Many who choose to be Wiccan want the world to know; they are excited and want to share their new found religion with everyone around them. Unfortunately as modern as our society is there is the Wiccan religion is still thought of by some an evil devil worshiping cult. People are afraid of what they do not understand and therefore assume a lot of things that are not true.
It is estimated that there are about 750,000 Wiccans in America. That would make it the 7th largest religion in America today. If there are so many Wiccans in American how come you have never met one before? Well that is easy; it is safer to stay in the broom closet than to come out. Wiccans are much like homosexuals in the first half of the 20th century. You knew they were there, you may have thought you knew someone who was gay, but you did not know for sure. Then one day they came out and told everyone they were gay and you were shocked.
As Wiccans we are experts at hiding our religion from people, we know whom we can trust and whom we can’t trust. Unfortunately for many of us it is our own family that we cannot trust. I can tell you without a doubt that my Baptist parents would not understand my choosing the Wiccan path over the Christian path.
One of the hardest parts of trying to raise Wiccan children is telling them they have to keep their faith a secret. People do not take it well when they decide that one of their classmates is worshiping the devil. Schools have been known to expel students for wearing pentagrams, saying they are satanic or gang related. Many feel that their only real purpose on this planet is to convert others to their beliefs. They see nothing wrong with killing someone in the name of their God, they will taunt and terrorize someone in hopes they will see the light and convert over to their religion. There have been many cases where other churches have gathered and destroyed Wiccan places of worship because they felt they were evil. The law most of the time is on the other side. Even though Wicca is a recognized religion it is still not a supported religion. The law has a tendency to look the other way when things happen to our properties or protesters disrupt our gatherings.
So, because of this and because we seek to live in a world that is in harmony with the Universe we live in secrecy. Over time you will find others like yourself, those who believe in what you do and support you in your decision. You will find people in other religions that are open minded and will accept you for who you are. But until you are comfortable and know who you can trust you should be careful with what information you let others know.
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