Goddess Movement The Goddess movement includes spiritual beliefs or practices (chiefly neopagan) which emerged predominantly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in the 1970s. The movement grew as a reaction to perceptions of predominant organized religion as male-dominated, and makes use of goddess worship and a focus on gender and femininity. The Goddess...
Witch-cult Hypothesis The witch-cult hypothesis is a discredited theory which proposes that the witch trials of the Early Modern period were an attempt to suppress a pre-Christian, pagan religion that had survived the Christianisation of Europe. According to its proponents, this witch-cult revolved around the worship of a Horned God of fertility whom the Christian persecutors referred...
European Witchcraft European witchcraft can be traced to classical antiquity and has a continuous history during the Middle Ages, culminating in the Early Modern witch hunts and giving rise to the fairy tale and popular culture “witch” stock character of modern times, as well as to the concept of the...
Nature Religion A nature religion is a religious movement that believes nature and the natural world is an embodiment of divinity, sacredness or spiritual power. Nature religions include indigenous religions practiced in various parts of the world by cultures who consider the environment to be imbued with spirits and other sacred entities. It also includes contemporary Pagan faiths which are...
Paganism Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning “a country dweller or rustic”) is a term that has been used from antiquity to derogatorily denote polytheistic faiths. Since the term was typically used as a blanket statement to circumscribe all non-Christian (or, more broadly, non-monotheistic) faiths, it served the same pejorative purpose as the Jewish term gentile, the...
Religion And Divorce The relationship between religion and divorce is complicated and varied. This article attempts to summarize the dominant views in a number of major world faiths. Christianity Main article: Christian views on divorce See also: Biblical law in Christianity The great majority of Christian denominations affirm that marriage is intended...
Wiccan Morality Wiccan morality is largely expressed in the Wiccan Rede: ‘An’ it harm none, do what ye will’ – old-fashioned language for ‘as long as you aren’t harming anyone, do as you wish’. While this could be interpreted to mean “do no harm at all,” it is usually interpreted as...
Religious Views On Suicide Many of the world’s religions have traditionally condemned suicide because, as they believe, human life fundamentally belongs to God. In recent years many faith traditions have modified their views of suicide and looked more closely at what their role should be, in both prevention and healing....
What Is Wicca? Wicca, also termed Pagan Witchcraft, is a Contemporary Pagan new religious movement. Gardnarian Wicca was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. Since the last of the Witchcraft...
Religious Texts Religious texts or sacred texts (also known as scripture, or scriptures, from the Latin scriptura, meaning “writing”) are texts that religious traditions consider to be central to their practice or beliefs. Religious texts may be used to provide meaning and purpose, evoke a deeper connection with the divine, convey religious...
Goddess A goddess is a female deity. Goddesses have been linked with virtues such as beauty, love, motherhood and fertility (Mother-goddess cult in prehistoric times). They have also been associated with ideas such as war, creation, and death. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship....
Spirit Possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Haitian Vodou, Hinduism, Islam, Wicca, and Southeast Asian, African, and Native...