
- Have representative symbols
Gee, sure sounds different from all the others? What is it that people see as negative? That they believe in magic? Spells? Is Communion not a "spell". Is God not magic?
Ford, I'm with you man. Agree pretty much 100% with that post.
Logically, in my brain, I am an atheist though I tend to shy away from calling myself that. I'll say non-believer if someone asks me. I guess I just find that word has negative connotations for, among others, the reasons you pointed out.
That said, I do feel a spiritual side exists and has a place in our lives. I tend to to sorta visualize it as a byproduct of consciousness, sorta a shared human experience thing. It sounds kinda fluffy but I see our perception of "the spiritual" as actively experiencing a very deep, subconscious empathy for our entire species. It's kinda hard to put it into words without sounding like a hippy I guess.
There are truths and insights in all the different religions. I mean, there's a reason people follow them. On a personal scale they help billions of people with their lives. On a political/macro scale... well... I have my opinions. Seems once we humans gather in large numbers, we're nothing but trouble, not matter what side we're representing.
As to the OP, I must say I didn't know a while lot about Wiccans before reading that wiki link and some other sites I looked up. So you've helped educate at least one person. Don't let the other comments get you down. You're obviously proud enough of your beliefs to publicly post about it. That makes you a hundred times the human than someone who would mock you for it.