The Problem with Wiccanate Privilege

Wiccanate privilege refers to the dominance of Wicca at pagan events at the expense of other pagan paths. Pagan events aren't the only settings where this is a problem though. Online, the number of Wiccan groups far outnumber the number of eclectic and general pagan groups, which are more difficult to find. The Wiccan groups are also more vibrant and interesting. It's enough to make me tempted to become Wiccan just to feel like "one of them".

Of all the paths to dominate modern paganism, Wicca seems like a very odd choice. It is a combination of the worst possible worlds, in the sense that it has a degree of orthopraxy and even orthodoxy (if you don't do certain practices, or hold certain beliefs, you aren't "Wiccan" enough), yet lacks the history behind reconstructionist paths. Ideally, pagan groups and events would either be would be a perfect balance of paths. If one path had to dominate, I'd have it be eclectic paganism, since people of that path can draw from any tradition.

The biggest problem with Wicca is the poor view many Wiccans have towards atheistic Wicca. Since Wicca is orthopraxic, not orthodox, it makes no sense to frown on different beliefs. It is possible to honor the idea of a god without literally believing in a god, but hardly anyone seems to understand this. In my Reform Jewish upbringing, this was a more accepted idea. I suspect that too few Wiccans hold this idea because they come from Christianity, which holds faith as a requirement. To me, the requirement of faith in religion is a completely and utterly ridiculous idea, especially considering that religions usually preach very ridiculous ideas.

Even so, I find Wicca superior to many reconstructionist paths because of how ridiculous many reconstructionist paths are. Hellenismos has an excessive fear of hubris and offending the gods, frowning on Wicca's positive, more egalitarian relationship with them. Some people within Asatru think of Wiccan pantheism as "cultural appropriation" and "spiritual rape". People overreact to cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is never a problem unless it somehow hurts the culture borrowed from (which does sometimes happen). If one person privately prays to someone else's god, no one is harmed. Considering there is no evidence that any one culture's deities exist, I think it is safe to say that reconstructionists are overreacting.

I'll try out Wiccan ritual on the next Sabbats to see what it's like. My lack of ritual during Sabbats has seemed insufficient in observing them anyway. However, I'm not sure I'd be so anxious to conform my practice to Wiccan ritual if not for the dominance of Wicca in the pagan community.