Witchcraft and Christianity: Can they connect?
By: Mary Weiermiller
In a world of spells, magic, and manifestation, does God approve? In this project, I researched about the relationship between Christianity and Neo-Paganism (also referred to as Wicca, witchcraft, or Wica), to ultimately share multiple perspectives on the Christian view of modern witchcraft. I was inspired by my own religious beliefs and interests. As someone who grew up Catholic but now practices witchcraft, it can be difficult to connect the two. I wanted to find out why within my own experience I had only ever heard negative things about witchcraft from the Christian church, knowing that there were still many people who find a balance between practicing both witchcraft and Christianity. This project was a way to educate not only myself, but all those who read it, on the complex relationship between Christianity and witchcraft. With my research I found there is no clear or correct answer to my question. For that reason, I wanted to portray different perspectives in this final project. I have decided to create a mock interview between two people with opposite perspectives. In the interview, Florence is someone who actively practices witchcraft and Christianity, and Rose is someone who believes Christianity and witchcraft cannot mix. Mary serves as a mediator and interviewer to the conversation. I hope this project shines light on the fact that the relationship between Christianity and witchcraft is more complex than it is often made to seem. I believe that it is very possible to practice both of them, and at a minimum coexist without disrespect to each other.
The text below is a transcription of a mock interview.
MARY: Hello, my name is Mary it is so nice to speak to you both!
FLORENCE: I'm happy to be here.
ROSE: Me, as well. Thank you for having us.
MARY: Today I will be speaking to both Florence and Rose on their perspectives about the relationship between Christianity and witchcraft. Florence considers herself to be a practitioner of both Christianity and witchcraft, while Rose is a Christian who does not feel witchcraft can coincide with Christianity in any way. To get started I would like to let you each share a bit about yourself and your journey.
ROSE: I can begin. As you said my name is Rose and I have been a follower of Christ my entire life. I was born into a Christian household, so my family has been a huge part of my religious journey. Religion plays a central role in my daily life. As a Christian, I do believe that witchcraft in any form is a sin, as there are multiple biblical passages that detail this. I hope to share a bit more about my viewpoint today and not bash or be disrespectful towards anyone else's beliefs, but still educate on what the scripture tells us is right and wrong.
FLORENCE: Yes, my name is Florence. My religious journey has been a bit more complicated. I too grew up in a Christian household. I was baptised a Christian, and spent much of my early years attending church and bible camps. Around the age of 18 a friend introduced me to some of her religious practices, those practices being forms of witchcraft. I immediately felt a connection to witchcraft, and began delving into it much more. It was difficult at first trying to navigate how I could be doing witchcraft, but still feeling connected to Christianity. I felt a sense of guilt. Thinking that God might be against me doing something I also felt so strongly connected to and brought so much clarity and peace to my life, was really difficult. I soon realized that it was possible to practice both Christianity and witchcraft, so here I am today doing just that.
MARY: Thank you both for sharing your personal experiences. It is fascinating to see how your upbringings have influenced your religious beliefs so strongly. Florence, could you define what witchcraft means to you? I am pretty unfamiliar with it.
FLORENCE: There are many different forms of witchcraft, as well as different names. Most commonly, the religious or spiritual practices of witchcraft are referred to as Wicca, Wica, Neo-Paganism, or witchcraft. I will just be referring to my personal practice as witchcraft.
MARY: When you say there are many different forms of witchcraft, what does that mean? Is it similar to the Christian Church, as they refer to different denominations?
FLORENCE: Somewhat. Witchcraft does not have a set belief system, as say, the bible. Witchcraft is much more interpretive and individualized. There are some of the general principles and beliefs that are standard for most all of those who practice. For example, it is non-dogmatic, centered around harmony with the earth, and a Divine being or Goddess is worshipped. The spiritual practices are used to connect to the self through spell-casting, meditation, prayer, singing, and other rituals.
MARY: How do you define your own religious beliefs, then? Would you say you are Wiccan but also Christian?
FLORENCE: I believe that my religion affiliation is Christianity but my spirituality is Wiccan. It isn't uncommon for people to classify witchcraft as a form of their spirituality rather than their religion.
MARY: Wow, how interesting! I would love to hear a little bit from you, Rose.
ROSE: It is hard for me to understand how you incorporate witchcraft into your spirituality, Florence. For example, you mentioned that you worship a goddess? How is that possible in the context of the Holy Trinity. The bible classifies God as a man, Jesus as His son, and the Holy Spirit working within the both of them. The entire bible uses male pronouns in relation to God.
FLORENCE: I like to be more inclusive in my definition of God. I do still believe that Jesus is the son of God, but I do not believe that we need to give God a specific gender identity.
ROSE: If you're worshipping a goddess, that goddess would have to be different than the Christian God. This would deliberately go against the first of the 10 Commandments, as it states, "You shall not have any false gods before me." Wouldn't this Divine Goddess be a false god?
FLORENCE: The Goddess I'm speaking of is not a different being from the Christian God. I think the image of God should be one that is unique to the individual. It is still the same Divine being, but why should God just be male? There is a sense of comfort and personability that comes with forming an individual image of God. In a bible that is so male dominated, it can be hard to find connection when you feel you aren't being represented.
ROSE: Another thing you mentioned was the use of spells. There are multiple passages in the bible that forbid casting spells. For example, Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, or casts spells, or who is a medium or who consults the dead." Micah 5:11 states, "The Lord says, 'I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells.'"
FLORENCE: There is room to practice spells and still pray. The passages in the bible you brought up are referring to casting spells as a harmful, negative thing that is in one way or another, replacing prayer that should be directed towards God. Spell-casting and magic are a form of energy work, while prayer is about one's relationship with divinity. These are two completely different things. Spell-casting is not being used to replace God or use some sort of non-God given power. Magic is simply a way to direct energy to often cultivate a better mind, body, and spirit. Spell-casting and manifestation is a way to set intentions for my physical being on this Earth, and doing so to better myself within God's image. The only God I pray to is my Christian God. Spell-casting just helps to direct my energy into living a life in God's image. It does not take away from my relationship with Him, it only helps strengthen it.
MARY: Thank you both for sharing. There is one more topic I'd like to mention before we end. The use of witchcraft in African countries has been on the rise, and there are many Christian missionaries from the United States travelling to Africa to convert them. What are your thoughts on the matter?
FLORENCE: Well, I think it's really disheartening and often filled with a lot of ignorance that the missionaries only see witchcraft in African cultures as evil. This is not the case. In fact, witchcraft there is much more closely intertwined with their culture than it is here. Of course I believe that spreading the message of God is a good thing, but when it is done out of a place of ignorance it can be really harmful.
ROSE: I would agree with this. I honestly do not know much about the Christian missionaries in Africa. I do think as long as they are being respectful and are actually well-educating those they are trying to convert, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
MARY: I want to make some time for any final thoughts you may have.
FLORENCE: I can start. It is easy to justify evil with any religion. There are people who murder and justify it by saying that is what God wants them to do. With witchcraft, there are of course people who use magic in a harmful way. This is no different than what happens with any other religion. It's sad but it does happen. In these biblical passages, the context is very important to consider. The bible is referring to the very harmful misuse of magic and witchcraft, which of course is horrible. Incorporating witchcraft in a way that betters one's relationship with nature, the universe, and the Divine, is doing no harm.
ROSE: I honestly have never thought about it like that. I've only ever been taught about the evils of witchcraft. I never really got much of an explanation as to why witchcraft was so evil, either. Thank you for helping to educate me and sharing your views.
FLORENCE: Of course, I'm so glad I could help. Education is the most important thing to bring understanding to this topic. There are so many Christians who are either misinformed or just have never been educated about witchcraft. Without education, it is easy to form biases and judgements. I'm not pressuring anyone to agree with my view, or trying to force my opinions on anyone, it's just really important that we can have a mutual level of respect for religious beliefs different from our own.
MARY: Thank you both so much for being here. I'm so glad to have been able to learn so much from the both of you. That concludes our interview for today.